Descubra Nikkei

https://www.discovernikkei.org/pt/interviews/clips/1302/

Corvette kit

Design to him was something that had to be functional and not just for show. He wanted aerodynamics, so that’s something that he pushed the envelope on even back when aerodynamics weren’t thought of, I think they didn’t see that as a big deal, you know, or they didn’t spend the money on aerodynamics when he intuitively knew about aerodynamics.

So the Corvette kit I talked about earlier, he had done such a god job that when they put the car, they let him run the car in the wind tunnel, even though he didn’t work for General Motors at the time, he got wind tunnel time, which is very expensive. And he put the car in the wind tunnel and it actually improved the coefficient of drag.

And so it...the problem that he had with that though was, typically Larry, is that it did such a good job that it ticked off the current group of designers. So they kind of pushed him to the side again because it did, they had told, Larry had told me that they had gone to the board and said, "We have to have a new Corvette because the current Corvette, we can’t modify it anymore to be better, to make it better aerodynamically." And here comes Larry, an independent, with his kit basically that you could add on to the current Corvette and improve the numbers. So, you know, that wasn’t a good thing.


aerodinâmica automóveis automóvel Chevrolet automóvel Corvette design Larry Shinoda veículos motorizados carros esportivos

Data: September 14, 2011

Localização Geográfica: California, US

Entrevistado: Akira Boch

País: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum

Entrevistados

Depois de graduar-se no Ensino Médio em Anaheim, Ron Kusumi colou grau em Cal Poly Pomona e trabalhou na indústria automotiva por 20 anos com empresas como a Nissan e Mitsubishi. Foi enquanto trabalhava em um projeto de desenvolvimento de uma roda de liga de alumínio na Nissan, que Ron conheceu o famoso designer Larry Shinoda, cujos breves comentários sobre o projeto impressionaram Ron, com um olhar vivo e um gênio por conhecer a essência do estilo e função. Os dois compartilhavam uma paixão mútua por carros esportivos e se tornaram amigos. Nos últimos 15 anos, Ron tem conduzido um estúdio de cinema independente em Long Beach, Califórnia, escrevendo, produzindo e dirigindo programas para televisão a cabo. (Setembro de 2012)

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