NAKAMURA: We will position the new Z as a symbol of Nissan’s revival. Passion and imagination are very important to us, and the new Z will emphasize this in our products.
We don’t want to go back to the 240-Z. We will not go retro, like BMW with the Mini or Volkswagen with the Beetle. You can only use retro once. If you do it now, then you can’t do it with your next car. There is no possibility of evolution.
One hundred percent. Design is the key element that differentiates some cars from others. The companies with the strongest brand image today, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi, have very limited product ranges. That’s why they can unify their design. The target audience is limited, so they can focus in one direction very clearly. We can’t do that because we have already established a variety of customers and a variety of markets. For us, this is the most difficult issue. At the moment, Nissan’s brand identity is very low and very weak. We must have consistency in design.
Grandparents, parents, sons and daughters are all different, but somehow they look the same. Why? There are cues in their eyes, their noses, on their faces. That is what we want to do by creating consistency, say, in body sections, lines and profiles. In the shapes of window sills and side window graphics, the combination of curves and straight lines. We are always discussing how to make these things more like Nissan. In the past, we didn’t do that.
I don’t want to call it copying, but at all the Japanese auto companies [design] is influenced too much by existing European and American cars. That, I think, is still the philosophy of Japanese designers. Sometimes it’s the marketing or sales people who encourage it because [such cars] are easier to sell. Many people believe that copying others is our history. We have to change our attitude. As long as you think you are not leading the world, you copy. Europeans always see themselves as leaders. We don’t.
I tell them to seek inspiration in painting or architecture or music, to be influenced by good things. Don’t look at cars too much, look at the world. It’s easy to be influenced by good design [in cars]. It happens to me, too. But if we don’t stop it, we cannot be leaders.
I play jazz bass and cello in an amateur orchestra near my home. When I was not so busy, I played with them every weekend. Sometimes I play jazz in clubs. I found one place in Ginza where my friends go. I join them about once a month. It’s just 15 minutes from here. Very handy. I might go tonight.
If you’re talking about the [Toyota] Camry and the [Honda] Accord, the two top-selling Japanese cars in America, I think they should have more character. But both companies are targeting big volume, and they probably think that their designs have to be neutral. That might be true. They are successful, which is why they think they are doing the right thing. But I’m not sure. There is almost no choice [in that vehicle segment], just neutral, unexciting cars. But if you bring in more exciting models, the market will change. We are introducing a new Altima and also a new Maxima.
Definitely not. The Maxima, especially, is very distinctive, very expressive. It’s not a Camry or an Accord. It’s totally different.
