I feel like we’ve had a lot of papal content here on the site lately, but I’m not sure there’s a way around that? A new pope was just chosen, and that’s big news, and popes have special cars and even right before that we were talking about building cars in the Vatican – it’s just been shockingly pope-heavy around here lately. And as much as I’d like to escape this ecclesiastical hole, it keeps pulling me back in, automotively. You know why? Because this new pope looks a lot like Lee Iacocca, godfather of the Ford Mustang (and, I guess, the Pinto, too), and the man who saved Chrysler from the brink with the K-Cars and rebirth of the minivan.
I can’t help it. He just looks like Lee Iacocca.
Are you skeptical? I understand if you are; lots of people don’t want to believe that the current Vicar of Christ bears a strong resemblance to the man who once challenged people to buy a better car, if they could find one:
I mean, around 1982, I suspect a lot of Honda Accord buyers did just what Iacocca there suggested.
Anyway, back to Pope Leo XIV and Lee Iacocca; just look for yourself:
I mean, they have pretty different senses of personal style, sure; I think Leo there must be a lot more confident in his appearance, and willing to take much bolder choices, clothing-wise. He’s not afraid of color or pattern, that’s for sure, while Lee was almost always seen in a gray flannel suit.
Just for fun, let’s do a face-swap, and see how different they feel:
Hm. Okay, maybe it doesn’t hold up quite as well, but, look, when it comes to popes and CEOs of major automotive companies, I think this may be the point of greatest similarity in all of recorded history.
Seriously, just look at how things have usually been; take the last Pope Leo, Leo XIII, from the turn of the 20th century, and William Crapo Durant, who took over Buick in 1904 and then started GM:
These guys don’t look anything alike, right? This is how it’s always been – popes and carmaker CEOs are as different as pickles and Pericles. But now, finally, we may actually have a pope that strongly resembles a former CEO of a major American carmaker.
I just think that’s worth noting, is all. Feels important.
Pope Leo Iacocca? Thanks, but I still pray to St.Gianni Agnelli The Questionable.
Finally! My suggestion that Stellantis revive Lee Iacocca is coming true!
They just need to transfer ownership of the company to Vatican City and then the Iapope-a can start making the necessary changes.
He actually does, to the point that if he was an actor, he could absolutely play him in an Iaccoca biopic
Which, why hasn’t there been an Iaccoca biopic? Like, not even an HBO or ABC one in the ’80s or ’90s? They made tons of made for TV movies like that back then
There are a ton of juicy details in his book, too…he takes a lot of shots at Hank the Deuce (Henry Ford II).
It was the #1 selling nonfiction book for the full years 1984 and 1985, actually kind of amazing nobody bought the rights at the time, Bill Carter’s book about the whole Leno/Carson/Letterman mess didn’t sell quite that well, and it got a movie
Also, while we’re at it, Henry J. Kaiser could fill a miniseries
Jon Bernthal’s 60s Iacocca in Ford v Ferrari was awesome and probably the closest we get for now…
Pope Prevost will bless your RV!
He’ll always be Pope Tourbus to me.
Pope Dodge of St. Regis. 😉
Pictured above.
So what are you saying ? That the next pope-mobile will run a 440 six pack with a shaker hood and pistol grip ? Yaaaa…OK I’m on board.
Wrong era, Iacocca was at Ford in the muscle-car days. How about a 2.5 Turbo II in an unassuming 4-door Omni? Remember, torque steer’s part of the fun!
No Omnis got a 2.5L from the factory. The 2.5L Common Block came out right around when the Omni was discontinued.
Omni GLH Turbo had a 2.2L Turbo I. The only Omni to get a Turbo II from the factory was the Shelby GLHS (with Shelby as the actual manufacturer) which had a 2.2L Turbo II.
Having owned two GLH Turbos, I can confirm that torque steer is a thing.
I enjoyed it in my Audi 5000T as well. Not the best in slush, it’d try to corkscrew you into the curb at the end of the turn. VW Beetle and snow tires could run circles around it, any day
Lido was more about the K Car New Yorker – he was a big car with lots of chrome guy for most of his career.
The 1989 TC by Maserati and 1990 Imperial were the ultimate evolution of his personal taste and predilections. And probably not a completely terrible garage in around 1990-91, assuming you got them both on some sort of steep employee discount program
Even better: Pope Leo XIV wrenched while in Peru:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/05/09/peru-pope-leo-chiclayo-vatican-prevost/1d80ad2e-2d0d-11f0-a724-3bc879c9f843_story.html
“He washed his own dishes, he said, and liked to fix cars, searching YouTube for solutions when he was stumped.”
Extremely badass.
Oh, yeah, it’s important for clergy to know their way around cars, as per the nuns in The Sound of Music: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV3TzpzFC5yIH0vs6sdwN-x74ky4GDowMRGiLXMUsfxGJ_BVFwiba_klcAcaxibshNH3dRrJM6xxdFtuuywxt7ym1WgFfufBGNdGAJ9u70JLGNaYaiGUA_swo_KImfYdTXOlfQWPhWd7ne/s280/Screen+Shot+2015-03-01+at+8.51.29+PM.png
One of us! One of us!
Hey, what’s it gonna take for me to get you into this religion today? How about $129 per month forever.
10% APR!
If it was ROI, NET, then maybe
Let’s not forget his last vehicular contributions, the EV Global Motors E-Bike and Mini-E-Bike:
https://www.theautopian.com/lee-iacocca-saved-chrysler-then-he-became-an-e-bike-pioneer/
Pope Leo name is Robert. So is mine. I was born August 12th, which makes me a Leo…. Coincidence???
Will you bless me ?
Leo Ima Popa.
COTD
Woah! They really do look a lot alike.
If you can find a better religion, be faithful to it.
*reads about history of the Catholic Church*
Er, maybe don’t look too hard. Better to be faithful to what you know.
I was going to go with “if you can find a better religion, tithe it”, but you kinda beat me to it.
We have gone full circle Jesus Chrysler Supercar.
May the lock-up torque converter be Damned For All Time ????
The Iacocca family still controls Yocco’s Hot Dogs in the Allentown area (founded by Lee’s uncle).
Ever since I moved away from the area I have an constant yearning for a couple of Yocco’s hot dogs (replete with chili sauce, mustard and onions, of course) and a side of pierogis. I honestly think Yocco’s pierogis are the best available in all of restaurant-dom.
That actually sounds like a good Torchinsky story pitch – has there ever been another auto CEO/fast food connection, and if so, which produced the better car, and which produced the better food?
VW does make a crapton of currywurst and curry ketchup…
Yeah, and its pretty awesome, I plan a stop at the closest one any time I have to be even vaguely in the general Allentown vicinity
I was trying to figure out where I saw him before