Automotive News - May 19, 2008 - (Page N16K)

MAY 19, 2008 • N16K NISSAN’S 50 Years in America A product planner from Paris empowered ideas from America, Nissan’s leading profit center P atrick Pelata was from Paris and a stranger to the North American market. But he became the best friend of U.S. dealers. After Renault acquired Nissan in 1999, Pelata became Nissan’s top product planner in Tokyo. “The Japanese product planners in Tokyo have been very powerful,” Pelata observed in 1999, shortly after transferring from Renault to Nissan. “If they said no to an idea from America or Europe, that was it.” But no more. Given a mandate to revive Nissan’s lineup by CEO Carlos Ghosn, Pelata ran with it. The eruption of products — including a bigger Altima sedan, the 350Z sports car, a full-sized pickup, the Murano crossover and the Versa small car — was critical to restoring Nissan’s down-at-the-heels brand identity. But the effort was about styling as well as quantity. Pelata told Nissan’s designers, engineers and corporate sales executives to think boldly. He did not mince words in describing Nissan’s failures of the 1990s. “I think Nissan still does not understand all the changes they need to make,” Pelata bluntly said at the time. “There have been good talents, but bad decisions.” Jerry Hirshberg, head of Nissan’s U.S. design studio at the time, welcomed the criticism. “It will be difficult and dangerous around here to do a bland, me-too product,” Hirshberg said. “There will be hell to pay if you do, and that’s inspirational to a designer.” In the end, Pelata also brought order. Before 2000, Nissan planning was one part inspiration, one part talent and one part bureaucracy. Creating products was messy and unclear, says Jack Collins, the head of U.S. planning who ushered vehicle programs through Tokyo during the 1990s until his retirement in 2006. “It seems amazing,” Collins says, “but we had no concrete process that dictated who would be in the meeting, who would be responsible to make the key decision at what specific time. It had not been clearly articulated before.” Pelata set down new rules. Effective immediately, all meetings would be conducted in English. If a Japanese executive was uncomfortable with his English, his comments would be translated. The minutes were written in English. “That made things explicit and easy to follow,” Collins says. “Before, we often lost things in the translation. Now I knew exactly where we were in the process.” Pelata returned to Renault in 2005 to take over the French company’s global product planning. The results of his six-year stay at Nissan are visible in the brand’s look today, Collins says. “When you look at the Nissan family of products now versus 1999,” Collins says, “there is more dynamic consistency today.” — Lindsay Chappell PATRICK PELATA Earliest Nissan involvement: 1999 Role: Executive vice president for product development in Tokyo Key influence: Opened the valves for new U.S. products during Carlos Ghosn’s revival NISSAN ON TV Nissan beamed products into America’s living rooms with “Baywatch,” above, and “Lassie.”

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Automotive News - May 19, 2008 Ford eyes smaller F-150 cousin Sonic: Mercedes tries to 'extort' store upgrades Chrysler seeks 25% slash in parts prices Dealership managers pushed Chrysler's latest incentive Crain names 4 new VPs Automotive News staffers win Wheel Awards GM will keep cutting sales to fleets GM studies the future of full-sized trucks American Axle plans to expand in Asia At Lexus, the sales laggards are cars VW positions Tiguan as 'GTI' of small SUVs Tata enters race for 100-mpg car Harley Earl was the daddy of auto design Focus will follow Fiesta as a global vehicle Lexus shows how it sweats details Industry slows tide of state CO2 rules Chevy tweaks Cobalt to add fuel economy Be careful; don't do anything dumb Looking ahead to different industry They thought they knew everything Cerberus doesn't belong in autos Dealers as scapegoats Smart, steady growth works best for suppliers Farley's smart to value Ford's heritage Absurd logic in the U.S., cowardice in Germany BMW, Daimler keep a wary eye on U.S. economy James Franey Dealers' approach can lessen pain of staff cuts GM plans to distinguish Opel with image makeover Make or buy? Software can estimate costs for company Honda, Toyota see robots in their futures Bosch aims to lead in hybrids technology King of hearts Clarke aims to get GM back on track in N.A. Fields navigates Ford through 'white water' LaSorda steers Chrysler's global ventures Toyota's Lentz: A crash course in hard times Truck sales fall 13% in April Modine sells Thermacore unit Alcoa to close Mexico plant Toyoda Gosei expands in Mexico Hayes Lemmerz plans to close Georgia factory Japan's sales slide 2% in 1st quarter; output climbs Dealers Hyundai let U.S. direct Sonata freshening After .com and .edu, is it time for .car? Panoramic sunroof of Lincoln MKS boosts Inalfa sales Chrysler hedged gas price bet Smart phones help dealerships retain customers CAW completes pacts with GM, Chrysler early GM, UAW resolve 2 disputes New media buyer for Chrysler Visteon names Stebbins CEO Convertible registrations drop Ferrari: From denial to debut Buildings Porsches in U.S.? Depends whom you ask Toyota will go slow in Tupelo Ghosn is glum on prices, U.S. sales prospects Pischetsrieder has earned a celebratory cigar NHTSA spins VINs, averts meltdown F_RD GU_S WI_ BUI-_KS 50 PEOPLE FOR 50 YEARS Yutaka Katayama Clarence Talley Jim Morton Pete Brock Marvin Runyon Yoshikazu Hanawa Bill Bruce Shin Maki Jack Collins Mitsuya "Scape" Goto Bob Link Soichi Kawazoe Jerry Hirshberg Takashi Ishihara Roy Rogers John Parker Bob Thomas Teruo Uchino Morrie Sage Bob Thomas Nobe Wakatsuki Earl Hesterberg Carlos Ghosn Lee Clow Jerry Benefield Yutaka Kume Doug Betts Tim McCarthy Jed Connelly Atsushi Nakatsuji Dave Hubbard Joe Opre Patrick Pelata Yoshiyuki Kimura Diane Allen Mad Mike Taylor Chuck King Larry Dominique Mark Igo Mitsuhiko Yamashita Shiro Nakamura Tom Mignanelli Dick Roberts William Cushing Emil Hassan Chester Luby Jane Nakagawa Louis Schweitzer MR. K Ray Lemke Richard McCutcheon

Automotive News - May 19, 2008

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