Q&A with Kotaro Shige, Honda's Rock Star ExecMay 06, 2011
By Peter Lyon
Photography by Masaru Hirata, Yoshitada
In his late teens in the early 1970s, Eric Clapton fan and rebellious guitarist Kotaro Shige dreamed of being a rock star. That goal was dashed when his group could only manage third place in a nationwide band contest, and he abandoned his dream of stage stardom.
Looking back, Honda's R&D chief is glad his band didn't make the grade back then. "Unless you're really good, musicians in Japan just can't make any money!" Motor Trend sat down with the Jimmy Page of Japan's car industry at Honda's HQs in central Tokyo for a chat about his life and passions, and what to expect from Honda in the near future.
Motor Trend: The earthquake and tsunami really shook Japan up on March 11. Where were you when it hit, and was your family OK?
Kotaro Shige: I was actually in Kyoto at the time, giving a lecture on our new Jazz Shuttle. The building shook a little but not nearly as much as it did in Tokyo and further north. My wife was shooting a truck catalogue in Hitachi, a place very close to the earthquake zone. Luckily I reached her the first time I phoned, because mobile phone communication soon went down. She told me that she was on the top of a hill photographing the trucks so she would not be exposed to tsunamis. Only then could I relax.
MT: And what happened to your plants and R&D center?
KS: We had a very hard time. Our main R&D center where I work is in the Tochigi region, which is close to the disaster area. Our plants were damaged pretty badly and we had to shut down everything as a precaution. Then we had to run safety checks on all our machinery. We are still trying to fix the damage. Another big problem is parts. Our parts supply chain has been seriously affected both domestically and internationally, which means that we can only build cars that we have parts for. The only good thing is the weakening yen, which will make our products cheaper overseas.
MT: Now let's move onto a happier subject. I hear you were married recently and that she is a little younger than you. Congratulations.
KS: Thank you. Chieko is 19 years younger than me, but we get on really well. One reason, she says, is that I make her feel that she does not have to change for me at all. Some people may raise their eyebrows, but I think that life itself is a challenge and we must attack it, free of inhibitions. Age should be no barrier to relationships, right! The funny thing is that when we go out, we hold hands or people mistake us for father and daughter.
MT: Wow, 19 years younger? Just like a real-life Jimmy Page. You might have similar hairstyles but you don't look that old. In fact, rumor has it that you were a star guitarist back in your teens.
KS: Well, I wouldn't say "star." And thanks for the Jimmy Page comment because he is a hero of mine. I did play in a band that was influenced by groups like the Ventures, Eric Clapton, and Cream. And like all the great rockers back then, I did have hair down to my shoulders. I played bass (guitar) in a band that was quite good and we played many gigs for colleges and clubs. Our peak performance was when we entered a national band contest - playing "Jumpin' Jack Flash" - and thought that if we won, we'd go professional. But we only came in third so I gave up my dream of becoming a musician. They don't make any money, anyway.
MT: So you gave up music altogether?
KS: Well, for around 10 years I hardly picked up my guitar. But then, inspired by some friends, I picked up a rhythm guitar and started playing again. And now, I play regularly in an old guys' band, oops, I mean mature band in a club in Tokyo.
MT: And what do you play? Eric Clapton-style music?
KS: Sometimes. But we mostly play what we call Group Sounds. It's a Japanese interpretation of music like the Ventures, but sung in Japanese, because we find the lyrics easier to remember, ahem, as we get older and lose our memories. Ha! Just kidding.
MT: So you entered Honda after you finished that band contest?
KS: No, actually, I joined a plastic lens company and worked there for five years before joining Honda.
MT: And why did you pick Honda over, say, Toyota or Nissan?
KS: Because I felt that someone like me would not quite fit in, not quite be able to find my niche at other car companies. Back in 1979, Honda seemed freer than others, like a company in which you could do anything. Toyota and Nissan seemed more set in their ways, and a little more rigid.
MT: So what was Honda like back then?
KS: I can't lie. Honda cars back then were not up to scratchRead . They were substandard. Compared to cars at other carmakers, models like the 1300 Coupe would break down a lot from overheating because they were air-cooled. The petrol would vaporize so on hot days, we had to stop every 10-15 minutes and have a smoke while we waited for it to cool down.
MT: You weren't even pushing the cars hard, and they'd break down?
KS: Well, um, not actually. My friends and I would actually race back then. That was a pivotal time I think, because we use to push the cars, Hondas, Toyotas, and Nissans, and the Honda cars could not keep up. We could not drive for 300 kilometers without a Honda breaking down. Our 1300 Coupe wouldn't turn into the corners well, while the Toyota Publica and Nissan Cherry and were faster, more stable, and would always win the races. With our cars, you'd have to rev them hard, and even then the clutch would slip.
MT: Sounds like you had a hands-on experience with the workings, or should I say, the "un-workings" of Honda cars back then...
KS: Huh! Yeah, that's right. But things did not get better straight away. In the early '80s, a new front-wheel drive Civic came out, but it was too front-heavy. That meant that on slippery roads, it would suffer from bad lift-off oversteer and spin easily.
MT: I've driven one or two of those cars and they certainly did have that problem. So you weren't all that thrilled with Honda cars back then?
KS: Not at all. I thought they were not competitive on the road and they were too noisy as well. I wanted to make Honda cars better, so that was my main reason for joining the company in the first place.
MT: Did you start on chassis or powertrain engineering?
KS: To tell the truth, I actually started on designing the dash for the Accord and then shifted to doors and wiper designs until I was 31. Then I was transferred to our main R&D center at Tochigi where I eventually led the team on the Civic and Del Sol projects from 1988. In 1991, I was transferred again, this time to Wako, just north of Tokyo to develop the next Civic among other cars.
MT: So did your Civics get better over time?
KS: Yes, they did. The powertrains became much more competitive and quality levels rose dramatically. But the strange [thing] is this. I was moved from Tochigi to Wako to lead a product planning team without really knowing what the customers wanted.
MT: So you had no idea what customers actually wanted or needed in your cars?
KS: Well, yes. That's how it was. Our customer clinics were almost totally ineffective back then. We used to design cars that we wanted to make, not what the customer really wanted. Cars like the Civic Del Sol (with the unique electric roof).
MT: You only started focusing on customers' tastes and needs in the early 90s?
KS: Yes, so that had to change. For the next five years, it became my job to head up a new product planning division and spend as much time as possible with my crew frequenting all of the trendy, fashionable locations in Tokyo's ritzy areas. Our job was to get a finger on the pulse of customer tastes and needs.
MT: Sounds like a great job to me. So you went to all of the newest, most ready, most fashionable clubs, bars and restaurants for five years, and on company money?
KS: Well, you could say that I suppose. Even though our division gave us this job, we were still criticized on the side by some senior management for wasting time and money. Or that's how they saw it. But that soon ended because I was transferred to the Kei-car (660cc minicars) division and put in charge of developing our next Life and Today minicars.
MT: Wow, they certainly switch you around a lot. How did you take that? Because that transfer seems like being switched from business class to economy class all of a sudden.
KS: Yeah, I did not like it one bit. I did not want to do minicars. I wanted to do the Legend. Don't tell anyone, but I think I could have done a better job with the Legend than was actually done. Sure, the 4WD system was very advanced, but apart from that, it did not quite meet the mark, I think. It looks like a glorified Accord.
MT: But you did do the minicars, right?
KS: Yep, sure did. I wanted to do the best job possible. So, leaning on my experience from my product planning days (of luxury), I asked my development team to find out what minicar customers really wanted. And we saw some discrepancies immediately between what we thought and what the customers thought about cars. When you use different words to describe the same thing, you wonder how you can create a car that satisfies customer needs. For example, we would say "heavy" (omoi) when referring to steering input, but our customers would use the word "hard." (katai).
MT: As late as the mid-'90s, you and your customers were not speaking the same language?
KS: I'm afraid so. Up until quite recently we had basically looked down on our minicar customers, thinking that they had no idea about what constituted a good-handling car. Handling and brakes and ride quality. But then we realized that they are driving it every day, so they know more than us. So we realized that we had to up our efforts - so from 1994 we tried harder.
MT: That's when you launched the Odyssey, the people-mover that changed your company. For better or worse, from that day forth, Honda became a minivan/people-mover company, releasing one new minivan every year.
KS: Well, our sales of sedans and coupes fell off in the early '90s, so we switched focus to minivans. And yes, that became the rebirth of Honda. Minivans.
MT: So, after your surprisingly honest impressions of Honda cars 30 years ago, can you tell me what you think of Hondas today?
KS: We are at where I wanted us to be. Sure, we do make a lot of minivans, but our quality levels are top-class. And I think our engines and transmissions are some of the best in the industry now, as is our handling. I feel that our engines, like the S2000 and Civics, spin better than most rivals and sound good, too!
MT: I agree. The S2000 and NSX had superb engines and manual gearboxes. In fact, in some countries like the UK, the S2000 is still topping JD Power surveys for customer satisfaction.
KS: Yes, that's true, but our engines are so good and so fuel-efficient now, that to be honest, that's why we did not add idle-stop to the Jazz lineup as it just makes things more complicated and you need ten times the battery current capacity with idle-stop. And it makes the car more expensive, too. That's why we only offer hybrid. It's already economical enough.
MT: And of course you have the new CR-Z now, the first hybrid with a six-speed manual.
KS: Yeah, we do, but I am not a big fan of it. I think its face is too aggressive, too in your face. I wanted it to have a more futuristic design.
MT: And what about the power of the car? Is it powerful enough?
KS: Hmm, that's a painful question. Let's put it like this. With our next generation of sports cars, we will offer a slightly different definition. Like the CR-Z, they won't just be cars that offer moderate acceleration, but deliver driving thrills and cornering fun while still giving drivers a feeling of topless and free. Part of our plan was to get the CR-Z on the road and see what the market wants. So we expect to add to this lineup soon.
MT: We've heard strong rumors of a 2.0 liter naturally aspirated version. Perhaps, we might see a more powerful...
KS: Don't get ahead of yourself. Yes, we are considering upgrades to the CR-Z, but can't say what right now of course. We are also thinking about other smaller cars, too.
MT: Like a modern-day version of the little Beat from 1991?
KS: Well, I won't say we are not doing it, but if we do, it'll handle well. We want to promote our environmental technology globally mainly through hybrids. But we will do small cars, too. That's my area of focus now. The move in the world is towards smaller cars so we must follow that - downsizing.
MT: You have been to Italy many times. What do you think of Italian car culture?
KS: Yes, I have been dozens of times. And I think that driving on Italian roads is like driving in between two extremes - a beautiful outdoor museum and a mad racetrack. Italian women drivers surprise me the most. Nearly everyone seems to drive manual cars. And when they approach a red traffic light, they change down progressively through the gears, so that they will be in the right gear to get the jump on every other driver when the lights turn green. It's amazing. Oh and I must tell you that my favorite spot is Amalfi and its narrow roads on a cliff edge. I thought I was a fast driver. No way. Even though the roads are frighteningly narrow and there is a cliff on one side, Italian drivers will come up fast behind me and pass with only inches to spare. They are all so good at driving on narrow roads. I always wonder, "Have they no sense of fear?" But then, they can drive like that because so many drive small diesel turbos which have loads of bottom-end torque, and offer quick acceleration. I can't wait to go back, and neither can my wife!
MT: Thanks for the chat, and Shige-san, keep on rocking! And please, invite us to your next gig.
Source (with more pic's!);
http://www.motortrend.com/features/auto_news/2011/1105_hondas_head_of_r_and_d_talks_cr_z_minivans_and_music/index.html
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