mmarshall

Here's an interesting subject, and one that I'm sure will bring up some interesting responses. Who would you consider the best Automotive leader of all time when it came to the effectiveness of selling cars and promoting his or her company?

After some thought, I'd split the Award three ways.

The first one goes to Henry Ford, who probably did more than anyone else in history to further the cause of the automobile itself, make it available to the masses, streamline and make more efficient its production, and convince the masses that having a car is better than having a team of horses up front. He was also the first to realize that a good worker is a happy worker, that if you want to sell cars, you have to pay people enough that they can actually BUY them, then sell them at a reasonable price, and he was the first to double his factory hourly wages without any pressure from unions or the government. Other auto execs laughed, and said his company would go broke......the rest is history.



The Second goes to Lee (Lido) Iacocca, who could smooth-talk his way out of a den of lions if he had to. Not only that, but he had a brilliant mind for vehicle design/marketing, as was shown in the enormous success of both the 1964 Ford Mustang (which set a first-year sales record even though being introduced in April) and, two decades later at Chrysler, the 1984 Plymouth/Dodge minivans, both of which were his idea (along with Hal Sperlich, his Engineering partner, who went from Ford to Chrysler with him). Lido could sell ice to an Eskimo....he had a persuasive style and method of argument/presentation which could be, and often was, quite powerful. He was instrumental in what was arguably the first mass-scale automotive bailout from the government, working closely with Congress and both Presidents Carter and Reagan, though it took a lot of VERY hard work on his part and the necessity of him, in return, to have to make some very difficult promises...which he kept. He also made some very persuasive (though inaccurate) statements and TV ads promoting Chrysler's new quality-standards (Ha) and railing against Japanese vehicles at the same time that Chrysler was actually selling rebadged Mitsubishi imports (hypocrisy?) As Henry Ford was the Dean of the early-automotive industry, Lido was, IMO, the Dean of the modern automobile industry.





The Third goes to Elon Musk, the Dean of the BEV (Battery-Electric-Vehicle) industry. Musk is not, IMO, a very good businessman, is quite eccentric in his daily life and personal habits (but then, to an extent, Henry Ford was also eccentric), and runs his company in a very money-losing way while persisting in inefficient business practices, despite calls from even this open subordinates to change some things. But, while he presides over an inefficient, money-losing system, he also makes what are arguably the best all-electric vehicles in the world despite their sometimes-lacking quality control. And the image of him and his company keeps the $$$$$$ flowing in from a large gravy-train of investors who believe, rightly or wrongly, that electric vehicles are going to change all of civilization and be the complete wave of the future. So, the image that he created (and maintains) keeps the money flowing in, despite the fact that the company, as a whole, spends more than they take in from sales. The investors, in effect, keep him afloat....it has, so far, been a very effective system.

Byprodrive

iTrader: (1)

John Delorean deserves a mention for his acomplishments at GM including making Pontiac the top selling division for GM in 1966.

mmarshall

DeLorean had one great project (the Pontiac GTO), which he snuck through in 1963-64, against the orders of his top-level bosses. It was essentially a Tempest with a big V8, a beefed-up clutch/transmission, and some suspension modifications. It sold so well (and made so much money for GM) that Delorean was not fired....his bosses forgave his disobedience. After he went from Pontiac to Chevy, he warned GM management about the unacceptable engineering and design of the Chevy Vega, but THAT was pushed through over HIS objections. The rest, of course, is history. When he left GM, he left voluntarily to start his own company....which, of course, was a disaster.

SW17LS

I think its really hard to compare CEOs because we're talking about different eras. Its hard to compare Henry Ford to Lee Iacocca. Its kind of like asking "who was the best US President"? Extremely hard to say because the scope and challenges of the job are so different as eras come and go.

mmarshall

True, the era and its demands can make a difference...and the others, of course, were actually building on what Henry Ford had produced for the industry to start with. But, nevertheless, certain Execs still stand out in the way they were/are able to market their products and smooth-talk people into buying them....and investors to keep supporting the company. I think many would agree that today's poster-child for that is Elon Musk........eccentricities and all.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

not only that, they didn't have tv commercials in henry ford's era. lee iococca became very famous because he was a good 'pitch man' on tv ads.

many of the best CEOs ever are people the general public has never heard of... they quietly go about making and keeping their companies great.

mmarshall

Even with all he accomplished, though, Henry Ford's legacy, though, is tainted by one thing. He became one of Adolf Hitler's poster-boys, at least partly because of his Anti-Semitic views, which were nowhere near as extreme as that of the *****, but included some publications and statements that Ford later had to apologize for. Hitler admired what Ford had done by making the Model T available to the masses, and, desiring a similar project in Germany, tagged Dr. Ferdinand Porsche, who, of course gave us the immortal air-cooled VW Beetle. The system of superhighways that was built in Germany, of course, served as the inspiration for our Interstate Highway System of today.


Lido was deeply involved in business for most of his life, even as a young man, and knew the system inside and out. He was wrong, of course, about the idea of Amerocan-designed early-1980s Chrysler products being "quality" built (me and my family had owned several of them, and knew better). And IMO he bordered on hypocrisy in some of his rantings against Japanese imports, at a time when Chrysler sold (and made profits from) the importation and/or rebadging of Japanese-designed Mitsubishi products. But, as a buisnessman, and in being able to present a classic sales-pitch, he had few equals.

If you have not read Lido's book "Iacocca", I highly recommend it. It is part of my automotive library. In the book, he is more honest about the industry, Chrysler products, his problems running the company and in securing the early-80s buyout, and, of course, the previous disastrous relationship with Henry Ford II, than he was in public.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

Godwin's law.

yup, read it, a loooong time ago. he was certainly full of himself, but definitely accomplished a lot. as for shilling 80s chryslers as 'quality' he was doing what ceo's sometimes do, using his personal brand to make claims and sell stuff. obviously steve jobs did this and some others, but again, while it can be effective, most ceo's don't feel the need to do that or think it's a good idea. kind of speaks to a very egotistical ceo.

Lend0

Definitely the guy on Twitter calling people pedophiles. IIRC Elon lives off of red wine, cocaine, and Ambien so he's not really responsible for anything he tweets.

mmarshall

I doubt that he uses cocaine. He does smoke marijuana, but that is a substance that is legal (or at least decriminalized) in many places. Cocaine, though....you can still go to prison for that.

SW17LS

Plenty of people use cocaine despite it being illegal lol.

I've never used it but I've heard good things LOL

Byprodrive

iTrader: (1)

I have read Delorean's book "On a clear day you can see General Motors" about all the bureaucracy within GM that was reducing the bottom line.
I worked a big fuel economy test event in 2001 & there was a Cadilac executive there close to me & I was shocked at the things he would call his boss for to get permission to do for the event.

Everyone else there was self sufficent including me.

mmarshall

Yes, of course, in places like Hollywood, actors/actresses, the music/entertainment business, and among celebrities....it's an epidemic. But you don't hear about it very often at high business levels and among Execs. Toyota's Julie Hamp, for example, when she was arrested in Japan, was carrying a substance that was a legitimate pain-killing prescription in the U.S. (it just didn't meet all of the fine-print of Japanese immigration laws). And, yes, John DeLorean got arrested with a suitcase full of real (illegal) cocaine, but that was not for his own use (he was no junkie)....supposedly, he was selling it to get money for the company. He was eventually acquitted, though, and he claimed, up to the day he passed away, that it was a set-up by people who were after him.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

ok, let's stay on track.

Toys4RJill

I know a life long friend who is a drug addict. She is a girlfriend of mine. Has a full-time job. Was a single mom. Has a full-grown child. I have known for almost 30 years that she dabbles on and off from coke. She does all kinds of other stuff too, but cocaine is her fav. She told me she feels great doing it. Like she is on top of the world like nothing affects her. (but the opposite is that crash) I was astonished to find out how many people do it (that I know) from my connection to her, all walks of life. That said, the behavior consequences (after the fact) are extraordinary. Health concerns are legit. We have discussed her usage plenty of times, it comes and goes, goes away for years. comes back here and there. I have only seen it once in my life, was in the same room and it was on a plate, I honestly can't believe how many people were doing it that evening. I could probably obtain it within 30 minutes if I wanted it. Her description is that she has tried to replicate that initial use for her whole life, that very first time was like a right of passage for her.