Automotive News - May 19, 2008 - (Page N17)

MAY 19, 2008 • N17 NISSAN’S This burly former rugby player made two defining calls. He railroaded through a U.S. assembly plant against bitter objections at home, then brushed aside U.S. dealer pleas and dropped the Datsun name. 50 Years in America unknown name? “Even the Japanese were disagreeing with the party line,” says Joe Opre, a former Nissan marketing manager. Tetsuo Arakawa, the U.S. president, “made it very clear he didn’t like Ishihara’s plan but that there was nothing he could do about it,” Opre says. “There was a lot of push-back, and Ishihara still did it.” “For the first five years there was confusion in the market,” says Matsumura, “but finally it did work.” — Hans Greimel T akashi Ishihara rammed through two decisions that defined Nissan Motor Co. in the United States. The brusque former rugby player championed Nissan’s first U.S. assembly plant despite fierce opposition at home. And he axed the Datsun name. “He was a man of action,” recalls Yoshikazu Hanawa, a former Nissan president, about Ishihara, who died in 2003 at age 91. Ishihara joined Nissan in 1937, avoiding a tour of duty in World War II. In the 1960s, he was put in charge of budding exports to the United States. In the late 1970s, though, his calls for a U.S. assembly plant met resistance in the boardroom — and from Ichiro Shioji, head of the union at Nissan. TAKASHI ISHIHARA Earliest Nissan involvement: 1937 Role: President, Nissan Motor Co. Key influence: Pushed through Nissan’s first manufacturing plant in the United States; dumped the Datsun brand name Personal vendetta From the day Ishihara became president, Shioji “declared a personal vendetta” against him, says Mitsuya Goto, the former head of Nissan’s international department. Ishihara stared down Shioji and got his U.S. plant. But he never quite shook a distrust of U.S. workers and their unions. In 1980, he put Nissan’s first U.S. plant in Tennessee, far from what he thought was the UAW’s corrupting influence. He packed the factory with automation, to lessen the risk from sloppy workers, and had it build pickups. Yet he took a handsoff approach to running the plant. “The different departments at the head office had concerns about entrusting all the operations to an American,” Hanawa says. But Ishihara overruled the skeptics. He gave his hand-picked manager, Marvin Runyon, two orders: Quality must be the same as that coming out of Japan, and costs must be controlled. “The rest is up to you,” he said. On an earlier trip to London, he had been stunned to learn that hardly anyone recognized “Nissan.” He feared the lack of recognition would hurt Nissan’s overseas financing efforts. “In the United States or Europe, when you said Datsun, everybody knew it. But nobody knew about Nissan. They’d say ‘Who are you? Who is Nissan?’ ” Hanawa said. The proposed switch drew flak. U.S. dealers were furious. Why abandon the popular “Datsun: We Are Driven” slogan and spend millions on an 5 Dumping Datsun In 1983, Ishihara dumped the Datsun name in the United States. 0ZX twin turbo 1990-96 Nissan 30hnology, performance and styling that (the Z car) el of tec oto, editor-in-chief of The 300ZX had “a lev rs,” says David Muram models of that era. en since the 240Z yea had not se rmed some Porsche zine. The car outperfo Nissan Sport maga Japanese executives promised to let designer Jerry Hirshberg create distinctive designs for U.S. vehicles. With political savvy, he held them to that promise. B efore Jerry Hirshberg, there was no Nissan Design International. There was just a dirt lot in the rolling hills of La Jolla, Calif., about 10 miles up the coast from San Diego. But when Nissan decided it wanted to create an American design presence in 1980, it looked no further than Hirshberg, then in charge of Buick and Pontiac design at General Motors. Under Hirshberg, Nissan created a distinctive look for its U.S. lineup with such vehicles as the first Pathfinder and Xterra SUVs. But the work was a constant struggle. Hirshberg wrestled with the conservative instincts of Japanese executives and the limited budget imposed by Japan’s post-bubble economy. “We’ve done well when there has been wide-open risk-taking — like with the Z and Xterra, when no one is doing cars like that, and the sales and marketing guys say there is no place for it,” he says. flavor of our soup, and I will stay out of your kitchen.” La Jolla was not the first Japanese design studio on the West Coast, but it was perhaps the most fun. Sand volleyball at lunch was de rigueur. Mouthing off to superiors was encouraged. Polarizing designs Hirshberg fought for his designers’ work up the Nissan food chain, even when it was controversial. “I never wanted to be interviewed later, saying, ‘If you had seen what we really wanted to do …’ ” Hirshberg says. Sometimes, that resulted in a smash success on the showroom floor, such as the first Pathfinder and Xterra. Other times, such as with the Infiniti J30, the design was hailed by peers but ignored by consumers. A savvy insider, Hirshberg won his studio a place in long-range planning and himself a place on Nissan’s North American board. As Nissan whipsawed through the ’90s, Hirshberg’s studio drew polarizing designs that were embraced by some and denounced by others. But by the late ’90s, Hirshberg had won the respect of Japan. About 75 percent of its U.S. lineup was given to the San Diego studio. He was offered the top global design job by CEO Carlos Ghosn. But Hirshberg declined, saying it should go to a Leaving GM Hirshberg’s colleagues questioned his judgment when he left a 15-year career at GM for budding Nissan in 1980. Says Hirshberg: “GM was this mighty volcano, and Nissan was this little island. But I was hollering down this empty corridor at GM. I thought I might be able to make a difference at Nissan.” He was actively courted by Nissan Motor President Takashi Ishihara, who told Hirshberg, “I want to change the younger, Japanese designer. Retired since 2000, Hirshberg devotes himself to painting stands of bamboo, earning a place at Renato Danese’s famed Manhattan gallery. Hirshberg, now 68, still gets called to Japan once a year to give his critique on the latest generation of Nissan design. But he says: “I stay out of the politics. I’m just an educated pair of eyes.” — Mark Rechtin JERRY HIRSHBERG, left Earliest Nissan involvement: 1980 Role: Head of U.S. design studio Key influence: Created fresh designs for U.S. vehicles that gave Nissan an identity distinct from more conservative Toyota and Honda

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - May 19, 2008

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

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.