Automotive product legend Hal Sperlich passed away Monday at 95, but his memory lives on in the millions of pony cars and minivans that ply our highways.

Sperlich was known as the father of two American icons, the Ford Mustang and Chrysler minivan. Colleagues remember him as one of the most significant product developers of his generation.

“He was always working on the next breakthrough,” said Chris Theodore, a noted automotive engineer who himself is known as the father of the 2005 Ford GT. “Hal and Bob Lutz (former vice chairman of Chrysler and General Motors) had the broadest perspective on automotive development of anyone I knew.”

Sperlich and Lutz briefly overlapped at Chrysler in the late 1980s, and Lutz remembered him fondly.

“Hal was a gifted, intuitive product planner who didn't need reams of historical data to come up with ideas for all-new, breakthrough products,” Lutz said Tuesday. “In a way the Dodge Viper was part of his vision, as he saw the need for a large, powerful sports car. During his tenure as president of Chrysler, it was called ‘Big Shot.'”

A mechanical engineer out of the University of Michigan, Sperlich enjoyed an automotive career that spanned four decades. In addition to the revolutionary Mustang coupe in 1965, Sperlich is credited with the popular 1967 Fiesta compact that became a cornerstone of Ford’s model line around the world. After joining Chrysler in 1977, Sperlich spearhead the K-car that put the company back on its feet, then innovated the hugely successful minivan, first sold in 1984 as the Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager.

“We lost a product visionary in Hal Sperlich. He was also a friend and mentor to me, and many others,” said Ford CEO Jim Farley in a statement Tuesday. “There are a lot of people who make great cars but so few who invent segments like Hal did with the Mustang and later the Fiesta. Fiesta was Ford’s first, front-wheel-drive subcompact car globally and a huge success that allowed Ford to compete in the hottest segment in Europe.”

Sperlich was relentless in his pursuit of new product, and that often put him at odds with the finance department. Chairman and CEO Henry Ford II fired him in 1977 after Sperlich wouldn’t let go of the minivan idea. He moved across town to Chrysler and developed the vehicle there.

“Hal always joked that Henry the Deuce was responsible for saving Chrysler,” said Don Runkle, 79, former General Motors vice president for engineering and ex-vice chairman of Delphi. “Finance always had a strong hand in these companies, and we product guys were often sideways with the finance folks.”

Runkle and Sperlich were fierce competitors at GM and Chrysler, respectively, with Sperlich rising to president before leaving the latter automaker in 1988. After that, they became pals and Sperlich the godfather to Runkle’s son.

“He was the smartest guy I knew. He’s the only product guy I know who created three market segments: the muscle car, minivan, and the upscale compact car (K-car),” Runkle said. “At GM we were always chasing Hal Sperlich.”

A Michigan native, Sperlich did a stint in the U.S. Navy after college before joining Ford in 1957 as a product planner. He quickly established his talent for identifying future trends.

In the early 1960s, Sperlich believed that downsizing was the future of auto design after the 1950’s big fin era. He pushed to develop a small, sporty car with appeal to youth market but more affordable than the athletic sports cars made by European brands.

John F. Kennedy’s election as president in 1960 brought "an incredible sense of youthful energy to America,” he told Motor Trend in a 2013 interview. “You could feel it in the air. Everything was changed — anything was possible.”

His recipe? The affordable Mustang coupe with seating for four. With stylish looks, multiple customization options, and low sticker price, it debuted in mid-1964 and flew off the shelves with 400,000 units sold in its first year.

“I was a young engineer when I came to Ford in 1971. I had a lot of admiration for him,” recalled Theodore. They would both eventually migrate to Chrysler, where Theodore worked on Sperlich’s minivan project. Ultimately, Theodore would become chief engineer for the second generation Chrysler vans.

As government fuel economy rules forced Detroit automakers to abandon big engines in the early 1970s, Sperlich innovated a fleet of small, efficient, front-wheel drive cars.

“He was always looking for the next big breakthrough,” said Theodore. “Once he got an idea, he would keep pushing. He came up with the Dakota midsize pickup that wasn’t as successful, but he kept pushing.”

Jumping to Chrysler as chief product planner in 1977, Sperlich was given more freedom to innovate at the struggling company and worked with engineers to develop the front-wheel-drive K-car platform that would ultimately underpin 50 different models, including the Dodge Aries, Plymouth Reliant, and Chrysler LeBaron. The FWD platform would also inspire the Chrysler minivans.

Sperlich left Chrysler in 1988 and in 1994 bought supplier Delco Remy America with a group of partners. He was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2009.

“Hal was a dare-to-be-different product planner who had vision, passion and knowledge of a customers’ wants and needs,” said Farley. “He didn’t play it safe, and he was always focused on the whitespace and improving the company’s capability.”

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