Happy 100th Birthday to the Father of the Z-Car, Yutaka Katayama

Photo: Datsun Heritage Museum

If you've ever known or loved a Z-Car, you have Yutaka Katayama to thank. Mr. K, as he's called, was a Nissan ad guy sent to the United States in the 1950s to build the Datsun brand from the ground up. He established the company's U.S. headquarters in Gardena, CA, where it remained until last year's move to Tennessee. In the late 1960s, Mr. K insisted the Datsun brand needed a sports car. Then, he went out and made it happen. The original 240Z debuted for 1970.

Today, September 15, Mr. K turns 100, and you can see him celebrating with Nissan/Datsun owners in this photo. In his honor, we have collected three special Nissan Z commercials, one featuring racecar driver John Morton in a 240Z, another for the 260Z, which came along in 1974 (with its stroked, emissions-choked 2.6-liter version of the inline-6), and the shift_Longing commercial for the 2003 350Z.

Executive Editor Michael Jordan has written a retrospective of Mr. K's career here, or you can read the full play-by-play of his life here.

Three videos after the jump.

Categories: Classic Cars,Coupes,Nissan