The father of the Datsun Z, Yutaka Katayama - Mr. ‘K’ - passed away on Feb. 20 at the age of 105. Katayama joined the company in 1935, built the Datsun brand from scratch, ran Nissan’s U.S. operations in the 1970s and retired from Nissan in 1977. I had my 1978 Datsun 280Z (above) for 10 years and that car generated lifelong relationships, stories and speeding tickets.
Mr. K (left) made one of the first color films of a Datsun on Japanese roads and later filmed motor sport races across the globe. He was a victorious team manager as two Datsun 210s were entered in a grueling rally circumnavigating the Australian continent catapulting the brand into worldwide renown and setting the stage for Datsun exports. He put together the key concepts for the Z-car and was inducted into the American Automotive Hall of Fame in 1998.
Johan de Nysschen will join Nissan's Infiniti luxury brand as senior vice president of Nissan Motor Company in charge of the Infiniti division based in Hong Kong starting July 1st reporting to Andy Palmer, Nissan Motor Company Executive Vice President, product planning, business strategy, marketing communications and responsible for the Infiniti division.
De Nysschen just left his role as President of Audi of America which he held for the past seven years. During his 19 years at Audi he also served in executive positions in South Africa and Japan. Prior to joining Audi, de Nysschen worked for BMW in South Africa. He holds a bachelor's degree from the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa, and an MBA from the University of Pretoria, South Africa.
He moves from a U.S. position at Audi where sales records are being set monthly to a global responsibility at Infiniti, a luxury brand that is just launching a worldwide footprint. Geographically, he moves from the Washington, D.C. area to Hong Kong, the former British colony and English-speaking gateway to China and an area where one might expect a factory to be built at some point. Best of luck to Johan in his new challenge.
After three years at Hyundai in Fountain Valley, California and a quick two month stop at Nissan in Nashville, Joel Ewanick (right) is headed for Detroit to replace Susan Docherty at General Motors as vice president, U.S. Marketing, effective May 24. Ewanick, 49, will report to Mark Reuss, president, GM North America.
As the single point for marketing, Ewanick will have responsibility for improving the positioning of the Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac brands and consumer consideration of GM vehicles in the United States.
If awards mean anything, during his three year tenure, Ewanick earned industry recognition as the most impactful automotive marketer in America; Automotive News’ 2009 Marketing All Star of the Year; Brandweek’s 2009 Marketer of the Year; and Forbes’ Chief Marketing Officer of the Year.
Ewanick joined Hyundai in 2007 from The Richards Group, an ad firm, where he served as director of Brand Planning responsible for overall brand and advertising strategy. Ewanick has held executive-level positions at Porsche Cars North America, Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A., Hinckley Yachts and Saatchi & Saatchi Team One Advertising where he led the Lexus account as planning supervisor.
Ewanick earned his Bachelors of Science in Marketing from California State University, Northridge and attended the Wharton School of Executive Training at the University of Pennsylvania.
Susan Docherty's new position at GM will be announced soon. With extensive sales, service and marketing experience, Docherty has held positions of increasing responsibility in Canada, the U.S., Europe and Asia. Most notable is her brand work, including the launch of the 2010 Buick LaCrosse and GMC Terrain.
"Susan has been deeply involved in GM's sales and marketing initiatives for many years," Reuss said. “With her drive and focus, she has laid the groundwork for solid plans and rejuvenated our agency relationships, placing us in good stead for the future. We look forward to her contribution across the business moving forward.”
I got to know Joel while he was at Hyundai and he's a very likable, easy to talk-to executive but how Nissan let him slip away after just two months is somewhat of a mystery we'll have to investigate.
Nissan/Infiniti will participate in the New York Auto Show after no announcements in Detroit, except for a media event showing off the two vehicles above which had already been shown. The new M sedan made its World Premiere in Beverly Hills a month ago.
The 2010 Infiniti G37 Sedan and G37 Coupe are now on sale with a 328 horsepower 3.7-liter VVEL (Variable Valve Event & Lift) V6 engine delivering and 270 lb-ft of torque mated to a choice of a 7-speed automatic transmission or a 6-speed manual transmission. Also available is the Infiniti Intelligent All-Wheel Drive system (G37x Sedan AWD, G37x Coupe AWD).
The G37 Sedan starts at $33,250 and the Coupe at $36,050 with the G37 Convertible available in early February. The 2010 Infiniti G37 Sedan and G37 Coupe are now on sale with a 328 horsepower 3.7-liter VVEL (Variable Valve Event & Lift) V6 engine delivering and 270 lb-ft of torque mated to a choice of a 7-speed automatic transmission or a 6-speed manual transmission. Also available is the Infiniti Intelligent All-Wheel Drive system (G37x Sedan AWD, G37x Coupe AWD). The G37 Sedan starts at $33,250 and the Coupe at $36,050 with the G37 Convertible available in early February.
The all-new 2011 Infiniti M sedan is scheduled to go on sale in late March available in two model designations – the Infiniti M56 with an all-new 420-horsepower 5.6-liter VVEL Direct Injection Gasoline™ V8 and the Infiniti M37 with a 330-horsepower 3.7-liter VVEL V6. The Infiniti M56 and M37 will be offered in a choice of rear-wheel drive or with Infiniti’s Intelligent All-Wheel Drive system.
Lots of news from Nissan and Infiniti but budgets have prevented full blown displays and press conferences in certain markets.
