Of the thousands of fans of the sportscar known as the Z, no one is more excited about the return of Nissan Motor Co's 1970s hit than Yutaka Katayama. For years, he was known as the "father of the Z."
The former president of Nissan's US unit, Katayama, now 92, created a powerful global brand in the Datsun 240Z by offering what was then unique -- an affordable sportscar. And he managed to do it at a time when ``made in Japan'' was synonymous with slipshod quality.
What eventually happened to the Z, the Datsun nameplate and Katayama himself are symbolic of the shortsightedness and mismanagement common at conservative, bureaucratic Japanese companies that eroded Nissan's global standing and sank it into deep losses.
PHOTO: AP
Katayama retired from Nissan in 1977 but did not receive a seat on the board, a promotion that many feel he deserved given his achievements in the US. He instead got a far lesser job at an advertising company that was partly owned by Nissan.
Once Nissan's flagship car, the Z was the dream sports car for America's Baby Boomer generation. It symbolized the beginning of Japanese automakers' glory days in the US market and it also stunned the industry by offering genuine engine power as well as flashy styling for about half the price of a sportscar.
In 1996, the car was discontinued. By then, it had lost its original lithe, unpretentious personality. The Datsun name was killed.
Now things are changing at Japan's No. 3 automaker.
The Z is back -- rolling into showrooms in Japan and the US later this month.
Back with the Z is Katayama. He no longer holds an official title at Nissan, but he is a frequent guest lately at events promoting the new Z. It's a natural role for the man who personifies the Z for sportscar fans.
"I've been waiting so long for the Z to come back, I'm so happy," said Katayama, wearing a shirt splashed with colorful pictures of Nissan cars.
"A car is a horse. I want to drive a thoroughbred that's in tune with my heartbeat, but not something that's too dressed up for someone like me.''
Affectionately known to American Z fans as "Mr. K," Katayama is among just a handful of Japanese, including Soichiro Honda and Eiji Toyoda, to be honored alongside Henry Ford and Lee Iacocca in the Automotive Hall of Fame near Detroit.
In selling the Datsun brand, Katayama stressed the importance of maintenance services. He courted dealers and employees alike with his open, vivacious personality, unusual for a Japanese man of his generation.
He also understood the American mind. He firmly told headquarters the Japanese name for the Z sportscar, Fairlady, would never go over in the US.
"From time to time you meet some special people whose passion for life is so infectious," said Shuri Fukunaga, general manager of global communications strategy at Nissan.
"Mr. Katayama's presence serves as a reminder that truly believing in what you do and produce can turn dreams into reality."
In his Tokyo office at an auto parts company, Katayama has on display in a glass case memorabilia he has collected over the years -- rusty metal Datsun logos, old miniature model cars, American license plates and fading baseball caps.
On the wall hangs a huge photo of Katayama with Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn, the Brazilian-born executive sent in by Renault SA, the French automaker that struck an alliance with Nissan in 1999. Next to them is a shiny yellow Z.
Ghosn's blessing
Ghosn, who used to drive a Z while working in the US, has been the chief force behind the recent changes at Nissan.
Before his arrival, Nissan lost money in seven out of eight years. Since his arrival, Nissan has posted solid profits through cutting costs, closing plants and focusing on moneymaking cars.
Now one of the most respected executives in Japan, Ghosn also delivered to Nissan global management -- performance-oriented promotion, nimble decision-making and commitment to targets. Renault now owns 44.4 percent of Nissan.
Nissan is hoping to expand sales in the US by at least 300,000 vehicles by 2005 from nearly 7.2 million vehicles today. It is opening a US$930 million facility near Canton, Mississippi, next year to produce pickup trucks, minivans and sport utility vehicles.
"I asked Mr. Ghosn to bring back the Z, and he agreed on the spot," Katayama recalls of their meeting at Nissan headquarters in 1999. "There was purity in his eyes, and I knew he was someone I could trust."
Katayama was often consulted while the new Z was in the works.
Nissan has received 8,000 orders for the new Z in the US. With prices starting at US$26,269 in the US and is promised at about the same price in Japan.
But its look, with its short overhang and more muscular body, is quite different from the older Z.
"People who've loved the Z from way back are going to have to get used to it. It has no nose,'" said Tatsushi Nishimuro, who belongs to a group of 1,380 die-hard Z-owners.
The return of the Z underlines an important "healing" at Nissan, which is gradually coming to terms with the mistakes of the past, Pelata said.
"They fully recognize him, his role, his pioneer action for the US market and for the Z," Pelata said. "Today Nissan is a very global company."
Katayama has not owned a Z since the 1980s, when he felt it stopped being the "fun sportscar for everybody" it was initially designed to be. But he has an order in for the new Z.
"Look at the new Z sideways from the back. Then you see a flowing curve," he said. "We don't have to bring back the exact same thing," Katayama said.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
RSS