Automotive News - May 19, 2008 - (Page N3)

MAY 19, 2008 • N3 NISSAN’S ‘Mr. K’s’ secret: He loves life and cars. His passions propelled Nissan in the early years in America. 50 Years in America YUTAKA KATAYAMA Earliest Nissan involvement: 1960 in U.S. Role: President, Nissan Motor Corp. U.S.A. Key influence: Nissan’s leading pioneer in America. With charm, a love of cars and a flair for promotion, he built the Datsun brand from scratch. O n the surface, it’s easy to describe Yutaka Katayama’s accomplishments. He was Nissan’s founding father in America. Starting with nothing in California in 1960, he built an enduring foundation of dealers, products, customers, advertising agencies and executives. But this would utterly fail to capture the man, universally known as “Mr. K.” “If you ever knew him, you’d fall in love with him,” says Fred Jordan, 86, the retired general manager of an early Nissan dealership in San Diego. “And I was at Pearl Harbor.” Johnnie Gable, Mr. K’s former personal assistant, recalls that when Mr. K retired in 1977 and moved back to Japan, he tried to give her his personal, yellow Z car. The company bean counters made her pay for it, she said, but Mr. K reimbursed her on the sly. 10,000 names Gable maintained Mr. K’s Christmas card list, which grew to more than 10,000 names. Every year, she mailed out a new, custom-designed card. “I have a copy of every one of them,” she said in a phone interview. Mr. K inspires that kind of devotion because he really does love cars. He really does love people. He really does love life. The bare facts of Mr. K’s career can be summed up quickly. With a very un-Japanese flair for promotion, he took the shoestring U.S. Nissan operation (then called Datsun) he inherited in 1960 and: Unified separate East Coast and West Coast subsidiaries. Established the brand beyond question as a top-tier U.S. import. Begged the parent company for a sports car for years. When the sports car finally arrived in 1969, he had the guts and the good sense to chisel off the name Fairlady and rename it the 240Z, based on the car’s internal code-name. As recounted in the book The Reckoning by the late David Halberstam, earlier in his career, Mr. K generated huge publicity and helped get Nissan started exporting cars by entering the automaker in a road rally in Australia — and, surprisingly, winning . Mr. K is still capable of surprising people, even very old friends. “I’ve known Mr. K since I joined the company in 1949. He has been my boss since I joined the company,” said Masataka Usami, 81, the former vice president in charge of parts and service for Nissan North America Inc. who now lives in California. “I thought I knew him very well. But by talking to him the other day, I learned a lot more about his basic philosophy and thinking,” Usami said after a recent trip to Japan. Usami said he and Mr. K, now 98, had a long face-to-face discussion about Mr. K’s philosophy and his legacy at Nissan. Said Usami: “His concept of the car, he told me the other day — and from the beginning when he was a little boy over 90 years ago, he loved cars — the concept of the car Mr. K has is: ‘The car has to be like a horse. It is something you can tame, you can love, you can ride together.’ ” The soul of a sports car He said Mr. K strongly disapproves of overregulated, overengineered cars. “The car has to be something the driver controls, rather than the car controlling the driver,” Usami said. “Sophisticated engineers have made it like a jumbo jet. The car has to be something the driver can control, that obeys the driver’s will. “That’s why he likes a sports car. A sports car has to be that way.” In all their years together, Usami said, he never heard Mr. K put it quite that way: “What was surprising to me is that’s the way he still regards the car, the image of the car in his mind. And that concept of the car led him to introduce the Z car.” — Jim Henry Mr. K, left, with an actor hired to portray him in advertising. Mr. K, right, with actress Barbara Eden of “I Dream of Jeannie.” 50 PROFILES Here is the alphabetical list of the top 50 people who made important contributions to Nissan in North America from 1958 to 2008. They were chosen by editors and reporters at Automotive News. Earl Hesterberg, head of Infiniti, Nissan Jerry Hirshberg, designer Dave Hubbard, ad manager Mark Igo, general manager, Infiniti Takashi Ishihara, president Yutaka Katayama, president in America Soichi Kawazoe, sales Yoshiyuki Kimura, V-6 designer Chuck King, sales and marketing Yutaka Kume, president Ray Lemke, first dealer Bob Link, sales executive Chester Luby, early distributor Tim MacCarthy, government relations Richard McCutcheon, first pickup buyer Shin Maki, test engineer Tom Mignanelli, sales and marketing Jim Morton, U.S. executive Jane Nakagawa, product strategist Shiro Nakamura, designer Atsushi Nakatsuji, product engineer Joe Opre, director of advertising John Parker, ad executive Patrick Pelata, product development Dick Roberts, racing promoter Roy Rogers, singing cowboy Marvin Runyon, manufacturing Morrie Sage, dealer Louis Schweitzer, Renault CEO Clarence Talley, dealer “Mad Mike” Taylor, Z car enthusiast Bob Thomas, sales and marketing Bob Thomas, public relations Teruo Uchino, designer of Datsun 510 Nobe Wakatsuki, trading company Mitsuhiko Yamashita, engineering Diane Allen, designer Jerry Benefield, manufacturing Doug Betts, quality expert Pete Brock, auto racer Bill Bruce, general manager, Infiniti Lee Clow, ad executive Jack Collins, product planner Jed Connelly, sales and marketing William Cushing, sales manager Larry Dominique, Titan engineer Carlos Ghosn, president Mitsuya “Scape” Goto, government relations Yoshikazu Hanawa, president Emil Hassan, manufacturing Video captures America’s love affair with Z car To celebrate the Z car, Automotive News created a video chronicling its 40-year history. The video includes rare photographs, racing footage, commercials and interviews with key people. The video was produced by Mark Rechtin, the Los Angeles bureau chief for Automotive News, who once busted his knuckles restoring a first-edition 240Z. To see it, go to www.autonews.com/zvideo http://www.autonews.com/zvideo

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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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