Lee Iacocca passes away.

[Al Bundy]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">JUST IN: Lee Iacocca, who developed the Ford Mustang and Pinto, has died at the age of 94, according to the Washington Post: <a href="https://t.co/Yfa9gkAkxV">https://t.co/Yfa9gkAkxV</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/abc15?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#abc15</a> <a href="https://t.co/HLvagAvbIO">pic.twitter.com/HLvagAvbIO</a></p>&mdash; ABC15 Arizona (@abc15) <a href="https://twitter.com/abc15/status/1146231816552009728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 3, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Marcellus]

RIP

"Iacocca" is a book anyone interested in cars or business should read.

[OrtonsPiercedTaint]

Was he a friend of corinthian leather

[chinaski]

As a car enthusiast, and an owner of two Mustangs (one current) over the years, Hats Off. RIP Sir.

[srvy]

As a car enthusiast, and an owner of two Mustangs (one current) over the years, Hats Off. RIP Sir.

What about the Pinto :D

[srvy]

RIP

But what about those K cars?

[Frosty]

I had no idea he was still alive. :shrug:

[Flying High D]

‘72 Pinto white with a green vinyl top.’Sharp!!!! As a ping pong ball

[lewdog]

I own a POS Stang.

I thank you sir!

[SAUTO]

What about the Pinto :D

I bought a yellow one with plaid interior and a brown vinyl top from a guy at western auto on Johnson drive in 1995 for 50 bucks. Guy couldn't get it started. I jumped the solenoid and gave him a ride home in it.


We would go to the top of 14th st hill and wind back in there by the castle and jump that fucker.

[ModSocks]

RIP to a legend

[lewdog]

I bought a yellow one with plaid interior and a brown vinyl top from a guy at western auto on Johnson drive in 1995 for 50 bucks. Guy couldn't get it started. I jumped the solenoid and gave him a ride home in it.


We would go to the top of 14th st hill and wind back in there by the castle and jump that fucker.

You NEVER messaged me.

I am worried about you.

It's affecting my sleep.

[neech]

RIP Chrysler dude.

[srvy]

‘72 Pinto white with a green vinyl top.’Sharp!!!! As a ping pong ball

My Sis bought a 1972 powder blue Pinto 4 cyl auto lol as her first new car. My Dad tried to get her to get the three speed but she didn't want to have to shift in rush hour traffic to Hallmark. that thing when the ac was on you literally wondered if you would make the next hill.

[cooper barrett]

I never owned either I did have a yellow k car ragtop with wood sides for a summer Utter POS

A door is not a jar

[Deberg_1990]

Thanks for exploding Pintos!!

[mlyonsd]

‘72 Pinto white with a green vinyl top.’Sharp!!!! As a ping pong ball'72 green pinto with black vinyl interior. The AC was shit and it was hotter than hell in the summer.

[Easy 6]

Ma never had a Pinto, but we did have Gremlins and Pacers

Not sure how I ever lived through it

[BigRedChief]

Wasn’t the Pinto the one that blew up when hit from Behind?

[eDave]

RIP

But what about those K cars?

the K car was a rock solid automobile.

I worked at a car rental company back in the late 80's. Company car of my choosing off the lot. Always the the K car. Until we started renting Lexus and Cadillac.

K car is what got them turned around.

[eDave]

Wasn’t the Pinto the one that blew up when hit from Behind?

https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,g_auto,h_1248,w_2220/f_auto,q_auto,w_1100/v1555929576/shape/mentalfloss/fight_club_norton_5.jpg

[amyacker]

That's sad but he has left a lasting legacy and hopefully it will carry on for many years.

[IowaHawkeyeChief]

the K car was a rock solid automobile.

I worked at a car rental company back in the late 80's. Company car of my choosing off the lot. Always the the K car. Until we started renting Lexus and Cadillac.

K car is what got them turned around.

The K car turned them around along with his brilliant marketing, "Buy a Car, Get a Check" commercials. Lee was the inspiration behind the Mustang, but may have had a much bigger impact as the inspiration for the rebate.

[siberian khatru]

Wasn’t the Pinto the one that blew up when hit from Behind?

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ngtALzDAIcU" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Flying High D]

Summer ‘80 turned 16. Got the ‘72 Pinto White with green vinyl top. Lived in Raytown drove to my jobs at Shoneys and a McDonald’s on Front Street, worlds of fun, royals stadium and Wendy’s on in Raytown. That was the most gutless pos ever. Semis would get a 1/8 inch off my bumper on the interstate.

[Saulbadguy]

Here is to Mr. Iacocca and his failed experiment, the DeLorean.

[stumppy]

Fuck every K car that was ever built with that POS Mikuni carburetor.

[tatorhog]

When I first saw mention of K car here, I was thinking about the cool old 289/271hp solid lifter version of the mustang.

But that was not the case. Too bad, those are some of my favorite old mustangs and I was hoping some gearheads were going to discuss it.

[Flying High D]

Seems like every other car on the road now days is a mustang.

[Frosty]

I never owned a Pinto but my dad had two different Mercury Bobcat wagons which were rebadged Pintos. IIRC at least one of them had a small V6. I don't recall any problems with them but my dad rarely kept a car for more than a year. With us three kids stuffed in the back seat, the main thing I remember is how uncomfortable they were.

I did date a girl that had one of Iaccocca's worst ideas - the mid-70s Mustang II. It was a nice looking car for its time but was one slow POS.

[Pennywise]

He would have been a great president.

[cooper barrett]

Mustang iI with V8's were decent.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ksnrd09v4QE" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Rausch]

He would have been a great president.

Yup. His biography is a very good read...

[ModSocks]

When I first saw mention of K car here, I was thinking about the cool old 289/271hp solid lifter version of the mustang.

But that was not the case. Too bad, those are some of my favorite old mustangs and I was hoping some gearheads were going to discuss it.

You're referring to the "K-Code" Mustangs. The "K" signified that it was equipped with a Hi-Po 289 V8. K-Codes are highly sought after these days.

[ModSocks]

Wasn’t the Pinto the one that blew up when hit from Behind?

To be fair, all of the small bodied Ford's from the 60's-70's are pretty dangerous if hit from behind. There's nothing back there but a steel gas tank and some sheetmetal.

[ModSocks]

I did date a girl that had one of Iaccocca's worst ideas - the mid-70s Mustang II. It was a nice looking car for its time but was one slow POS.

Actually, that ended up being one of the most important Mustangs ever made.

The front suspension design was lifted from that car and dubbed "The MII" (or Mustang II) front suspension.

The design, with the coils and shocks mounted between the control arms, with a crossmember and front mounted rack, is probably the most widely reproduced and mimicked aftermarket front suspension set up in existence.

It's sold and installed on 64-70 Mustangs, Fords, Chevy's...you name it. To this day it's still one of the best kits out there $$$ for part.

Swapping the Coyote 5.0 into a classic Ford requires the use of a MII type front suspension, as the engine is too wide to fit between the shocktowers. You have to cut the shock towers out, which means you can't use any suspension designed to mount to the shocktower. The MII suspension places everything on the crossmember.

LS Swaps too. Most guys doing LS swaps into classic Chevy's are also doing MII front suspensions.

So yeah, that car was slow, but it may be the most important Mustang ever built aside from the original car. Its suspension design is iconic, and is the most widely used aftermarket design for classics today.

[tatorhog]

You're referring to the "K-Code" Mustangs. The "K" signified that it was equipped with a Hi-Po 289 V8. K-Codes are highly sought after these days.

Yep, that's why I refered to it as a 289/271hp, with solid lifters. Awesome cars, and sadly out of my budget.

Growing up, I helped dad rebuild a bunch of old 65's. He had some A code GTs and finally found a rare production K, however the owner buried the engine block thinking the solid lifters were a sign of it knocking. But he did find a non-Shelby hipo 289 block and was building it up when he had back issues and someone came along with a checkbook and a trailer.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Damn. Jon Bernthal really does die in everything.

[srvy]

A quick google search say that the Ford Pinto was on par with other manufactures with rear collisions with rear tanks.

Reports range from 27 to 180 deaths as a result of rear-impact-related fuel tank fires in the Pinto, but given the volume of more than 2.2 million vehicles sold, the death rate was not substantially different from that of vehicles by Ford's competitors.

https://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/a6700/top-automotive-engineering-failures-ford-pinto-fuel-tanks/

Those single cap pick em up trucks with the fuel tanks right behind the cab were rear collision bombs. They would drive the bed right up into the fuel tank rupturing and fuel would ignite usually from the hot exhaust right into the cab.

[MahiMike]

I've owned 3 different Mustangs.

[BigRedChief]

I've owned 3 different Mustangs.I loved my 6 cyclinder cheap ass mustang.

[cooper barrett]

I have those wheels on my daily driver POPO car