Iacocca Broke

AFTER Lee Iacocca became president and then chairman of Chrysler, he began advocating a specific set of national initiatives. He became so closely associated with protectionism, participating in conferences as well as lobbying the government, that he was often mentioned as a Democratic presidential candidate in 1984.

His rise to celebrity status began in the late Seventies, when Chrysler was in dire trouble. Years of neglecting product lines had resulted in a plummeting market share, dwindling profits, and the inevitability of bankruptcy. Iacocca, ex-president of Ford, was brought in to shore things up. Unable to get private banks to finance a turnaround, he went to President Carter and Congress in search of $1.2 billion in federal loan guarantees to keep the company alive. Congress agreed, and passed the Chrysler Loan Guarantee Act.

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Tucker Goodrich

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AFTER Lee Iacocca became president and then chairman of Chrysler, he began advocating a specific set of national initiatives. He became so closely associated with protectionism, participating in conferences as well as lobbying the government, that he was often mentioned as a Democratic presidential candidate in 1984.

His rise to celebrity status began in the late Seventies, when Chrysler was in dire trouble. Years of neglecting product lines had resulted in a plummeting market share, dwindling profits, and the inevitability of bankruptcy. Iacocca, ex-president of Ford, was brought in to shore things up. Unable to get private banks to finance a turnaround, he went to President Carter and Congress in search of $1.2 billion in federal loan guarantees to keep the company alive. Congress agreed, and passed the Chrysler Loan Guarantee Act.