Yutaka Katayama

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Yutaka Katayama (片山豊) (1909), also known as Mr K, was a executive of Nissan Motors USA and is regarded by Datsun/Nissan Z Car enthusiasts as the father of the Z-Car. He was sent to the United States by Nissan in 1960 to do market research, after which he returned to Nissan in Japan and persuaded the company to start its own sales company in the United States. In 1970, he introduced the Datsun 240Z car, which Nissan had originally wanted to be named the Fairlady.[1] However, his radical ideas for operations did not sit well with the executives of Nissan in Japan. By 1980, he was removed from his position in the United States.[2]

Yutaka Katayama was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1998.