Larry Shinoda

Lawrence Kiyoshi (Larry) Shinoda (March 25 1930 – November 13 1997) was a noted automotive designer who was best known for his work on the Chevrolet Corvette and Ford Mustang.

Shinoda was born in Los Angeles, California and grew up in Southern California where he started developing his artistic talents in grade school. [http://www.pasadena.edu/about/history/alumni/shinoda/shinoda.cfm Koveleski, Oscar. "The Designer", Pasadena City College] , retrieved on 2008-06-29.] He was interned with his family by the U.S. Government during WW II under U.S. Executive Order 9066 into a "War Relocation Camp" at Manzanar.cite web | title=Corvette Hall of Fame: Larry Shinoda | url=http://www.corvettemuseum.com/library-archives/hof/shinoda.shtml | accessdate=2008-07-21] As a young man, he built hot rods and drag-raced them on the streets of Los Angeles. With his 1924 Ford roadster, he won the first National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Nationals that were held in Great Bend, Kansas, in 1955.

He attended the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles but was kicked out, and went to work first for Ford Motor Company in 1955, then briefly with Packard, then General Motors in late-1956. Working with GM design chief Bill Mitchell and Corvette chief engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov, he refined work on concept cars that eventually translated into the 1963 Corvette Sting Ray and the 1968 version, patterned after Shinoda's Mako Shark show car.

In 1968, Henry Ford II hired former GM executive Bunkie Knudsen to be president of Ford. Knudsen recruited Shinoda to come to Ford in hopes of improving the styling and sales of Ford's lineup. Shinoda's first project at Ford was a high-performance Mustang known as the Boss 302 Mustang. [ [http://auto.howstuffworks.com/larry-shinoda.htm "Larry Shinoda: Creator of the Ford Mustang Boss 302" by the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide, undated] ] , retrieved on 2008-06-29.] Reportedly Shinoda chose the name "Boss" as a homage to Knudsen. He led design for the Mustang models for 1970-1973 as well, but when Knudsen was fired from Ford late in 1969 Shinoda left as well.

Shinoda later opened an independent design firm and did work for GM, Ford, and aftermarket companies. In addition to its in-house team, he was one of three designers under contract with American Motors Corporation (AMC) to create and build clay models of a vehicle then known as XJC, which later became the Jeep ZJ (Jeep Grand Cherokee) after Chrysler's buyout of AMC in 1987. [ [http://wardsautoworld.com/ar/auto_design_debate_whos/ Rothenberg, Al. "Design Debate - Who's the father of the Jeep Grand Cherokee", Ward's AutoWorld, March 1, 1998] , retrieved on 2008-06-29.]

Shinoda began to have to kidney problems in 1996, yet continued to be an active designer. [ [http://www.corvettemuseum.com/library-archives/hof/shinoda.shtml "Larry Shinoda - 1998 Induction to the Corvette Hall of Fame" National Corvette Museum] , retrieved on 2008-06-29.] Before the transplant took place he died in 1997 at his home in Michigan of heart failure at age 67. His daughter, Karen, formed Team Shinoda (now Shinoda Performance Vehicles) a tuner and performance parts company. [ [http://www.teamshinoda.com/Cart/ Theam Shinoda Story, undated] , retrieved on 2008-06-29.]

Footnotes

External links

* [http://www.idavette.net/HistFact/shinoda.htm Development of the Sting Ray]
* [http://www.cpts-test.com/shinivew/ Interview with Shinoda]
* [http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/specs/prototypes/mako1.html Interview with Shinoda emphasizing the Mako Shark show car]
* [http://www.teamshinoda.com/Cart/ Team Shinoda, Tuner Company]