"...Do you want to meet him?" Asks Peter Bedrosian, a Senior Manager of Product Planning at Nissan.
"Huh?" I barely catch the end of Peter's question over the roar of the crowd and music. We're at JLounge, a trendy bar in the gentrified area of Downtown Los Angeles that's been converted to a makeshift altar to the new 370Z. Last November, coinciding with the new Z's debut at the LA Auto Show, Nissan threw an after-hours shindig complete with open bar and free food.
"The exterior designer behind the 370," Peter shouts. "He's really into Zs."
Great. There's free booze and a straggling import model or two, but instead, I get to talk to some old Japanese designer who probably won't speak a lick of English.
"Sure!" I reply.
We make our way to the ring of people huddling around a yellow Z34. Opening the passenger door like he owns it is a Filipino dude in his 20s. I scan the crowd for an old J-guy. None.
Peter walks up to the guy holding the the door and taps him on the shoulder. Ha, busted! Should've put a down payment first, buddy. He looks up, confused, and Peter escorts him over in my direction. Uh-oh-I hope Peter doesn't think I'm playing the Asian bad cop routine.
"Carter, I'd like you to meet Randy Rodriguez-he came up with the exterior design of the 370," beams Peter, as if he was introducing his son. "He's owned like a dozen tuned Zs; you should talk to him."
Designed the 370Z's exterior, is really into tuning, looks like he just walked out of an HIN and looks to be five years my junior? Not only should I talk to him, I should really re-evaluate what I've done with my life.
What part of the 370Z design were you responsible for?
I worked on the exterior design at NDA in San Diego up until it was picked as the final theme in the advanced phase. Immediately afterward, I was busy on other projects and I didn't even get to see it in the production phase where it was executed at NDC in Japan.
Was the task assigned or was there a bidding process?
It was an open competition within the global Nissan Design Studios, and all the designers were encouraged to contribute designs.
How long did it take you to come up with your design?
Usually the amount of time designers have to sketch is short, so you end up pulling all nighters, staying late and working on weekends to come up with something. I did hundreds of sketches, but because I've been drawing Z's my whole life, the 370's theme came out quickly and naturally.
When it comes to the actual design, do you sketch or render them digitally?
I love to draw and paint. I always carry a little sketchbook with me, so I usually ideate with a pen and paper. Sometimes I'll render with markers and pastels, but these days, it's usually done digitally.
Prior to the Z34, what other Nissan projects were you involved in?
I joined Nissan in the summer of 2002 and since then, I've sketched and had clay/digital models on a full range of different projects for both Nissan and Infiniti-small cars, SUVs, full size trucks, to more exploratory conceptual products. An early highlight for me was the Actic concept car that debuted at the 2004 Detroit Auto Show. You always dream of doing a concept car in design school, and luckily for me, I had the opportunity to do so.
Where did you learn how to design?
I went to the College for Creative Studies in Detroit and graduated in 2002. While I was in school, I interned at Toyota in Japan, GM's Cadillac, Chevy truck, Hummer divisions, and as a freshman, at ASC.
You're a huge Z fan-how many have you owned?Back in Surrey, British Columbia, my dad owned a gas station with a shop, and he had a lot of different cars. When I was young, a couple donated a rusted '76 280Z with no floor. My older brother wanted it bad and my Dad gave it to him when he was 10 years old. My brother loved that car, and he and my dad restored and modified it.