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| Lee Iacocca - Chester |
Though Lee Iacocca was born in Allentown, his legacy began in the Ford Motors Chester plant. After earning his Masters Degree from Princeton University he secured a much sought-after engineering trainee job with Ford in 1946.
Engineering trainees did a stint working on the floor at the Rouge, but he wanted to sell cars, not build them. In 1949, he transferred back East as fleet sales manager for Ford's Chester, Pennsylvania zone office. One promotion he brainstormed while in Chester is still known in Ford folklore as the Iacocca Plan. In 1956, buyers in the Chester territory were offered a new 1956 Ford for $56 a month. It was thunderously successful. Iacocca was yanked back to Dearborn, Michigan and became head of the Ford Division in 1961.
While at Ford, Iacocca pioneered the building of the ever-popular Mustang. In 1970 he rose to the presidency of Ford and earned a reputation for being one of the greatest salesmen in U.S. history.
Iaccoca went from Ford to Chrysler in 1978 and turned Chrysler around from losses to posting huge profits in 1984.
In 1999, Iacocca ventured into E-bikes, and is still working at the age of 90.
