Lee Iacocca to Join Recreation USA Board of Directors
1 June 2000
Lee Iacocca to Join Recreation USA Board of Directors
RV Dealer Will Sell Automotive Visionary's E-Bikes
Through its Retail Chain
ORLANDO, Fla., June 1 Automotive legend Lee Iacocca has
joined the Board of Directors and will act as an advisor to Holiday RV
Superstores, Inc./Recreation USA .
In addition, the Orlando, Fla. chain of recreational vehicle and boat
dealerships will market and sell electric bikes, or E-Bikes, through its
coast-to-coast dealership network. E-Bike and its parent company, EV Global
Motors, are the latest brainchild of Lee Iacocca, the former automotive
executive who captured the national spotlight in the 1980s for his turnaround
of Chrysler Corp. Iacocca will fill a new seat on the Recreation USA board,
which has expanded from six to seven seats.
"We are thrilled to welcome Lee Iacocca as a board member and adviser to
Recreation USA," said Michael Riley, chairman of Recreation USA. "Boomers are
going through another watershed as they begin to reach retirement age -- which
also signals the beginning of their prime RV-buying years.
"Mr. Iacocca possesses an almost prescient understanding of the Boomer
generation. Add that to his incredible marketing savvy and it's easy to see
why we are so pleased that he has agreed to serve on our board of directors."
Iacocca, 75, is the past president of Ford Motor Co. and the past chairman
of Chrysler Corp. He has made a career of identifying and then marketing
vehicles to Boomers, starting in the 1960s with his introduction of the Ford
Mustang, a sporty and affordable alternative to what was then being marketed
by the auto industry.
He took the helm of Chrysler Corp. in 1979 with a mission to revive the
struggling automaker. He introduced the Chrysler minivan in 1984, again
wowing Boomers who had children of their own and needed more than two seats.
Iacocca took another calculated risk in 1987 when he bought the struggling
American Motors -- gaining the premier name plate in the soon-to-explode sport
utility vehicle market: Jeep.
"Recreation USA is poised to capitalize on the next 'must-have' purchase
for the Boomer generation -- the recreational vehicle," Iacocca said. "Their
strategy of consolidating this fragmented industry to establish a national
brand that emphasizes service, combined with their emphasis on e-commerce puts
them head and shoulders above their competition. I look forward to working
with the Recreation USA team to further develop their business model."
Iacocca recently launched EV Global Motors, which targets the E-Bike to
people between 45 and 55. Iacocca sees the E-Bike as the first evolutionary
step to producing a truly functional electric car. The E-Bike, which is
considered to be the most advanced electric bike in the world, can also be
pedaled as a standard bicycle.
"We are pleased to expand our product line by selling the E-Bike through
select stores in our nationwide dealership group," said Ronald G. Huneycutt,
president and CEO of Recreation USA. "Mr. Iacocca's new product should be a
popular complement to our line of motorhomes and other recreational vehicles
as a lightweight vehicle perfect for short-range travel once you've reached
your destination.
"We see the E-Bike as an environmentally safe and convenient means of
transportation that will appeal to many of our RV customers."
The E-Bike (http://www.ebike.com ) is virtually maintenance free, requires no
fuel and is light and easy to transport -- making it the perfect vehicle to
accompany motorhome owners on their vacations. The bike can be easily stowed
away in the RV until needed for short trips.
Recreation USA, the nation's only public traded chain of RV and boat
dealerships, operates 14 dealership locations in California, Florida, New
Mexico, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. Recreation USA
dealerships sell, service and finance more than 60 RV and 10 boat brands. The
Company also markets its offerings through an advanced e-commerce website at
http://www.recusa.com .
The statements contained in this news release include certain predictions
and projections that may be considered forward-looking statements under
security laws. These statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties
that could cause results to differ materially including, but not limited to,
the performance of the recreational vehicle or boat industries, certain
customers or affiliated companies, as well as other economic, competitive,
governmental and technological factors affecting the Company's operations,
markets, products, services and prices.