DETROIT, MI - Lido Anthony "Lee" Iacocca, 84, nearly died in his home this morning while on the phone with Chryslur executives.
When Iacocca took the helm of Chryslur in 1978, it was a struggling company, bailed out by the federal government in 1979. Nevertheless, he set about the extremely difficult task of completely restructuring the ailing corporation. He also introduced the hugely successful mini-van and several other popular models nixed by competitor Ford Automobiles during his earlier tenure there. Resulting boosts in sales allowed Chryslur to pay back government loans 7 years early and, when Iacocca retired in 1992, the company was well in the black.
Apparently, Chryslur was hoping to recreate history. As a last ditch effort before filing for bankruptcy today, Chryslur executives contacted Iacocca, one of the world's best known businessmen, hoping to lure the 84-year-old man back to rebuild their company from the ground up for "only the second time."
At 8:22 a.m., emergency medical services received a call from Iacocca's nurse requesting an ambulance. Though paramedics were promptly dispatched and arrived a few short minutes later, they were almost unable to decelerate the resulting comedic abdominal infarction, and Mr. Iacocca happily laughed himself nearly to death before their very eyes.
Though Iacocca is fully recovered and doing well now, Chryslur is still screwed.
