Nissan has design centers in London, Taiwan, Japan and Shanghai, China. Why San Diego, too?
"If something is going to happen in the area of car design anywhere in the world, it will be in San Diego," Campbell said. "There's an openness to ideas here, and this is a good location to recruit top designers."
The tree-shaded concrete compound in University Town Center "was designed by designers for designers," Campbell said. It covers about 6.5 acres and supports 60 employees.
The atmosphere inside is quiet and casual - a work ethic established decades before relaxed dress codes were made desirable by the rise of dot-com companies. There are open courtyards, work spaces with high ceilings and an expansive shop for machine-carving of clay models. There's more, but off-limits to the media.
A high-walled open display area in back is used for viewing colors and vehicles in a variety of lights. There's also a sand volleyball court and large gas barbecue grill to help jump-start the creativity.
The location is also ideal for secrecy. Spy photographers are prevented from using helicopters because of restricted air space of the nearby Miramar Marine Corps Air Station.
While all Nissan design centers submit sketches for new vehicle designs, it's a friendly competition, Campbell said.
The new Rogue crossover was started at NDA then finished in Farmington Hills and Japan. The Altima coupe and Altima sedan were started at NDA and finished in Japan under Campbell's direction. And the 350Z was started at NDA and finished in Japan.
"We've been pretty successful in winning the designs," Campbell said.
Mark Maynard is driving in cyberspace at mark.maynard@uniontrib.com
