Yasuaki Asaki
The hardest of all: cylinder deactivation
The V6 fitted to the fourth-generation Inspire rests the three cylinders on one bank while cruising to save fuel. Resting them causes vibration. Asaki turned to an active engine mount that had been built in-house for diesels but had never been used, and won over its developer, half by trickery, to work with him. He says the hardest thing he ever worked on was not the N-BOX or F1, but this cylinder deactivation.
