john reilly obit

[Shaun Mullen]

People whose memories go back a ways will recall what a maverick John 
Reilly was.   Here's his obit from today's NYTimes.

-- Shaun Mullen

John E. Reilly, Dies at 77; Lobbied for U.S. Sales of Imported Cars
By JENNIFER BAYOT
 
John E. Reilly, an auto executive who lobbied for open markets for 
imported cars at a time when domestic makers were at their most 
defensive, died Nov. 12 at his home in Dana Point, Calif. He was 77.

The cause was complications of lung cancer, said his son Robert. Mr. 
Reilly, who was known as Jack, was the logical spokesman for import 
manufacturers. From 1969 to 1971, he led the introduction of Porsche and 
Audi cars in the United States for Volkswagen, which was distributing 
both brands, and he started American Isuzu Motors in 1980 with five 
employees. In between, he was a partner in two Toyota distributorships - 
one responsible for New England and the other for the mid-Atlantic region.

As chairman of the Association of International Automobile 
Manufacturers, Mr. Reilly successfully lobbied against measures to limit 
car imports in the 1980's and early 1990's, when foreign companies were 
beginning to make and sell enough cars to worry Detroit. He testified 
before Congress, spoke to the media and put a courteous American face on 
overseas automakers.

"He made the case for open and free investment during a time when there 
was considerable political pressure to go the other way," said William 
C. Duncan, general director of the Washington office of the Japan 
Automobile Manufacturers Association. "He was basically keeping 
competition going."

At Isuzu, he made sport utility vehicles widely available in the United 
States in the form of the Isuzu Trooper, a spacious five-door truck 
first sold in 1984. While other Japanese manufacturers were selling 
S.U.V.'s in Japan, American Isuzu Motors was the first to promote them 
heavily in the United States.

John Eugene Reilly was born Nov. 14, 1926, in Spangler, Pa., the son of 
touring vaudeville performers. After serving on a submarine in World War 
II, he received a business degree from Boston College in 1951 and began 
selling auto parts.

Mr. Reilly became a district sales manager for Buick in 1957 and joined 
Volkswagen as national sales manager in 1964. In 1969 he became 
president of Porsche-Audi of America. Later while working as a 
consultant, he prepared a report that persuaded Isuzu to enter the 
American market. Isuzu hired him as general manager and later made him 
chairman of its American operations.

Mr. Reilly is survived by his wife of 54 years, Eleanor; two sons, 
Robert, of Whittier, Calif., and James, of Newbury Park, Calif.; two 
daughters, Susan Weaver, of Jupiter Beach, Fla., and Jennifer Biggs, of 
San Clemente, Calif.; two sisters, Patricia Schuler and Roberta Jordan, 
both of Charlottesville, Va.; 11 grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter.