Tetsuya Tada will be remembered?
 

I have seen almost all videos of him on youtube. Looks like he is really a passionate and car enthusiast. Do you guys really think he is a a genuine guy like NSX/S2000's chief engineer Shigeru Uehara?

Who? Never heard of till you mentioned him. So no.

Oh boy... opened up pandora box. K, brb I gonna write a long ass article of Tada-san in my perspective.

So have popcorn ready by the time I comeback finishing writing it. Lol

:D

He had something to do with something.....marketing I believe.

Is he dead?

Shigeru who?

I was completely joking bout typing up an article (but if I’m in the mood... maybe).

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...3791cfe70a.jpg

I’ll try to keep it simple...

Met him in spring of ‘12. First time he saw me & I gave him my card (which back then only stated “forum mod”), not once he made dirty look or look down on me (some other brand engineers do), he treated me like a gearhead friend. He even said “I check that forum often and amazed with information.” Since then I was blessed enough to chat w him more than some other ppl. Sometimes he gotta say certain things due to company stuff and he’s the face of 86, other than that he’ll tell you stuff both on & off topics.

He maybe be a POS to some fans for ruining 86 by collab w Subaru & Supra by collab w BMW... & sadly he have heard that from ppl both online & in person. If you actually give him a chance and get off your 86 &/or Supra fan boi high horse and listen, he’s just a normal down to earth gearhead.

In the end, only ppl who was able to meet him and chat w him know if he’s enthusiast or just yes-men.

I think years from now he will be remembered fondly for championing classic style sports cars. I was hyped for these cars since the concept in 09. Something simple, lightweight and involving thanks to a manual transmission. Before these cars Miata really was the only answer, and while I appreciate the MX-5, I just needed a little more convenience while maintaining the good looks. A nice coupe fit the bill.

Dude was just in Orange County meeting 86 owners 2 weeks ago:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8vZD6On7nA/

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8vLnD3FDCs/

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8vXxsoHVYk/

practically revived the affordable and fun sports car market and built a super popular, customizable, perfect driver's car.

dudes pretty awesome

Wow. I am not an experienced person like you guys, but I believe, the way 86 is built, without a pure enthusiasm, it was not possible. Correct me if I am wrong.

When I read this heading, I legit thought the guy died...


From what I've read and seen online, he is an enthusiast that goes the extra mile, which is why he delayed his retirement to be Chief Engineer of the GR Supra as well.

Wait a minute, isn't Tada-san Japanese for @Tcoat - san?

People need to read and understand the development story. Tada did not dream up this car, decide to partner with Subaru or even have a hand in the early prototypes. The project was already launched and in it's early stages when he was pulled from designing minivans and assigned to it. By the sounds of it he didn't even see the assignment coming.


Once he was assigned he lead a TEAM that did the development. Yes, he was their spokesman and representative to higher management (as chief Designer for a project he is many many steps down from the top) but he did not single handedly build the car. Would the same or similar car result with a different leader? Probably.


Like any corporate public figure he can only say so much about a project without being fired for disclosure of restricted information. That restriction is part of why many of his official statements were always so vague. He was also very often misquoted or his statements twisted by the "press".
My favorite progress can be found if you dig through some old articles about the MR2.
The statement made was "I would LIKE to see a three sports car line up" no mention of an MR2 or any other specifics. By the time that statement had played telephone through 4 or 5 click baits we were seeing the headline "Tada announces plans to build a MR2 in conjunction with Mazda". Hell some of the sites even had beautiful renders of the car.


All in all he may be a great, friendly, down to earth man but in the end he is just a middle sized fish in a really big pond so to think of him as some automotive god is just ridiculous.

Yup! I was there as well! He & Fukumoto-san enjoyed seeing all the 86 & Supra making the meet.

He actually retired... while Supra was in development. So how is he still working? Toyota made a “contract” w him. So technically, he’s not full Toyota employee anymore lol