1990 Lee Iacocca Inferiority complex commercial Japanese cars comparison wakeup to the truth

[@generaloranger6150]

We just lost him and we don’t have anyone like this to lead Detroit anymore.

[@jonmopar7917]

That's why this man was like few other....talent and leadership that set the benchmark in which no one before or since has been able to match

[@davinp]

Chrysler could use another Lee Iaccoa. Of the Big Detriot 3, Chrysler sells the least amount of cars

[@MidnightPolaris800]

Guys such a legend

[@jondoe8423]

@@MidnightPolaris800 Howdee Sirs, yeah he is missed but it's also the times. that have changed...Now a woman would not follow him, would she? I do not regret it, but that is one big difference from a eurpean point of view. Regrads from there Joe "Johnny da Menace" Doe Discalimer: the witer of these lines is mad and onlky an ebngeinner , not an economist- do not believe this man or would you buy a used car from me (that was a quote od the nespaper after the little corvair fail ...was that the name of the car that didn't meet some quality recommendations- if that has been the case which I dunno!)

[@realazduffman]

He whined about Japanese cars as he sold tens of thousands of them as Colts.

[@jonthebuildingmanager2896]

@@realazduffman seems you totally missed the point. He basically said 2 cars come off the same line, but one sold better because it had a Mitsubishi badge. Besides, Colts and other Mitsubishi built cars (built in Japan) didn’t make Chrysler much. They paid the equivalent of a royalty on every one sold. They were like loss leaders to get people into showrooms and into the brand. Maybe start them with a colt and they’ll come back for a Caravan later on. That was the logic.

[@RC_928]

Fast Forward 30 years. American manufacturers are no longer selling sedans, While the Camry, Accord, Civic and Corolla are top sellers. It’s pretty common to see Toyotas and Hondas from the 80’s and 90’s still used as daily drivers on the road. Can’t say the same about a Tempo, Spirit or Cavalier. Even Grand Ams and Tauruses which were all over are becoming rarities.

[@davidsanford6084]

That is definitely the truth All those American cars that sold very well in the 80's and 90's are gone....but you will definitely see a 92 Toyota on the road

[@palebeachbum]

In part, what he's saying in the commercial is the reason why. Perception of how good a car actually is based on the badge it wears, not on what it actually delivers. I've heard of people spending $3,500 on a Toyota engine due to valve problems with under 200k miles. If a person is willing to do that for a Toyota why wouldn't they do it for a Chrysler? Perception of the brand. It's the same reason people throw so much money at Mercedes and BMWs repairing them. They think they're something special.

[@cj6017]

@@palebeachbum Also a reluctance to walk away from that disproportionately large initial "investment", especially with the European brands.

[@jrt2792]

​@@palebeachbum A Toyota or Honda will have a higher resale value on the market than most American cars.

[@palebeachbum]

@@jrt2792 yes, that's true too.

[@MatthewKleczewski]

Lee Iacocca said it straight. Even better at half speed by the way.

[@jgrab1]

No Chrysler fan, but what he said about the two nameplates on the same car is true. The Mitusbishi Eclipse and the Dodge Laser (I believe it was called the Laser) were the same car, but the Japanese one outsold the Dodge significantly.

[@a.edwardsnycta5785]

John Grabowski because it was all about brand recognition and the belief of Japanese car quality

[@judethaddaeus9742]

Plymouth Laser. The Dodge versions of the 2G and 3G Eclipse were the Avenger and Stratus Coupe.

[@SUpersaiyajinjerkbag]

That JApan and her products are so overrated makes being outcompeted by them less excusable, and not more IMO. Also Mitsubishi? I thought it was reallly the Toyota's that did best; but maybe things were different in the 1980s.

[@tjw8t1]

Same with the Mitsubishi 3000GT and the Dodge Stealth.

[@mrhighway]

Thank for uploading this video.. You got anymore video of Lee Iacocca? thank

[@redkap5816]

Iacocca=LEGEND

[@atomsmash100]

Iacocca not only saved Chrysler, he transformed it. They were sailing until the disasterous merger with Mercedes.

[@donaldcrabbe7404]

Good spot; he was a salesman.

[@nerva-]

Iacocca was a brilliant salesman -- unfortunately, what he was selling was crap. I don't know if he knew it was crap or if he was just delusional, but it's always a bad sign when a CEO is lecturing his customers that his product is better than they think. It wasn't until after Iacocca retired that the American car companies stopped bitching about JD Power being unrepresentative and started focusing on beating the Japanese at their own game -- and they've really improved since then -- I don't think quality and reliability are big advantages for the Japanese anymore.

[@pushslice]

The fact that he kept that company alive with their crap products at that time just shows how talented he was as a marketer.

[@nerva-]

@@pushslice indeed. Sheer force of personality kept Chrysler afloat through its darkest years, until the Chrysler Renaissance finally arrived in the '90s.

[@cj6017]

@@pushslice The real crap products came later under Daimler Chrysler, regardless of whether the star on the grille had five points or three.

[@Sl1pstreams]

The product was fine… and in many cases, better than what the competition was selling, especially if it was K-based 2.5L product.

[@TheGbeecher]

Except that there was a grain of truth about Japanese cars - their quality, on average, was better than American cars...

[@markelijio6012]

Wonderful guy.

[@tjw8t1]

Other than rust, the thing that kills American cars is parts availability after a certain time. When an american manufacturer stops manufacturing a car, they really want nothing to do with it any longer. Important electrical modules, sensors, small trim pieces, floor mats, etc, become very hard to find unless the aftermarket makes it. eBay has come through for me many times by being able to find NOS parts for my Chrysler products which is getting very tough in the shape their in right now.

[@gabevillarreal96]

I love these videos and believe he was a visionary and a blue collar type personality. But at the end of the day it was all talk. He improved the company to a degree but he could not change the culture. Perception is reality and America perceives chrysler as cheap unreliable not durable or dependable and not a honda or Toyota. They need to hire former Toyota/Lexus executives or Honda/Acura Executives as well as engineers and maybe they will dig themselves out of their own self made graves. I would love to buy a chrysler or a ram but I don't trust them. At all. Their reputation precedes them! And I don't like it.

[@saganich74]

I couldn’t have said it better.

[@judethaddaeus9742]

It really wasn’t all talk. Chrysler changed drastically, especially after they acquired AMC. But after Iacocca left, the company became massively profitable and Daimler Benz bought them in 1998. Daimler then went on to suck all the money out of the profitable American side, refused to invest, realized almost no synergies, destroyed the profitable product development processes they’d set up in the early ‘90s, chased away the talent responsible for the company’s turnaround, and then dropped them like so much garbage just before the financial crisis. Daimler turned a $38 Billion company into a shell they sold to Cerberus in 2006 for just $7 Billion. While the company hasn’t fully recovered since, they were the most profitable part of FCA, and are now the most profitable part of Stellantis. So give credit where credit is due. Toyota, Honda, et al, were running hot in the early ‘90s because the pre-economic bubble burst in Japan saw these companies able to borrow extremely cheap money and sink it into their products and r&d. Once the bubble burst, the Japanese automakers had to operate on a more level playing field. Detroit and Japan are now essentially at parity when it comes to quality.

[@gabevillarreal96]

@@judethaddaeus9742 HE wasn't all talk but to me what speaks is lasting results. Obviously he cannot be responsible for those who took over after him but at the end of the day Chrysler is Chrysler. FCA, Stellantis etc. If Lee Ioccoca would have led the company for 2 or 3 decades I truly believe that it would be completely different with a strong reputation for durability reliability and quality attention to detail. Say what you will about Honda and Toyota, but over the past 60 plus years their record while not 100% pristine, speaks for itself when it comes to quality durability dependability fit and finish snd quality control in the manufacturing process. They aren't perfect, but there is a reason Hondas are Hondas and Toyotas are Toyotas in the eyes of the unbiased truth seeking and telling consumer and buying public. In the same sentence, and in the opposite regard there is a reason when the public thinks of Chrysler as a company.... they think the opposite. It's based on solid consistent LONG TERM DATA AND THE REPUTATION THAT EACH MANUFACTURER HAS EARNED OVER THE LAST 40 PLUS YEARS. PERIOD. I want my next truck to be a RAM, but it won't be until RAM, and namely STELLANTIS, turns things around consistently over a solid period of time! When that happens, and I believe it to be true and legitimate, I will put my hard earned money down on a product from RAM that I already love the looks and feel and ride of, and at that point will TRUST that my money will be well spent on a quality, reliable durable long lasting product!

[@jmin8400]

@@gabevillarreal96 As a Detroit junior exec in product planning, I have the utmost for your take on this. Thank you for your commentary.

[@jmin8400]

@@judethaddaeus9742 So well stated, I rarely come across commentary like this. As someone who works in this industry, it unnerves to see how people try and act as if Iacocca leaving was a good thing. He should've handed the leadership to someone with his own genius and business acumen. Eaton was a clown.

[@gspainting11]

Love my HEMI 300.

[@deepthinker999]

Hang on to it. It could become a collectors prize over time.

[@corradettimotorsports360]

Chrysler (like GM and to a lesser extent Ford) were only concerned with market share, not brand equity, that is why they cut back on quality parts and materials and replaced it with content and discounts, killed resale, which killed margins, which killed profits to re-invest, instead of putting quality parts, they kept changing brand identity, flooded the market with badge engineering and added way too many internal competitors (Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth, Eagle etc) which just diluted everything. Japanese just built the best vehicle in their segment and did not wonder off into badge engineering as bad as the Americans did (everyone does it) Too bad Chrysler never learned much from slick advertising and gimmick sales tactics, the proof is in the pudding, Chrysler no longer exists as we know it and does not lead in anything...

[@Mrs.Doubtfire007]

And that’s coming from somebody who I thought had a Japanese last name the first time I heard it! Give a 7 year old kid at the time of this happening a break though. Plus, that’s despite being familiar with the “Little Italy” of our city since that’s where my Dad’s workplace was. We had Caniglia’s NOT Ia-what-what’s?

[@RhinoXpress]

i always thought he was apart of the coca cola family when i was a kid. lol

[@jumpers3]

Love this man but I'll keep my toyotas

[@Alan-tr5uj]

Nobody's perfect...

[@davinp]

Japanese cars are still better quality and more reliable than the American cars. This is why the Toyota Camry has been the #1 selling car for years. So, why can't Chrysler, GM & Ford build cars as good as the Japanese?

[@judethaddaeus9742]

Davin Peterson At the time, the most reliable midsize car was the Plymouth Acclaim. The most reliable large car was the LeSabre. Chrysler’s trouble was that they hung on to the K-car chassis and too conservative styling until their mid-90s renaissance.

[@judethaddaeus9742]

Forrest Gump Today, American and Japanese cars are about as reliable as one another. Most of the cars I’ve owned were American, but they also had lots of problems and were expensive to fix. My 2013 Buick Verano, in particular, because its tires were an expensive and odd size, it required synthetic oil, etc. Anecdotal evidence is one thing. Plenty of organizations whose job it is to rate quality, reliability, and cost of ownership, showed Japanese cars to be, in general, superior to American cars until probably the last 10 years or so.

[@Alan-tr5uj]

GM had more vehicles rated tops in reliability in their individual segments (5 in all) - I haven't owned a GM product ever- no particular reason. I agreed with the statement that Japanese cars were on the whole at least better assembled fit and finish wise, especially their interiors- US automakers really started closing the gap around 2010, and have been improving dramatically ever since. In 2019 there are several US vehicles that are tops in their class with regard to material quality, fit & finish, power train reliability, etc. As expected it's large trucks pulling away the fastest- opulent rigs costing nearly 100k..

[@Junk65]

If you own a Buick, you are old.

[@NicholasWilson05]

@@judethaddaeus9742 hit the nail on the head. "Anecdotal evidence is one thing" and that Japanese cars were "in general, superior to American cars until probably the last 10 years or so." The thing I've found (through my own anecdotal evidence and research) is that there are still many factors that lead an American consumer to buy a Japanese car, but that American cars, indeed are catching up (particularly GM as noted above).

[@rickvincent5701]

It’s really sad to see all of the America hating and anecdotal evidence of Japanese cars being better in these comments. When American kids no longer have STEM jobs; we’ll all know who to thank!

[@rahsaanthomas7030]

He was shot and killed in Watchmen..

[@peachyclean93]

I'll keep my Mopar!

[@harrycallahan9733]

We got more labor unions than the Japanese, that is the truth, and why Americans prefer the imports :)

[@eatonjask]

Every car plant in Japan is unionized. That can't be the problem.

[@harrycallahan9733]

@@eatonjask Thank you! Learned something new :)

[@RhinoXpress]

And it still didn't change. lol Why?, because the UAW and bean counters prevented it from happening. American auto companies spent lots of money keeping the UAW happy and as a result the bean counters were in charge of saving production cost, anyway they could.

[@davidelias13]

Distortion of reality anyone???

[@Nakkisampyla]

Lexus LS400, the best

[@Junk65]

Great salesman. Lousy cars. American cars are still crappy. Buy them out of pitty.

[@bodombeastmode]

Exactly

[@HikikomoriDev]

Japan then turned into the largest in-debted country in the world some decades later. Nippon din't fare very well.