Interview: Randy Rodriguez, Designer, Nissan 370Z

MC · 03-24-2009, 07:47 PM

http://www.canadiandriver.com/2009/0...issan-370z.htm

Toronto, Ontario -

So how does a young man from Surrey, British Columbia end up having a hand in one of the all-time iconic Japanese models? For designer Randy Rodriguez, it was a “dream come true” to work on the newest incarnation of the Nissan 370Z.

“When I first saw it in real life, I was blown away,” Rodriguez said. “You sketch and draw and design things all the time, and you wish and hope that one of these things will become real. It’s different when you sketch it and it’s a cool piece of artwork, but when you can touch and feel and drive it … every time I see somebody enjoying that car, it’s just going to make me all warm and fuzzy.”

Although he’s only 31, Rodriguez feels that his youth gives him an edge. “You don’t have the experience when you’re younger, but I find it’s an advantage,” he said. “You don’t have these preconceptions of what you can and can’t do. I say ‘I want to do this,’ and you try to do what you want. Now that I’m more experienced, it’s an advantage in that I’ve done the 370Z and other products, and I feel like I have a whole career ahead of me still to do more things.”

Born in Surrey, B.C., Rodriguez credits his love of cars to his family: his father was a truck driver and auto mechanic who owned a gas station and garage, and his brother owned a Datsun Z – as did Rodriguez, whose first car was a 1971 version. After studying sciences for a year at the University of British Columbia, he decided to turn to automobiles, and was accepted at Detroit’s College for Creative Studies. He interned with General Motors and Toyota, but his love of Datsun and Nissan products provided the urge to work for the automaker, and the feeling was mutual: a few weeks after graduation, he joined Nissan Design America in San Diego, California, where he now lives. “There are competitions during school that are sponsored by Michelin and PPG,” he said. “I won some of those, and it caught the attention of Nissan before I graduated. They called my school looking for me.”

Asked to work on a design for consideration on the new Z, Rodriguez produced sketches and then digital models, which were eventually milled out as quarter-scale clay models. The wheels were inspired by the MV Agusta FX motorcycle kept parked beside his desk, but his stimulation for the car’s shape had nothing to do with metal and glass. “The best inspiration is to look at something that’s not a car,” he said. “I took a lot from the Discovery Channel, watching Shark Week. I like the 350Z, but I wanted it to be more aggressive and dynamic, and I thought the shark was a good metaphor.”

The beltline became a shark’s profile, with aggressive front and rear lights. “Another big inspiration was looking at athletes and their muscles,” he said. “Their quads, those broad shoulders and big chests, I wanted to look like that – lean, but muscular and proud. I kept envisioning a sprinter. You want a sports car with good stance and I envisioned a sprinter on the blocks, ready to take off. I wanted to give the Z that feeling and explosive energy.”

Of all submitted designs, Nissan selected Rodriguez’s design concept for development. An international team at Nissan Design Centre in Japan finalized and refined the design for production.

Of course, just drawing a car isn’t enough; the design has to be capable of transferring to the assembly line – but with just enough “out there” that it’s still an exciting concept. “When you draw something, it has to have those proportions, or they won’t even look at your sketches because it won’t fit at all,” he said. “As you’re designing what it looks like, the engineers are engineering the mechanical details, and those are constantly moving because there are other people to deal with it. It’s a process of going back and forth, trying to be an efficient as possible. You’re going to have to sketch it so many times over because something won’t fit, or it’s in the wrong place. Designers will always try to push the envelope, push the boundaries, and you want to change it as much as possible if it’ll make it look better. It’s better to push it forward as far as you can while still being realistic, and then bring it back to production. If you start with something that looks like it can go into production, then by the time you do go to production, it’ll look like it’s watered down.

“I’ve sketched a lot of interiors, but we’re such a small team of designers in these studios, my exterior designs are almost always the ones that get chosen. That’s where you build most of your expertise, but I’d like to do some interiors. I did a lot of interior designs when I was in school.”

His love of the Z’s iconic design comes through in his voice. He owns a 1977 280Z “and every time I drive it, people young or old say, hey, I love your car. It has the cult following, and it’s a very special car in its way. With the gas crunch, all the manufacturers are pushing for zero emissions, electric power, different ways of powering a vehicle. Maybe it’ll be powered in a different way, but the Z has such a huge following, it’ll always be around and always have a receptive audience. It’s a balance of performance, design and value, and you can’t go wrong with that.”

Pushing_Tin · 03-24-2009, 08:16 PM

Good find, thanks for sharing!

ChrisSlicks · 03-24-2009, 08:41 PM

Thanks for this.

At least now we know why it has fangs, they're shark teeth!

06350Zrjd · 03-24-2009, 09:02 PM

he looks filipino

frost · 03-24-2009, 09:07 PM

I like the way they make 31 (his age) sound like 22.

RDGR12 · 03-26-2009, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 06350Zrjd

he looks filipino

Given with his last name and appearance, I think he is.

theDreamer · 03-26-2009, 03:02 PM

Nice read, great to know where he got his inspiration.

rednek01 · 03-26-2009, 03:06 PM

I want to see the drawings and sketches

370ZRR · 06-17-2009, 05:28 PM

Early concept Front and rear view sketches

03-24-2009, 07:47 PM	#1 (permalink)
MC Moderator Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: NC Posts: 3,238 Drives: 2015 GTR NISMO Rep Power: 23	Interview: Randy Rodriguez, Designer, Nissan 370Z http://www.canadiandriver.com/2009/0...issan-370z.htm Toronto, Ontario - So how does a young man from Surrey, British Columbia end up having a hand in one of the all-time iconic Japanese models? For designer Randy Rodriguez, it was a “dream come true” to work on the newest incarnation of the Nissan 370Z. “When I first saw it in real life, I was blown away,” Rodriguez said. “You sketch and draw and design things all the time, and you wish and hope that one of these things will become real. It’s different when you sketch it and it’s a cool piece of artwork, but when you can touch and feel and drive it … every time I see somebody enjoying that car, it’s just going to make me all warm and fuzzy.” Although he’s only 31, Rodriguez feels that his youth gives him an edge. “You don’t have the experience when you’re younger, but I find it’s an advantage,” he said. “You don’t have these preconceptions of what you can and can’t do. I say ‘I want to do this,’ and you try to do what you want. Now that I’m more experienced, it’s an advantage in that I’ve done the 370Z and other products, and I feel like I have a whole career ahead of me still to do more things.” Born in Surrey, B.C., Rodriguez credits his love of cars to his family: his father was a truck driver and auto mechanic who owned a gas station and garage, and his brother owned a Datsun Z – as did Rodriguez, whose first car was a 1971 version. After studying sciences for a year at the University of British Columbia, he decided to turn to automobiles, and was accepted at Detroit’s College for Creative Studies. He interned with General Motors and Toyota, but his love of Datsun and Nissan products provided the urge to work for the automaker, and the feeling was mutual: a few weeks after graduation, he joined Nissan Design America in San Diego, California, where he now lives. “There are competitions during school that are sponsored by Michelin and PPG,” he said. “I won some of those, and it caught the attention of Nissan before I graduated. They called my school looking for me.” Asked to work on a design for consideration on the new Z, Rodriguez produced sketches and then digital models, which were eventually milled out as quarter-scale clay models. The wheels were inspired by the MV Agusta FX motorcycle kept parked beside his desk, but his stimulation for the car’s shape had nothing to do with metal and glass. “The best inspiration is to look at something that’s not a car,” he said. “I took a lot from the Discovery Channel, watching Shark Week. I like the 350Z, but I wanted it to be more aggressive and dynamic, and I thought the shark was a good metaphor.” The beltline became a shark’s profile, with aggressive front and rear lights. “Another big inspiration was looking at athletes and their muscles,” he said. “Their quads, those broad shoulders and big chests, I wanted to look like that – lean, but muscular and proud. I kept envisioning a sprinter. You want a sports car with good stance and I envisioned a sprinter on the blocks, ready to take off. I wanted to give the Z that feeling and explosive energy.” Of all submitted designs, Nissan selected Rodriguez’s design concept for development. An international team at Nissan Design Centre in Japan finalized and refined the design for production. Of course, just drawing a car isn’t enough; the design has to be capable of transferring to the assembly line – but with just enough “out there” that it’s still an exciting concept. “When you draw something, it has to have those proportions, or they won’t even look at your sketches because it won’t fit at all,” he said. “As you’re designing what it looks like, the engineers are engineering the mechanical details, and those are constantly moving because there are other people to deal with it. It’s a process of going back and forth, trying to be an efficient as possible. You’re going to have to sketch it so many times over because something won’t fit, or it’s in the wrong place. Designers will always try to push the envelope, push the boundaries, and you want to change it as much as possible if it’ll make it look better. It’s better to push it forward as far as you can while still being realistic, and then bring it back to production. If you start with something that looks like it can go into production, then by the time you do go to production, it’ll look like it’s watered down. “I’ve sketched a lot of interiors, but we’re such a small team of designers in these studios, my exterior designs are almost always the ones that get chosen. That’s where you build most of your expertise, but I’d like to do some interiors. I did a lot of interior designs when I was in school.” His love of the Z’s iconic design comes through in his voice. He owns a 1977 280Z “and every time I drive it, people young or old say, hey, I love your car. It has the cult following, and it’s a very special car in its way. With the gas crunch, all the manufacturers are pushing for zero emissions, electric power, different ways of powering a vehicle. Maybe it’ll be powered in a different way, but the Z has such a huge following, it’ll always be around and always have a receptive audience. It’s a balance of performance, design and value, and you can’t go wrong with that.”

03-26-2009, 03:02 PM	#7 (permalink)
theDreamer A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Texas Posts: 30,879 Drives: 370z Rep Power: 4210	Nice read, great to know where he got his inspiration. __________________ theDreamer's Z // Fast Intentions // Uprev // GTM // HKS // TEIN theDreamer's Silvia // URAS // GREDDY Houston Zs // Facebook // Twitter // Instagram

03-26-2009, 03:06 PM	#8 (permalink)
rednek01 Enthusiast Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Houston Posts: 352 Drives: Mustang GT Rep Power: 237	I want to see the drawings and sketches Last edited by rednek01; 03-26-2009 at 03:07 PM. Reason: ninja edit

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03-24-2009, 08:16 PM	#2 (permalink)
Pushing_Tin A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Eugene, OR Posts: 2,875 Drives: E63 AMG Rep Power: 227	Good find, thanks for sharing!

03-24-2009, 08:41 PM	#3 (permalink)
ChrisSlicks A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: North East Posts: 6,203 Drives: 09 370Z Sport M6 Rep Power: 653	Thanks for this. At least now we know why it has fangs, they're shark teeth!

03-24-2009, 09:02 PM	#4 (permalink)
06350Zrjd Base Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: NOVA Posts: 9 Drives: 06Z Rep Power: 16	he looks filipino

03-24-2009, 09:07 PM	#5 (permalink)
frost Retired admin Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Winterfell Posts: 106,613 Drives: Your Wife Crazy Rep Power: 0	I like the way they make 31 (his age) sound like 22.