"書き"のお仕事
“The Story Behind the ND Roadster with Mr. Nobuhiro Yamamoto”
2024/10/29 12:13
I wrote about Nobuhiro Yamamoto, the chief developer of the ND Roadster *MX-5/Miata, in a Japanese magazine, and we created an English version for Miata people in English-speaking countries.
According to Yamamoto, he was able to complete the ND Roadster exactly as he originally envisioned, thanks to the excellent teamwork of everyone involved in its development—without compromises from management or technical limitations.
Surprisingly, for such a large company, the unique value of the Mazda Roadster also lies in the fact that management members’ names are recognized as part of the project.
Of course, it was Mr. Yamamoto, as development director, who drew out the full power of this teamwork.
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On September 28, 2014, an unveiling event took place for the new Mazda Roadster *Miata/MX-5, just days before its release. Before a sea of eager fans gathered at the venue, the team members who had brought the Roadster to life stood in a proud row. Among those introduced one by one was an employee responsible for cost management—an unusual sight, as it was the first time I’d seen someone in that role celebrated on stage alongside a brand-new car.
For engineers and designers who chase technical ideals, the finance department, which tightens the purse strings, often feels like a formidable barrier they must overcome to realize their visions. This was certainly true during the development of the new Roadster. It was Nobuhiro Yamamoto, the chief engineer steering the team, who made the bold decision to recognize that finance employee as an interral member of the car-making crew, inviting the gathered fans to celebrate alongside the freshly completed vehicle.

Yamamoto's roots lay in a farming family in Kochi, Shikoku. Horses and cows roamed around him, and his childhood was spent surrounded by fields, helping with seasonal farm work, all while growing close to various machines. Among these, vehicles captured his imagination.
"I remember when I was in kindergarten, there was a guy in the neighborhood who rode a motorcycle. Every time I saw him, I begged to ride it, again and again. One day, he finally said, 'Sure,' and let me straddle the tank. It was a two-stroke Tohatsu. As I felt the vibration of that iron horse beneath me, cutting through the wind, I thought, 'Wow, this is incredible!' That moment filled me with excitement. I can still recall it clearly—that was my first encounter with a car—or rather, a motorcycle."
In those days, it was customary for everyone in farming families to pitch in during the busy seasons, and long before he was old enough to hold a license, Yamamoto was already driving small motorcycles and mini trucks. Like many boys fascinated by machines, he often took apart the farm equipment used for their work, sometimes getting scolded by his father when he couldn’t reassemble them. Then, in his second year of junior high, he stumbled upon the news about the "rotary engine from Toyo Kogyo."
"I immediately applied for a free booklet titled 'Knowledge of the Rotary Engine,' and they sent it to me. As a kid, I didn’t fully grasp what made it so special, but I felt this surge of excitement, as if something extraordinary was about to begin! Back then, when the dentist near my school parked his Mark II 1900SL and my teachers drove Publicas and Corollas, the arrival of the Familia Rotary Coupe made a huge impression on me. Even as a child, I was mesmerized by this car—it was the first in the world to feature a rotary engine, and it was unlike anything else out there."
After graduating from a technical high school, Yamamoto's dream came true when he joined Toyo Kogyo, earning a coveted position in the "Rotary Engine Research Department."
The years Yamamoto spent deeply immersed in the development of the rotary engine provided him with a treasure trove of experience.
“The fulfillment of working on an engine that only we were developing came hand in hand with the immense challenge of having to resolve every issue on our own. It was as if I was living and breathing rotary engines. Whether I was at the company or at home, my mind was constantly occupied with thoughts of the rotary engine. That was the rhythm of my life.
The rotary engine also taught me that in the realm of technology, a correct answer always lies at the end of a logical path, and there are no shortcuts to reach it. I wrote down the words, 'All our actions must be honest and sincere,' and placed them prominently on my desk. Those words truly encapsulated the way the members of the Rotary Engine Research Department conducted their lives.”
The rookie engineer, who had once devoted himself entirely to rotary engines day and night, eventually evolved into a seasoned engineer, overseeing the development of vehicles as a deputy chief engineer, including the second and third generations of the Roadster as well as several SUVs.
More than thirty years after he had submitted his fervent petition declaring, "I want to work on rotary engines no matter what," one day he received a directive to lead a project focused on developing a new FR layout platform, aimed at realizing the next generation of open cars and coupes.
“Without any notice or hint, they simply stated, 'This is the situation, so please take care of it.' They didn’t specify a name like the next Roadster, but it was clear that the project was intended for the advanced development of vehicles such as the Roadster and RX-7. There were no emotional discussions like, 'Do you want to give this a try?' or 'Think it over.' It was delivered as part of a routine personnel shift. I responded, 'Understood, I’ll take it on.' Three days later, I found myself in a new office, sitting at a different desk.
This marked the beginning of a completely different chapter in my career, one that shifted my focus from the specialized engineering field I had known to the broader realm of platform technology development. It all began abruptly at the end of June 2007.”

Due to the impact of the Lehman Shock, the project team led by Yamamoto was temporarily disbanded in its second year. However, they later resumed their efforts with a renewed focus and a clear development goal: the release of the Roadster.
"Looking back now, those were incredibly intense days. Yet, as the chief engineer, I felt that handling this level of responsibility was just part of the job, and I accepted everything with a sense of calm. At least, I never felt like I was under unbearable pressure."
During the development of the Roadster, I had the opportunity to attend a meeting where Yamamoto, alongside engineers from various fields, shared their progress and current challenges. His sharp, relentless critiques flowed one after another, his expression serious throughout the discussions. The engineers’ responses were equally fierce, reflecting the harsh realities they faced in their work.
On the other hand, Mr. Yamamoto, the chief engineer of the development team, had to submit every proposal for approval from the executives of each department while also considering the realities on the ground. Imagining the immense pressure he must have been under, I found myself compelled to ask Yamamoto about it.
“As chief engineer, my role isn’t just about making things; it’s about setting goals. When I first took on this position, I didn’t fully grasp what it entailed. So, I went around asking many senior colleagues for their advice. Some of them had previously disagreed with almost everything I tried to do in my past work. Yet, no matter how much you ponder something unfamiliar, understanding it is often out of reach. In those moments, the only option is to seek guidance from someone who seems to know and let them teach you. Everyone took the time to help me, generously sharing their wisdom.
You shouldn’t merely focus on solving the immediate problems to complete the car. Instead, establish a clear vision of the type of car you want to create, and then think about what needs to be done to make that a reality. Once the vision of your ideal car is set, raise it high so that everyone involved can share in it, continually guiding the engineers along the path toward that goal. ...I learned many other valuable lessons about what I needed to do as well.
I decided to make the new Roadster the most fun-to-drive car in the world and raised that as our goal. I concluded that the key engineering element to achieve this was lightness, and I devoted myself to inspiring everyone to bring that vision to life, guiding the necessary steps along the way. Over time, I also realized that when team members are passionately working toward a shared goal, it’s often better to trust them rather than interfere unnecessarily. Simply saying, 'I’m counting on you,' can yield surprisingly positive results."
Would sharing this kind of on-the-ground perspective help secure approval from the executives?
“No, there’s no such thing as lowering approval requirements based on the situation. The performance and budget targets set at the time of initial approval are essentially non-negotiable. If we don’t meet those, we can’t present it to the executives.

The one-ton weight limit was incredibly challenging. Should we just go all out and use 13-inch wheels, eliminate the power steering, or even scrap the air conditioning? Perhaps we could replace certain parts with aluminum. But no, that would jeopardize our cost targets.
The executives were not going to overlook such issues. 'You said you’d keep it under one ton. Are you really going to set an unachievable goal and leave your team stranded? Why is this costing so much? Drop the LED headlights, forget about aluminum, reduce the number of prototypes—there’s too much labor involved. If you invest this much in a 1.5-liter engine, how can you expect it to be affordable? Get both the weight and cost within target!'
I had to face all of those comments head-on."
So, wasn't it like being under unbearable pressure?
"No," he replied thoughtfully. "But afterward, they’d always come back with suggestions like, 'Couldn’t we reduce the weight by doing this?' or 'Once production starts and we hit our sales targets, the price of the LED lamps will drop significantly, so let’s use that to meet the target.' Both the engineers on the ground and the executives have their own roles to play, with things they must say and things they can’t. But the most crucial aspect is that everyone—both in the field and in management—is aligned toward the same goal. The Roadster had to embody a specific vision; there was no way we could release a car that simply came together by chance. Each person contributed their thoughts on what needed to be done to achieve our objectives, and that’s how we completed the fourth-generation ND Roadster."

After pausing for a moment, he took a breath and continued, "When I first joined the company, I was asked to write down my goals for the next ten years. I wrote in my notebook, 'I will become an engineer who makes the best engine in the world.' But I ended up on a different path from what I had envisioned, and yet, I still had the best time of my life. You never know what tomorrow will bring, and the reality is that, in the end, only the results matter. If all you can do is look back later, you might as well give it your all and enjoy the journey, reflecting on it when it’s over—that’s how I see it.
And let’s not forget that you are where you are because of the people around you. Without gratitude for that, nothing will go well. That’s what I feel as I look at the Roadster, completed just as we all imagined."
"...Not a Car That Simply Came Together, but the Roadster Crafted Precisely as Envisioned: A True Testament to Teamwork."
text:Munehisa Yamaguchi
photo:Masanori Kamide
special thanks:MAZDA
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85歳、現役「クルマの達人」
2024/10/27 04:40
もう初夏の頃のことですが電話を掛けたら、20年も前に原稿を書かせていただいたわたしのことを憶えてくださっていたことが、驚くやらうれしいやら。なにしろ、御年85歳です。すぐに大阪まで顔を見せに行ってきました。なにしろ85歳ですから、20年前にインタビューを取ったときにすでに65歳ですから、工場に出ているよと言われても、看板役としてのお務めかしらと想像していたら、ポルシェのエンジンルームに半身を突っ込んで工具を動かしているじゃないですか。さらに2週間後くらい、カメラマンといっしょに改めて訪ねて取材したときの記事がようやく書店に並びました。
先週の金曜日に携帯電話が鳴りまして。誰かと思ったら鮎川さんで、さっき本が届いた、とてもうまく書いてくれてありがとう、尻がこそばい、と喜んでくれてまして、10冊くらい買いたいというので編集部に手配しますと返しつつ、夏の取材のとき以来、少し話しました。

鮎川日出夫さん、戦前の生まれです。自動車の整備士が”修理屋”と呼ばれて阿呆でもできる糞みたいな仕事と聞かされていた幼少期の後、求められる人材となった高度成長期とモータリゼーションの時代を経て、やり方次第で会社員の何倍もの大きなお金を稼げるようになり、今に至るまでの全期間を現役メカニックとして過ごしてこられました。
今号の「クルマの達人」は、鮎川さんに物心がついた頃から……すなわち80年分くらいの日本の自動車周りの気配をなぞりつつ、ポルシェのメカニックとして多くの人が頼ることになった背景を4ページを使って描きました。同じくらいの時間軸でまた別のメカニックの物語を綴ることは、なかなか難しいことだと思います。カーセンサーエッジ誌12月号に載ってます、ぜひ部屋に持って帰ってゆっくり読んでください。
写真は、上出優之利さんです。

※ぜひ、Facebookでわたしをフォローしてください。ブログよりも更新が楽なので、スピーカーシステムの話、クルマの話、はるかにたくさんの発信をしています。簡単な動画ですが、スピーカーシステムの音を車内で録音したファイルも、Facebook内にはたくさんあります。鑑賞だけならアカウントは不要です。下のFacebookのURLから飛べます。
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山本修弘さんのことを書きました。
2024/09/10 11:42
みにくい「自前サーバーブログ」が続いていますが、もうしばらくご辛抱ください。facebookに寄せられた視聴環境ごとの見え方について、対策を検証しています。
さて、
9月27日発売のカーセンサーエッジ誌、連載「クルマの達人」で、NDロードスター開発主査を務められた山本修弘さんのことを書かせていただきました。
具体的なクルマの話……例えばサスペンションとかエンジンとかデザインとか、そういう話は、ほとんど書きませんでした。ただただ山本さんの目の前に現れた情景とそれについてのご本人の反応を書きました。その中から、我ら凡人の身の丈からでも見渡せる決してスーパーマンではない親しみと、おおよそほとんどの人には真似できない人並み外れた特性を読み抜いていただければうれしく思います。NDロードスターが、いまよりもっと愛おしくなるなるかもしれません。

写真:上出優之利
※ぜひ、Facebookでわたしをフォローしてください。ブログよりも更新が楽なので、スピーカーシステムの話、クルマの話、はるかにたくさんの発信をしています。簡単な動画ですが、スピーカーシステムの音を車内で録音したファイルも、Facebook内にはたくさんあります。鑑賞だけならアカウントは不要です。下のFacebookのURLから飛べます。
facebook / Yamaguchi Munehisa
Twitter / nineover
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