R-34
11-05-2003, 09:12 PM
Shiro Nakamura is feeling playful.
In the lobby of Nissan Motor Co.'s world headquarters in central Tokyo, the company's chief designer gestures toward the Cube, a boxlike vehicle on display at a reception for automotive journalists.
Early this year, Nissan shipped a Cube to Southern California to gauge its appeal to young consumers. Nakamura chuckles as he mimics teenagers who spotted the car in a parking lot.
"They'd run up to it and look inside," he says. "They liked it."
Nissan won't sell the current Cube in the U.S. market, but it might design a next-generation version suitable for American consumption, Nakamura says. "We need something for young buyers," he explains.
While Nissan is not ready to make a decision, industry observers should pay close attention to Nakamura's comments. In four years as Nissan's chief pen, Nakamura already has demonstrated remarkably good instincts for American tastes.
Nissan's rebound in the American market has been fueled by stylish vehicles such as the Maxima, the Z car and the Infiniti G35, all influenced by Nakamura. Now Nakamura believes young American consumers are ready for more radical designs - vehicles such as the Cube that are more distinctively Japanese.
Nakamura says he wants to recapture the automaker's "Japanese legacy or DNA" for future vehicles.
"It's a very delicate quality," Nakamura told an audience at an industry conference during the Tokyo Motor Show last month. "We'd like to nurture the Japanese character."
Examples were displayed at the show. For example, the Nissan Serenity minivan concept featured external lines inspired by a Japanese Kabuki character.
Nissan's production vehicles also boast Japanese design cues. For example, the Nissan Primera features an unconventional instrument panel with press-down control buttons on a horizontal surface. They call to mind the fingering of the koto, a musical instrument with strings on a board.
Even a traditional American vehicle such as the pickup can absorb Japanese themes. The Nissan Titan's U.S. design team traveled to Japan to consider Japanese design cues to distinguish it from its Big 3 competitors.
In a cue suggestive of a small Japanese home design, the Titan's rear doors swing open nearly 180 degrees. "Space is well-utilized," Nakamura explained. "That is what we're good at."
The wide-swinging door probably will be applied to Nissan's upcoming cars, Nakamura added.
Key player
Nakamura earned a bacelor's degree in science at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif., where he studied transportation design. He joined Nissan from Isuzu Motors Ltd., where he was chief designer. He was known for the futuristic styling of the VehiCross SUV.
His Nissan hiring was announced Oct. 18, 1999 - the same day that Nissan President Carlos Ghosn released his stunning Nissan Revival Plan.
Since then, the 52-year-old designer has emerged as a key figure in Ghosn's celebrated turnaround of the troubled automaker. When Ghosn made Nakamura a senior vice president, it was the first time a Nissan design director had held such a senior position.
At Nissan, Nakamura has demonstrated that he is no fan of overt retro styling. But he revealed an instinct for automotive tradition when he styled Nissan's Z car, a vehicle that captures the spirit of the original 240Z.
And Nakamura does appreciate cars from bygone eras. Favorites include the 1964 Alfa Romeo Canguro, the 1966 DeTomaso Mangusta and Pininfarina's 1964 Ferrari 275GTB Berlinetta.
Nakamura has encouraged his staff to explore design themes from nonautomotive disciplines. For his own inspiration, Nakamura enjoys Bauhaus architecture and studies the work of Tadao Ando, a Japanese architect. Nakamura once said that he detected a "mixture of Japanese tradition and modern" in Ando's work.
He also derives inspiration and relaxation from music. When he has spare time, Nakamura plays bass in jazz sessions at Ami's Bar, a small club in Tokyo's fashionable Ginza district. Favorite jazz composers include Ron Carter and Bill Evans. He also plays classical cello.
This mix of classical and modern influences - plus his appreciation of Japanese culture - is the key to Nakamura's automotive design work. "There are so many good things about Japan," he says. "We should explore them."
Staff Reporters Lindsay Chappell and Kathy Jackson contributed to this report
autonews.com
In the lobby of Nissan Motor Co.'s world headquarters in central Tokyo, the company's chief designer gestures toward the Cube, a boxlike vehicle on display at a reception for automotive journalists.
Early this year, Nissan shipped a Cube to Southern California to gauge its appeal to young consumers. Nakamura chuckles as he mimics teenagers who spotted the car in a parking lot.
"They'd run up to it and look inside," he says. "They liked it."
Nissan won't sell the current Cube in the U.S. market, but it might design a next-generation version suitable for American consumption, Nakamura says. "We need something for young buyers," he explains.
While Nissan is not ready to make a decision, industry observers should pay close attention to Nakamura's comments. In four years as Nissan's chief pen, Nakamura already has demonstrated remarkably good instincts for American tastes.
Nissan's rebound in the American market has been fueled by stylish vehicles such as the Maxima, the Z car and the Infiniti G35, all influenced by Nakamura. Now Nakamura believes young American consumers are ready for more radical designs - vehicles such as the Cube that are more distinctively Japanese.
Nakamura says he wants to recapture the automaker's "Japanese legacy or DNA" for future vehicles.
"It's a very delicate quality," Nakamura told an audience at an industry conference during the Tokyo Motor Show last month. "We'd like to nurture the Japanese character."
Examples were displayed at the show. For example, the Nissan Serenity minivan concept featured external lines inspired by a Japanese Kabuki character.
Nissan's production vehicles also boast Japanese design cues. For example, the Nissan Primera features an unconventional instrument panel with press-down control buttons on a horizontal surface. They call to mind the fingering of the koto, a musical instrument with strings on a board.
Even a traditional American vehicle such as the pickup can absorb Japanese themes. The Nissan Titan's U.S. design team traveled to Japan to consider Japanese design cues to distinguish it from its Big 3 competitors.
In a cue suggestive of a small Japanese home design, the Titan's rear doors swing open nearly 180 degrees. "Space is well-utilized," Nakamura explained. "That is what we're good at."
The wide-swinging door probably will be applied to Nissan's upcoming cars, Nakamura added.
Key player
Nakamura earned a bacelor's degree in science at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif., where he studied transportation design. He joined Nissan from Isuzu Motors Ltd., where he was chief designer. He was known for the futuristic styling of the VehiCross SUV.
His Nissan hiring was announced Oct. 18, 1999 - the same day that Nissan President Carlos Ghosn released his stunning Nissan Revival Plan.
Since then, the 52-year-old designer has emerged as a key figure in Ghosn's celebrated turnaround of the troubled automaker. When Ghosn made Nakamura a senior vice president, it was the first time a Nissan design director had held such a senior position.
At Nissan, Nakamura has demonstrated that he is no fan of overt retro styling. But he revealed an instinct for automotive tradition when he styled Nissan's Z car, a vehicle that captures the spirit of the original 240Z.
And Nakamura does appreciate cars from bygone eras. Favorites include the 1964 Alfa Romeo Canguro, the 1966 DeTomaso Mangusta and Pininfarina's 1964 Ferrari 275GTB Berlinetta.
Nakamura has encouraged his staff to explore design themes from nonautomotive disciplines. For his own inspiration, Nakamura enjoys Bauhaus architecture and studies the work of Tadao Ando, a Japanese architect. Nakamura once said that he detected a "mixture of Japanese tradition and modern" in Ando's work.
He also derives inspiration and relaxation from music. When he has spare time, Nakamura plays bass in jazz sessions at Ami's Bar, a small club in Tokyo's fashionable Ginza district. Favorite jazz composers include Ron Carter and Bill Evans. He also plays classical cello.
This mix of classical and modern influences - plus his appreciation of Japanese culture - is the key to Nakamura's automotive design work. "There are so many good things about Japan," he says. "We should explore them."
Staff Reporters Lindsay Chappell and Kathy Jackson contributed to this report
autonews.com