Yutaka Katayama – ‘Father of the Z’

In 2013, I wrote on the passing of a Japanese sculptor. Curious how the death of another accomplished Japanese also prompts a personal story. I didn’t know who Mr. Katayama was until I read his recent obituary. The hearty soul lived to be 105. Mr. Katayama was a marketing genius who was exiled to the lowly U.S. territory in 1960 by Datsun executives he had apparently ticked off. All he did after that was make the kinds of changes that altered our perception of Japanese products and ushered the boom in sales of cars that Americans wanted to buy. He became known as the 'Father of the Z.’

It was 1982. We were five years into our marriage, both gainfully employed and could afford the $15,000 purchase. I like my cars but am not a gear-head. I had the ‘hot’s’ for the ‘Z’ car since it was introduced twelve years earlier and it was time to enter that ‘sports car phase’.

Since Japanese culture venerates nature, beauty and delicate, feminine attributes, it seemed ‘natural’ for the president of the company (who was impressed by the musical ‘My Fair Lady’ to name Nissan’s first sports car the ‘Fairlady’. Mr. Katayama understood American preferences in that ‘Muscle Car’ era and knew such a wussy name would not fly here. He replaced the nameplate on the car with the name the company used internally – ‘240-Z.’

Boom.

Since I got the car in Louisiana and many people give their cars names, a nice Cajun moniker seemed appropriate. ‘Bourgeois-Z’ had such great lines. The ‘jade gray’ color forced me to accept the upgraded leather package of interior features. It was less a sports car and more of a boulevard, grand touring car. At least I insisted on the stick shift.

One of my favorite features was the talking console. If you left a turn signal on or if you were low on gas, a sweet, female voice would remind you. I wish I had that feature on my current car.

In the Texas Panhandle, November 1989

Above is my favorite shot of the old beast. I was in the unrelentingly flat Texas panhandle…marveling at the absolute absence of relief in the landscape…and what pioneer life must have been like for the first settlers. I stopped to try and shoot some pronghorn antelope who quickly darted away once I left the car. The keeper shot turned out to be the portrait of my ride.

Bourgeois-Z did not have an easy life. It was never garaged and the New Orleans sun baked off its finish to the point where it needed a full re-painting. In Maryland, the snow and ice further degraded it. It was not driven enough on the open road. Short commutes to work were unfair for a car built to roam far and fast. After 15 years and less than 80,000 miles, I had to let it go…traded in for a Honda Accord. It was a coupe, though…couldn’t transition fully into a sedan guy.

Saying Goodbye, May 1998

Thank you, Mr. Katayama.
I hope you are riding to your reward in a hot sports car.