Nissan Becoming a Trend Setter

Nissan Becoming a Trend Setter
Not long after Carlos Ghosn began running the Nissan Motor Co. in 1999, he installed Shiro Nakamura, from Isuzu, as its chief designer. Five years later, Ghosn is widely seen as a management wizard, having engineered a stunning turnaround in the company's fortunes, and Nakamura has established Nissan as a leader in automotive design.

The praise for Nissan's new look has come from all corners: from journalists impressed by the bold concept cars at auto shows; from customers, who have embraced many of the distinctive cars and trucks in Nissan and Infiniti showrooms; and from designers and executives at competing companies, including Robert A. Lutz, vice chairman of General Motors, and Peter Schreyer, chief of design at Volkswagen.

Under Nakamura, Nissan has risen in prominence, becoming the first Japanese automaker to gain respect for its pace-setting designs rather than simply for engineering or quality.

Innovative design has also lifted the company's sales. Nissan's global sales have risen more than 20 percent in five years; Ghosn predicts 3.6 million annual sales by the end of next September, compared with 2.5 million in 1999.

Gary Vasilash, editor in chief of Automotive Design and Production, a trade publication, said: "Although Carlos Ghosn is given the major credit for the remarkable turnaround of Nissan's bu