Kenichi Yamamoto (engineer)

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Kenichi Yamamoto
Born(1922-09-16)16 September 1922
mechanical engineer, business executive
Years active1946–1992
EmployerMazda
Known forDevelopment of Mazda Wankel engine

Kenichi Yamamoto (山本健一, Yamamoto Kenichi, 16 September 1922 – 20 December 2017) was a Japanese

rotary combustion engine, and served as Mazda
's President (1984–1987) and Chairman (1987–1992).

Early life

Yamamoto was born in

Tokyo Imperial University (now University of Tokyo).[2]

He served in the

Bombing of Hiroshima destroyed his family's home and killed his sister. After the end of the war, he moved to Hiroshima to support his parents.[3][2]

Career

In 1946, Yamamoto joined

transmissions for three-wheeled trucks.[1] A year and a half after joining the company, he moved to engine design, and rose to a supervisor role.[2] At the age of 25, he designed the company's first overhead valve engine.[3]

Supervisor role

Around 1961, the company's president appointed Yamamoto as the supervisor of a team tasked with producing a commercial model of the

Isuzu[3]) to become more competitive. The success of an improved engine would allow Toyo Kogyo to remain independent.[1]

Yamamoto's team produced the

fuel consumption led to declining sales and near-bankruptcy for the company during the oil crisis of early 1970s.[1]

In 1974, Yamamoto was appointed to lead a project to come up with fuel-saving innovations. He decided not to abandon the Mazda Wankel engine project, insisting that it differentiated the company from its competitors. The project produced an engine with significant improvement in fuel economy.

Mazda GLC/323: the three models played an important role in the company's financial turnaround.[2]

Management and executive roles

Subsequently, Yamamoto rose to management cadre and became the company's head of research and development. In 1978, motoring journalist Bob Hall suggested that the company build a cheap two-seater roadster. In 1981, Hall, who now worked as product planner for the company in Southern California, once again pitched his idea to Yamamoto. Later, Yamamoto approved the idea, and the initiative resulted in the successful MX-5 Miata model.[1]

On 30 November 1984, Yamamoto became the President of the company (now called Mazda).[2] He recommended the company's board to approve mass production of MX-5 Miata. He expanded Mazda's presence in the United States, starting with the Flat Rock Assembly Plant in Michigan, in 1985.[1] In 1987, Yamamoto became the company's Chairman,[3] and served in that capacity until he stepped down in 1992.[1]

He died on 20 December 2017 in Kanagawa Prefecture at the age of 95.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Richard Sandomir (29 December 2017). "Kenichi Yamamoto, Father of Mazda's Rotary Engine, is Dead at 95". The New York Times.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Susan Chira (12 January 1985). "A New Test for Mazda's Head". The New York Times.
  3. ^ a b c d "Kenichi Yamamoto, architect of the Mazda rotary, dies at 95". Autoweek. 2 January 2018.
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