1982 Lee Iacocca Chrysler LeBaron Commercial

[hbdywtk]

Ugly, shitty car but great pitch by Iacocca.

[misatchi]

I'm so glad we have modern cars these days that actually go at a decent speed just by putting your foot on the gas. My grandma loaned me her old 80's Lebaron for a week and it was frustrating how hard you have to push your foot on the gas just to make this thing go 40mph! I suppose it was a good car for Chrysler standards but, I have driven older cars that had smoother driving abilities than this. : /

[PunksloveTrumpys]

"And one more thing, if you can find a better car, buy it."

Best line in a car commercial. Ever.

[rich1223]

LeBaron my ass!Those are dressed up K cars who does he think he's fooling!

[beatlespersun]

So let me get this straight. a 1982 Chrysler Lebaron can get 40 MPG...but my dads 2010 Ford Fusion, which is probably the same size can only get 32 MPG. WTF? We're going backwards

[Lumotaku]

@beatlespersun

The way they calculated the mileage back then was different and not as realistic.

[MaestroTJS]

@beatlespersun What Lumotaku said, plus the fact that cars are heavier and more powerful now.

The Fusion is also probably larger.

fueleconomy.gov has stats you can look up, even for old cars (adjusted ratings to compare with new models). With a manual, an old LeBaron got pretty good mileage, but the automatics dropped the numbers a fair bit.

[fubecabr]

@beatlespersun

Fusion is MUCH heavier with an engine that makes double or more than triple what the Lebaron got. The AWD Fusion weighs 3900lb. The 1982 Lebaron weighed 2500lb. The Lebaron didn't maintain that mileage for very long once it got out of tune and the vacuum-operated emissions controls failed. Also, EPA mpg testing have changed since then too.

[906757580]

Sensible and practical cars for their day.

[MaestroTJS]

I am by no means a Chrysler fanatic, but only an ignoramus would deny Iacocca's accomplishments.

Just imagine what the world would look like if more leaders (in all endeavors) had this guy's acumen.

[Lumotaku]

@MaestroTJS When he quit chrysler it controlled 17 percent of the market then the idiot he handed over control to sold it to mercedes which drove it right into the ground.

[don75022]

Wish I owned that 82 Lebaron convertible today.... Sweet

[tomperanteau]

What a marketing genus.

[xoneoleo]

who ever said hes a snake oil salesman must have an IQ of like 25 lol

[MrJohn9273]

As I was saying, he was NOT a snake oil salesman. Lee SAVED the jobs of thousands and paid the government back years early with interest. You should learn your history.

[MrJohn9273]

He was Noy

[AlexanderRozhenko]

What a snake oil salesman.

[stand6666]

ma daddy bought me one of these =D

11 months till i get my licience w000t!!!!!!!!!!!!111

[Glenn1967ful]

We had Michael Edwardes in Britain at the same time to save our industry. He certainly was no Lee Iacocca as he lacked charm, personality and only saw his job as a government appointment. Indeed British Leylands products seemed to get worse, not better.

[tman06798]

There is no way those cars got 40 mpg.

[jakesaintsrow123]

Yes These did get 40 MPG HWY..Belive It OR NOT

[ThomasBT100]

the covertible was a sharp little car...wish I could buy one today.

[MattTheSaiyan]

Those cars look better than most of what Chrysler makes today.

[JETZcorp]

Chrysler is an interesting company in that they seem to get dispatched into the utter bowels of Hades by horrendously bad management, and then one genius comes along and brings them back to life. It happened in the '80s and they were brought back by Iaccoca, and now it looks like it's happening again with Marchionne.  For the 2011 model-year, Chrysler have 16 new or highly-modified cars in the line-up, which by my count is a new record for anyone.

Mopar will rise again!

Viva la Pentastar!

[laidback72]

my grandmother bought one of these cars. the engine sounded like it had marbles in it....... k car, lebaron, dodge 600, new yorker, all the same dam car! i got love for the big three, but them cars were bullshit... now i got a 08 charger, i'll b damd if my engine cranks up tickin and sounded like them same dam marbles! chrysler got me again!  lol

[jvlivs2]

"If you can find a better car, BUY IT!" This cat had balls and STILL got 'em!

[delagarza75]

If you find a better CEO...hire him (to GM)...

[delagarza75]

The best CEO at the auto industry...EVER!!! GM needs someone like him...but guys like him are unique!!!

[thoughtfinder]

The 4 cylinders in those cars were weak and had no strength or power.

[dobadriver]

@thoughtfinder

And what 4cyl back then had strength and power? They were damn good for the time and with the turbo they moved just as good as todaus cars. The 2.2 turbos blew the doors off 5.0L mustangs.

[Hot80s]

0:21 Costanza; It used to be Jon Voight's car.

[polarisathena]

Our convertable leaked on rainy day but we loved it still. Long live Lee and the Lebaron Convertables.

[quirpco]

We love ya, Lee!

[somewhatlongdong]

His book about leadership, released in the mid-2000's, was a very important reminder of how important leadership really is, at all levels. Look at what Alan Mullaly has done for Ford. Frankly, it's a shame that Barack Obama hasn't done more to really fundamentally change the country. He got the votes, he just needs to be a better leader.

[Ian74263]

Lee Iacocca was awesome!

[JesdaG]

Great leader, and its a shame Bob Eaton took his place.

[dougdodge]

Aaaaah, the good ol' days K-Carmania! I honestly almost miss the dark ages of Detroit!

[dallaspolo]

I bought a LaBaron convertable Turbo the same color as this video. Was a great car

[Frosty021978]

I just read: "Lacocca - An Autobiography"...It's just amazing to see what he did for Chrysler after he left Ford.

More, more...

Great man!

[buffyporson1]

The car that saved Chrysler. Shame they can't put together something similar today. I had 2 convertibles - nice looking cars.

[alexsuchapimp]

Challenge accepted!

[83ls]

Those are some ugly ass cars. I was going through old commercials here on youtube, but I gotta say these cars from 80s chrysler are out there.

[televox212]

@83ls

Almost every car from the 80s was ugly...

[GayUOPXBoy10]

@televox212 I guess you don't like class.... but that's okay... just keep on driving your ugly and crappy Japanese junk !

[bliglum]

@GayUOPXBoy10 Ugly and crappy japanese junk? LOL right.... Idiots like you give Americans a bad name.

[SaVageAce17]

Worst salesman lmao

"if you can find a better car...buy it"

wtf lol

[palebeachbum]

It's no worse than GM's current slogan of "May the best car win". GM's quality is near the bottom, next to Chrysler. Of course their cars aren't going to win! LOL

[SaVageAce17]

No worst car advertisement ever was when General Motors had a very famous fiasco in trying to market the Nova car in Central and South America. No va in Spanish means, It Doesnt Go lmao irony

[1978mtb]

@SaVageAce17 that slogan was copied buy everybody back then after this. Iacocca made chrylser a huge profit maker in the 80's. they sold over 500,000 cars within 2 years and that was enough to pay off the government bail out in 83 (7 years early) records sales from chrylser while ford and gm were losing billions due to inflation .We need people like iacocca today to run the auto industry.They were the right cars fro the right time back then very light and fuel efficient and affordable!

[chet440h]

I had an 85 Daytona turbo that was fast as hell and good on gas too! I wish I still had it! This guy needs to come back and straighten chrysler and this country out!

[xtntxex]

i remember when I was a kid and use to think chysler made vehicled were amazing when it comes to looks back then they werent that great but they were tough but now its the opposite. In my opinion they make the the best looking vehicles overall but the quality isn't the same with a few exeptions.

[Heegoop]

You got it.

[badgerbuddy]

Iacocca!... please come back... you have to replace that fuck from fiat, before he does any damage!!!!

[Heegoop]

Relax Sergio Marchionne is going to get Chrysler back on it's feet. The real mistake was Bob Nardelli. He only ran Chrysler to make money. Now don't get me wrong I think Iacocca is an awesome person and you know Sergio Marchionne will be the next Lee Iacocca.

[Perucho20ie]

Totally Agree!!!!!!

[joh2]

The Italian you are referring to turned helped make Fiat successful again, and it looks like he is going to do the same to Chrysler...

[MrGoldenwaffler]

these are really great cars because they are simple, good looking, sturdy and inexpensive to repair.

[palebeachbum]

You said it. I had a '92 Acclaim and it was an incredible car. Really well built, super cheap to fix and maintain, and very reliable. Had it for about 200k miles.

[johnb300m]

they got those high mileage numbers because they had small yet powerful 4 cyl. engines, were very light cars, under 3,000lbs probably.

Do you guys have any idea how much weight all that high strength steel and airbags adds to a car? Not to mention all the computers and control systems? Cars didn't have that stuff back then. We are trading weight for safety....

[elementwong95]

LOL the town and country.... WOW!

[themx83]

wow those were some ugly cars

[michaelheiland123654]

LOL

[jakesaintsrow123]

actually they were AWESOME these saved chrysler from bankruptcy for a car thats doing that it looks pretty damn nice for a car thats also from 1982 honestley we don't need comments like yours there just really annoying so keep it to yourself if you think these are ugly cause some people like me don't think that

[dalekrueger]

tough little shits though in a demo derby now

[kcarman88]

this is what chrysler needs again.

[newyork1245]

Anyone think Obama's gonna make a video like this for GM and Chrysler?

[michaelheiland123654]

What you think? Obama is the president of the USA for 8 years! He not the chairman of Chrysler and GM .

[StuinthaHouse]

what the fuck does that fake Obama have to do with this?

[randyman420]

How could they make a car in 1982 that gets 40 mpg hwy...and today we cant ???

[Ryoga2K]

Numbers were probably forged

[trav11145]

The system they used to get mileage was different, even so my '89 lebaron gets a consistant 29city & 33hwy mpg by todays standards. As far as cars not getting mileage like that today, I think If they put a small displacement (1.6-1.8L) DOHC direct injection flex fuel engine, with a intercooled VNT turbo & 6 spd manual trans. in a small lightweight car (under 2400lbs). Mileage would be amazing. But alas that would practical & fun so I guess the future is slow boring Hybrids.

[Emiliorh]

because it was the first electronic multiport fuel inyection

[webmanc]

These Lebarons were carbureted. Both the Chrysler 2.2 and optional Mitsubishi 2.6 were available exclusively with 2 barrel electronic carburetors in '82-83. The 2.2 had a Holley and the 2.6 had a Mikuni. The first MPI injected 2.2 was in '84 but only with the optional turbocharger. Naturally aspirated 2.2 and 2.5 EFI engines had throttle body injection. The Mitsubishi 2.6 was never available in any Lebaron with EFI.

[TheNostalgiaSpot]

We could if we wanted, they are just two lazy. With the notable exception of Ford under Mulally's leadership, all the big three have given a fuck about lately are the quarter numbers.

[spazzman90]

There is also a commercial on here for the 1984 Ford full size truck that says it gets 30 on the hwy. There is no full size truck that gets that unless it is being towed!

[limekoolaid]

mileage standards were different then. EPA has since changed the way mileage has been calculated a couple times.

[grandcarvan1999]

cool