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Yoshiki Nishioka

Yoshiki Nishioka

MitsubishiDevelopment team member

Timeline

  1. 1991
    Pajero 2nd generation
    Pajero 2nd generation

    1991–1999Development team member

    A Technology That Broadened the Appeal of 4WD

    Yoshiki Nishioka joined Pajero development with the improved version of the second generation and from then on was involved in its development continuously through the fourth generation. The second-generation Pajero adopted the world's first "Super Select 4WD." In town it drove like a rear-wheel-drive passenger car; on expressways and slippery surfaces it used the stability of four-wheel drive; and on harsh rough terrain it delivered the capability of a genuine four-wheel-drive vehicle. Nishioka looks back on this system as "a technology that broadened the appeal of four-wheel-drive vehicles." Not keeping the power to get through rough terrain for a select few, but making it something more people can use with confidence: the second generation advanced that thinking greatly.

    Mitsubishi

  2. 1999
    Pajero 3rd generation
    Pajero 3rd generation

    1999–2006Development team member

    The Frame Was Killing the Independent Suspension

    The third-generation Pajero changed dramatically, from a ladder frame to a monocoque with a built-in frame, and to four-wheel independent suspension. The turning point was the Pajero Evolution built for the Dakar Rally ahead of the third generation. The prototype that kept the frame while adopting four-wheel independent suspension drew the comment from the person in charge of handling, "With this frame, the independent suspension doesn't work at all." The development team, including Nishioka, thoroughly reinforced the frame, but dozens of kilograms of reinforcement worsened weight and fuel economy. To make it rigid and also light, the only way was to integrate the frame and body. That rollover accidents involving SUVs had become a social problem in America, making a lower center of gravity an issue, and that a monocoque makes deformation in a collision easier to control, both pointed to the same answer. Nishioka puts the thinking this way: "What matters isn't what you adopt. It's what you achieve."

  3. 2006
    Pajero 4th generation
    Pajero 4th generation

    2006–2019Development team member

    Remaking Almost the Entire Suspension

    The fourth-generation Pajero returned to a powerful look reminiscent of the first generation, but inside it was not a return to the origin. Building on the body and suspension gained in the third generation, Nishioka and the team remade almost the entire suspension and, taking the evaluators' tough opinions, finished it point by point to improve ride, handling, and initial response. The fourth generation also combined Active Stability & Traction Control (ASTC) with a rear differential lock. Even so, Nishioka says that when he drives on rough surfaces in 2H (rear-wheel drive), the heavy engine is not too far forward, and he thinks, "This really is good." He looks back that they truly did everything that could be done at the time.

Profile

An engineer who was involved in Pajero development at Mitsubishi Motors for many years. He worked on Pajero development continuously from the improved version of the second generation through the fourth generation. He was also responsible for developing drivetrains for rally cars, launching the first-generation Pajero Sport, and switching the Delica D:5 to diesel.

Translated from Japanese sources.

Mitsubishi engineers

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