Ichiro Suzuki (engineer)

Unknown to Suzuki until his high school reunion years later, his mother persuaded a teacher to excuse his absences, allowing him to graduate and enroll in Nagoya University.

[1] In 1983, company chairman Eiji Toyoda initiated the F1 project, a plan to create a brand-new luxury sedan which would challenge the top models from Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

[5] Suzuki also developed a series of "no-compromise goals", which were seemingly contradictory or mutually exclusive design targets (e.g. high top speed yet low fuel consumption).

[6] As chief engineer, Suzuki ensured that the completed LS 400 sedan met each of the design criteria, intended to exceed rival vehicles in key aspects.

[4] The 1989 launch of Suzuki's biggest project, the Lexus LS, proved to be a major success, with the sedan outselling rival flagship models within its first year on the market.