The Nissan 370z designer is a proud Filipino

Nissan Motor Philippines Inc. scored a public relations grandslam in the recently concluded PIMS when it brought in US-based car designer Randy Rodriguez. The Filipino designer, as well as the iconic Nissan 370Z he designed, was “proudly on display” at the spacious Nissan booth. Now based at Nissan Design America in California, he is recognized as one of the world’s foremost creative minds in automobile designs.

The 34-year-old Rodriguez has been an aircraft and car designer for more than a decade now. He studied at the Center for Creative Studies Detroit.

Born and raised in Vancouver, Rodriguez considers himself a Filipino by heart and heritage, with his parents both Filipinos. He also considers himself a fan of Nissan and its Z models ever since he got his first Z car when he was 14. As a designer for Nissan, he has been able to spread Filipino creativity through the vehicles he designs.
He was given a chance to make a name for himself when Nissan opened a design competition among all designers within the global Nissan Design Studios.

“My dad was a mechanic fixing cars. My older brother had a Datsun Z when he was 11. My first car was also a Z. I was 14 when my dad bought me a Datsun to fix up.

“I’ve owned about 14 Z cars my whole life. I fell in love with them. I love drawing and painting since I was a kid. I combined my two passions and became a car designer.”

Randy related that after graduating from CCS, he landed a job at Nissan right away.

“My family loved the Z cars. I grew up in a Nissan family. I was always dreaming that maybe I could be a Nissan designer. So, yeah, I am now in a company that I dreamt of working in,” he smiled.

It wasn’t all about work experiences in Nissan, though. He said that he experienced being an intern of other brands like General Motors and Toyota Japan.

“This is a very difficult to job. There are lots of kids who want to be designers. It’s one thing to make it to school and go through the whole program. In a graduating class of maybe 20, only two or three of them will get a job in car design. It’s very competitive,” said Randy.

Randy also gets to travel to other Nissan design studios around the world. Rodriquez had a chance to work in studios in Japan, Nissan Design Europe (for four months). He also gets to design cars of Infiniti (the luxury division of automaker Nissan).

He also knows of other Filipinos into design.

“I designed the exterior of the 370z. It’s pretty cool because my first car was a Z. Now I am part of the history of Z. At first it was surreal. You think that stuff like that doesn’t just happen.”

Find your passion

“It’s all about passion—passion to do the things you love. To my kababayans, designers or not, I urge you to find your own passion. Fuel it and share it. Follow your dreams, and to be truly happy in life, you should do what you love. Focus, work harder than everyone else, and don’t give up. Develop your skills and talent to increase your chances in life,” he advised.

Putting a high value on its heritage and ensuring that the long history of innovative ideas is preserved, the challenge was for the designers to make a “super evolution” of the 350z. “It’s like the kid in me was brought to life! Because of my passion for the brand, the model, and the fact that I have been drawing Zs all my life, my ideas for the 370z’s theme came out quickly and naturally,” he said.

The concept for the 370z was an “Erotic Mechanism”—something sexy while highlighting technical and mechanical details.

“I can say it’s all the things a designer would want. I applaud the engineers and planners at Nissan for making that happen,” he commends.
“The 350 is beautiful, but a little friendly-looking to me, especially in the front. I wanted to turn up the anger a few levels and inject the car with some steroids. The 370z is more dynamic and emotional with a bigger chest, flexed muscles and a more aggressive stance.”

Rodriguez now is not only a proud Nissan employee, but a proud Filipino who has taken the opportunity of putting our capabilities to the global front. With his creativity, Nissan’s globally recognized vehicle has now been given a touch of Pinoy.