The death of AMC

[Mustangfan2003]

Wimmers post about one of their worst cars made me remember reading this story about Georges Besse

And by "set to work," I mean one of his first acts was laying off 21,000 people.

At the same time, however, he also poured massive amounts of money into AMC, investing in products like their venerable 4.0-liter six-cylinder engine, a motor that was in production all the way into 2006. That's longevity.

He was a big champion of AMC, and was confident in its inevitable success. He pushed hard for Jeep, seemingly foreseeing the huge demand for SUV boom of the 1990s which was just on the horizon.

Happy days were back for the company. 20 months into Besse's tenure, the company turned a profit for the first time in a long time.

But Besse wasn't loved by all. For sure, there were those 21,000 people he laid off at Renault. And before that, the more than 30,000 he had laid off previously at French aluminum company PUK-Péchiney.

On top of that, it wasn't an easy time being a capitalist in 1980s Europe. As the Soviet Union went through its death throes, it continued to prop up violent capital-C Communist, anarchist, and terrorist groups throughout Europe. Groups like the Red Army Faction and the PFLP thrived, carrying out killings and general mayhem in the name of the worker and the proletariat.6

And because of his actions as an executive, that made Georges Besse a target.

On that brisk November night in 1986, Georges Besse was returning home in his chauffeur-driven car. He opened the door, and stepped out.

He didn't even make it to the sidewalk before he was dead. Two people had ridden up on a motorcycle, and four shots were fired directly into his head and chest.

A French group called Action Directe claimed responsibility, in the name of retribution for the layoffs, and revenge for a killing of one of their own by a Renault security guard sometime earlier.

Renault itself had turned a profit just two months before.

With Besse dead, so were the hopes of an AMC revival. Its champion gone, the company began its quick run to the gallows.

http://jalopnik.com/when-one-frenchmans-assassination-killed-an-entire-ame-1554337019