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Nissan Z-car/Yoshihiko Matsuo tribute Part 3 Final by ShawnSkunk

Nissan Z-car/Yoshihiko Matsuo tribute Part 3 Final

ShawnSkunk

while I was reading about the announcement of Yoshihiko's death, I came across this article put out by Japanese Nostalgic car that talks a little bit about him, it's a great article and worth a read even though it's not very long and you can read it here:

http://japanesenostalgiccar.com/rip-yoshihiko-matsuo-nissan-fairladyz-240z-designer-1934-2020/

as far as I can see?, there's really not much on Yoshihiko that I could find when I started looking him up, he's not even mentioned much or even at all in old History Channel documentary from the 90's about the Z car.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4EeTq15PzE

not suprising really, I don't think he ever gets very much attention, the majority of that attention usually goes to Nissan's former manager of Nissan Motors USA, Yutaka Katayama, he too is no longer alive but passed away five years earlier back in 2015, but he was responsible for the creation of the Z car, he lobbied Nissan to create a car that Americans would love and want to drive, and by the end of the 60's, Nissan started to listen to Katayama and as a result?, the 240Z was created and imported to America where it become a hit, Katayama's love for cars and motor racing helped to convince Nissan to create the Z car.
much like Katayama, Yoshihiko Matsuo also had a love for cars especially performance cars.
he convinced Nissan's management of the need for sporty cars, his first perormance car he built for Nissan was the Datsun Bluebird 411 SSS, this would be considered by many fans to be Nissan's first real sports sedan and thanks to Matsuo, the SSS provided the Bluebird with enough marketplace redemption after suffering poor sales in it's previous model years that Yoshihiko Matsuo was entrusted to head Nissan's 1st modeling department as well as also their 4th design studio in 1966, there Matsuo and his team of designers and engineers began work on what would be the Datsun Z car, sure enough when the Z car launched in America it became a massive hit, the rest was history.
over the decades, even though he left Nissan in 1973, Matsuo had in partaking special car clubs and events celebrating the Z car and got to see each new generation of Z cars that came out, the only one generation Z car that he ever disliked?, was the 350Z (and to be honest with you guys unless you modified it with a custom body kit, it does look very plain in looks in it's stock factory form, so I can understand Matsuo's dislike for this particlular Z car).
sadly though, on July 11 (my birthday) 2020, Yoshihiko Matsuo died at the age of 86, just one day after celebrating his 86th birthday on July 10 2020.
however, while Matsuo no longer here, his legacy and his iconic 240Z design will live on forever, in fact, Nissan has plans to launch a new next gen Z car, the 400Z, this new Z will boast design cues that pay homage to Matsuo's original design, it's a fitting tribute to one of the men who turned the sports car world upside down, he will be missed by all of us, but as well we still see his 240Z on the road?, he will never be forgotten.
rest in peace Yoshihiko Matsuo 1933-2020

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