Iacocca to Chrysler: Repay loans quickly

Lee Iacocca, Chrysler’s CEO the last time it needed financial help from Washington, says the new Chrysler Group needs to repay billions of dollars in federal loans as fast as it can.

Iacocca, now 84 and living in California, was not happy to see Chrysler under government control again, but admitted the alternative was probably liquidation. He said the government’s intervention and new influence should be a powerful motivator to get the loans repaid.

“They’re on you day and night. Their oversight is just too extreme,” Iacocca told the Associated Press. “That’s why our 10-year loan, we paid it back in three years. We couldn’t stand the government. The bureaucracy kills you.”

Iacocca went on to say he has faith in Sergio Marchionne, the new CEO of Chrysler Group and Fiat SpA, and he’s glad to see Ford, another of his previous employers, getting by without government aid. He added that he would invest in Chrysler if the stock was available and would invest in Ford, but he has reservations about General Motors. Iacocca says GM has more serious problems than Chrysler did.