Former Chrysler head Iacocca says he wants to return but can't

The Associated Press

DETROIT -- Former Chrysler Corp. chairman Lee Iacocca wants to return to the company he once helped lead, but said DaimlerChrysler AG chairman Juergen Schrempp has shut him out.

Schrempp and Iacocca have talked over the past few years about Iacocca's possible return to the automaker, The Detroit News reported Sunday.

Iacocca said Schrempp, the mastermind behind Daimler-Benz's 1998 acquisition of Chrysler, led him on for months about a possible role in reviving Chrysler. The company has struggled with sinking sales and profits since it was acquired by the German carmaker.

"I'd give my right arm to do it, to be honest," Iacocca said in the interview at his Los Angeles home. "Chrysler was my life. I really feel bad it is where it is today. People say well, it's just another German company. No. This was a great American company."

Schrempp was unavailable for comment, said DaimlerChrysler spokesman Hartmut Schick. While Schick confirmed that Schrempp had several discussions with Iacocca about Chrysler, he declined to provide details of the conversations.

Asked if Schrempp ever offered Iacocca an active role at Chrysler, Schick said only that Schrempp "is comfortable with the relationship as it is."

Iacocca retired in 1992 after helming of the smallest of the Big Three U.S. automakers. Iacocca was hailed for negotiating the 1980 federal loan guarantee that saved Chrysler from bankruptcy.

He also championed the minivan, built Chrysler's state-of-the-art technical center in Auburn Hills and was the public face of the company in advertisements.