1.TheFamily
Iacocca'sfather,Nicola,arrivedinAmericain1902attheageoftwelve——poor,aloneandscared.HereturnedtoItalytomarryAntoinetteandreturnedtoAmericaasanewAmericancitizen.NicolasawAmericaasthelandoffreedom——thefreedomtobecomeanythingyouwantedtobe,ifyouwanteditbadenoughandwerewillingtoworkforit.
2LeeIacoccawasborn15thOctober1924.Bythattime,hisfatherhadopenedahot-dogrestaurantinAllentown.HedrilledtwoprinciplesintoLee；nevergetintoacapital-intensivebusinessbecausethebankerswillendupowningyou.Andwhentimesgettough,getintoafoodbusinessbecausepeoplewillalwaysneedtoeat.（Leecameveryclosetoactuallystartingafoodfranchisein1952，longbeforeMcDonaldswasagleaminRayKroc'seye.Hedecidedagainstitintheend）。
Hisfatherwaspassionatelyinvolvedinmotorvehicles,andinvestedinaveryearlycarrentalbusinesscalledU-Drive-It.Thissoonbuiltuptoafleetof30cars.BythetimeLeewas15yearsold,hehaddecidedthathisfuturelayintheautomobilebusinessandallhisenergiesweredirectedtowardsthatgoal.
Leecreditshisfatherwithhisinstinctformarketing.Heownedacoupleofmovietheatreswhichwerewidelyknownforspecialoffers.Peoplestilltalkaboutthedayheannouncedthatthetenkidswiththedirtiestfaceswouldbeadmittedfree.
Inthe1920's,theIacoccafamilydidverywell.ThencametheDepression.TheIacocca'ssurvived,butthatwasaboutall.Hisfathergotquiteashockwhenhesawallthemoneyhehadmadelostalmostovernight.Hedid,however,havealotofironsinthe＆nbsp；firewhichenabledhimtoweathertheworstoftheDepression.Hehadalwayskepttoaverystrictpolicyofpayingforthingsashewentalong,refusingtoallowanyofthefamilytochargeanythingorevenpossessacreditcard.Heinsistedonhischildrenpayingbackanymoneytheyborrowedfromanyoneelse.
Someofhisfathersfavoritesayingsincluded：
■"You'vegottoacceptalittlesorrowinlife.You'llneverreallyknowwhathappinessisunlessyouhavesomethingtocompareitto."
■"Whywalkwhenyoucanrun？"
■"Ifhe'sbiggerthanyouare,don'tfightback.Useyourheadinsteadofyourfists."
LeeIacocca'sfatherdiedofleukemiain1973.