RIP Mr K

[Gaz 300]

Just read the sad news that Yutaka Katayama has died at 105,

http://m.startribune.com/world/293146791.html

 

[STEVE BURNS]

Had the pleasure of meetiing him a couple of times in the states and the best remembered time was when he was signing a Z Club magazine for me and he was sitting next to Yoshihiko Matsuo and straight away he opened the magazine went straight to the index page and looked at Matsuo san and smiled and pointed to his listing there of his name next to the Z Club President which showed to me that must have read the club magazines we used to send him for him to remember that his name was listed there
Will be missed by many

 

[andrew muir]

Indeed very sad to witness the passing of a great visionary.
It is our duty to maintain his Zed legacy.

 

[Gaz 300]

Had the pleasure of meetiing him a couple of times in the states and the best remembered time was when he was signing a Z Club magazine for me and he was sitting next to Yoshihiko Matsuo and straight away he opened the magazine went straight to the index page and looked at Matsuo san and smiled and pointed to his listing there of his name next to the Z Club President which showed to me that must have read the club magazines we used to send him for him to remember that his name was listed there
Will be missed by many

Nice memories Steve.

 

[Mr.F]

I think we will all miss the presence of this influential figure - it seemed he would be with us forever. Z Club members who visited the USA conventions have met him personally and, in particular, Len Welch maintained a close and personal friendship with him. I spoke with Len today and, although he rarely posts on here, he asked me to place this message on his behalf:

"I had the pleasure of meeting Mr K in 1995 at the Road Atlanta convention. I would drive him around for the afternoon. For a nobody like me to spend time with him, I was like a cat with two tails. He would, years later, give me a surprise birthday party at Nissan H.Q., with a camera to record the event as a present.
I had a phonecall at 3am one morning from him complimenting me on my car.
Over the years we exchanged Christmas cards and emails. I will, like all his many friends, miss him.
The world has lost an icon.
My memories of him will stay with me.
Rest in peace, Mr K.
Len"

 

[Gaz 300]

 

[Rob Gaskin]

I owe many many happy hours of my life to that man.

 

[Albrecht]

I owe many many happy hours of my life to that man.

How so?

He didn't personally conceive, design or engineer any of the cars that we talk about here. He wasn't interested in the European market, and in fact made it more difficult for Nissan to expand its European operations during the period that the S30-series Z was being manufactured. He lobbied for the de-contenting, dumbing down and softening-up of the HLS30-U models for the north American market, with a pile 'em high and sell 'em cheap philosophy that Nissan struggled to keep pace with. In fact if it had been up to Katayama your cars probably wouldn't have got made in the first place.

I see people thanking him now for "designing" the Z and find it bizarre. He was a great man, and - as we can see - an inspirational figurehead for many, but his remit was not model concept, styling, design (and everything that goes with that) or engineering. He was an economics graduate with a background in advertising at Nissan, and - above all - a salesman.

If we want to thank anybody for our cars, and especially the way they look and the way they work, then we should be thanking the cast of thousands who have been obscured by the shadow of Katayama's fame.

 

[status]

Well put

 

[Gaz 300]

We will have a small tribute to Mr K at our joint Z stand at JAE plus other large shows from 300zx.co.uk

May he rest in peace.

 

[STEVE BURNS]