Pininfarina Replaces Okuyama as Design Director
09-14-06, 10:00 AM
#1
G35x - RWD/AWD goodness
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Pininfarina Replaces Okuyama as Design Director
By DALE JEWETT | AUTOMOTIVE NEWS
AutoWeek | Published 09/13/06, 3:16 pm et
Italian design firm Pininfarina S.A. has replaced Ken Okuyama -- credited as the designer of the Ferrari Enzo, Rossa and 612 Scaglietti -- as its director of design, 14 months after Okuyama was named to the post.
Company Chairman Andrea Pininfarina will be director of design until a replacement is named. The firm's three chief designers -- Guglielmo Cartia, Fabrizio Valentini and Lowie Vermeersch -- will report to him.
In a statement released today, Pininfarina said the move "comes as a result of the various external activities Ken Okuyama was carrying out beyond his responsibilities within Pininfarina." The company provided no details.
Okuyama, 46, could not be reached for comment.
This was Okuyama's second time working for Pininfarina. Before rejoining the Turin, Italy, company in July 2005, Okuyama spent four years as transportation design chairman at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif.
Okuyama started at Pininfarina in 1995, where he worked on Ferrari designs. Pininfarina is Ferrari's exclusive design partner.
Earlier in his career, Okuyama worked for General Motors and Porsche AG. The Japanese native is a graduate of Art Center College.
Interviewed before taking the design director post at Pininfarina, Okuyama said the firm wanted to move into such areas as engineering and product development.
He also said he wanted to instill more discipline in the way Pininfarina worked.
"Italians give a lot of responsibility to one person, which often means better design. But they also take less time to work on it, and it can lack refinement," Okuyama said. "The car needs to be beautiful, but it also needs to have perfect function."
Mark Rechtin contributed to this article
Source: http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dl...1/TOC01ARCHIVE
AutoWeek | Published 09/13/06, 3:16 pm et
Italian design firm Pininfarina S.A. has replaced Ken Okuyama -- credited as the designer of the Ferrari Enzo, Rossa and 612 Scaglietti -- as its director of design, 14 months after Okuyama was named to the post.
Company Chairman Andrea Pininfarina will be director of design until a replacement is named. The firm's three chief designers -- Guglielmo Cartia, Fabrizio Valentini and Lowie Vermeersch -- will report to him.
In a statement released today, Pininfarina said the move "comes as a result of the various external activities Ken Okuyama was carrying out beyond his responsibilities within Pininfarina." The company provided no details.
Okuyama, 46, could not be reached for comment.
This was Okuyama's second time working for Pininfarina. Before rejoining the Turin, Italy, company in July 2005, Okuyama spent four years as transportation design chairman at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif.
Okuyama started at Pininfarina in 1995, where he worked on Ferrari designs. Pininfarina is Ferrari's exclusive design partner.
Earlier in his career, Okuyama worked for General Motors and Porsche AG. The Japanese native is a graduate of Art Center College.
Interviewed before taking the design director post at Pininfarina, Okuyama said the firm wanted to move into such areas as engineering and product development.
He also said he wanted to instill more discipline in the way Pininfarina worked.
"Italians give a lot of responsibility to one person, which often means better design. But they also take less time to work on it, and it can lack refinement," Okuyama said. "The car needs to be beautiful, but it also needs to have perfect function."
Mark Rechtin contributed to this article
Source: http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dl...1/TOC01ARCHIVE
09-20-06, 06:03 PM
#5
Speaks French in Russian
Thank god. Hopefully we will actually see some good looking Ferraris. The most recent Ferraris do absolutely nothing for me. They completely lost it IMO. Bring back the Ferraris of the 80's and early 90's!! 
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