Behind the Wheel at Chrysler: The Iacocca Legacy
by Doron P. Levin

List Price: $26.95
Our Price: $5.78
You Save: $21.17 (79%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions

Book Summary Information

• ISBN13: 9780156004749
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

Book Reviews of Behind the Wheel at Chrysler: The Iacocca Legacy

Book Review: Not the Book It Could Have Been...
Summary: 2 Stars

However, there is a sense of the author's bias lurking throughout the pages. He manages to imply that somehow, once Toyota introduced the Corona in 1966, there wasn't a marketing misstep to be made by the Japanese, particularly Toyota. Do the nameplates "Crown", "Cressida" and "Echo" ring a bell? I won't even mention some of the other sad cars that other manufacturers have coughed up in the ensuing years, and still do occasionally, from both sides of the Pacific.

Every now and again factual errors will appear, but they're so glaring that somebody with even a moderate interest in the car industry will pick up on. For instance, Honda earned customer loyalty because they "never dropped a nameplate." Really? Where did one go in 1987 to purchase a new Honda 600 GT or Sports 800?

More troubling was a hint of elitism that came up a couple of times. Was there (is there) really anything wrong with selling new cars to the blue-collar crowd? I know that some people are consumed by image, but most of us don't care what anybody else is driving, as long as they know HOW to drive it. People without a stratospheric income should be able to make a fully warranted purchase and get "that new car smell", too.

Finally, too little of the book is spent explaining exactly what was wrong, quality-wise, with Chrysler vehicles. Aside from the Aspen / Volaré twins, there was precious little time given to specific examples of lax quality control or design deficiencies. Even the A/V cars were a major problem only in their first year. More detail would have been revealing as to why buyers were steering clear of Chrysler's showrooms in the late 70's, when the whole mess started.

I've always had an avid interest in the auto industry, and have been waiting for somebody to write a book on the true Lee Iacocca to show the savior / charlatan that he really was. Unfortunately, somebody else is going to have to write it. This one falls short.

In case anybody's wondering, I have owned several cars from both American and Japanese manufacturers, including an 80's era Chrylser product. I have enjoyed the majority of them, and the only lemon I ever picked was from a European make.

Summary of Behind the Wheel at Chrysler: The Iacocca Legacy

Business Books

• Books > Subjects > Biographies & Memoirs > Professionals & Academics
• Business & Investing > Biography & History > Company Profiles
• Professional & Technical > Automotive > History