Behind the Wheel at Chrysler: The Iacocca Legacy

by Doron P. Levin, Levin

Overview

A Detroit Free Press reporter demythologizes Lee Iacocca’s leadership of Chrysler, demonstrating how salesmanship and self-promotion invariably trumped innovation and investment. “Everyone who cares about american industry should read [this book]” (New York Times Book Review). Index.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780156004749
Publisher:	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date:	10/17/1996
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	380
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

Editorial Reviews

In a hard-hitting, demythologizing portrait of former Chrysler chairman Lee Iacocca, Levin dismantles the public image of Iacocca as a shrewd, can-do executive and the savior of Chrysler. A Detroit Free Press business columnist, Levin paints Iacocca as a self-aggrandizing, fame-obsessed car man who hogged credit for rescuing Chrysler from bankruptcy in 1979-80, when, in fact, the bailout was a collective effort, with key roles played by Chrysler honchos Steve Miller and Gerald Greenwald. In Levin's scathing portrait, Iacocca injected flair into Chrysler models, making superficial rather than substantive changes and demonizing Japanese automakers instead of learning from their stunning leaps in efficiency and quality. According to Levin, Iacocca's bungling, blindness and preoccupation with celebrity nearly drove Chrysler once again into bankruptcy, causing the board to force him into retirement in 1992. This meticulous expos lays bare the gaping holes in Iacocca's bestselling 1984 autobiography. (July)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

An account of how Iacocca got Chrysler back in the fast lane.

Library Journal