By Shinoo Mapleton · June 9, 2026

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After 40 years in the automotive industry, I've come to appreciate how much influence a CEO can have on the cars we eventually drive. Most customers never think about it, but the person sitting in the corner office often determines whether a company builds appliances or automobiles.

Every CEO must manage profitability, manufacturing, quality, regulations, and shareholder expectations. Those responsibilities never disappear. The difference is what happens after those requirements are met. A non-enthusiast often sees a vehicle as a product category. An enthusiast sees it as an experience. One asks how much the car costs to build. The other asks how it feels to drive.

The best leaders do both.

The modern benchmark is probably Akio Toyoda. Unlike many executives, Toyoda is not merely a car enthusiast in theory. He races, often under the "Morizo" name, and has spent years pushing Toyota back toward enthusiast-focused products.

The results are difficult to ignore. During his tenure, Toyota delivered the GR86, GR Corolla, GR Yaris, Supra, and Lexus IS500. None of these vehicles were necessary from a purely financial perspective. Toyota could have focused exclusively on crossovers and hybrids and likely achieved similar short-term financial results.

Instead, the company chose to build cars enthusiasts actually wanted. That decision came from the top.

A similar story unfolded at Ford under Raj Nair, who also happens to be my fraternity brother from Kettering. During his leadership period, Ford delivered one of the most exciting enthusiast product offensives in decades, including the Focus RS, Shelby GT350, expanded Raptor lineup, and the second-generation Ford GT (2017).

The Ford GT remains particularly significant because it made very little sense if viewed strictly through a financial lens. It was expensive to develop, limited in production, and unlikely to materially impact Ford's earnings. Yet it represented exactly the kind of ambitious project that enthusiast leaders often champion because they understand what it can do for a brand.

More importantly, Ford didn't simply build the car. They raced it. The GT's class victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, fifty years after Ford's historic victory in 1966, created enormous excitement both inside and outside the company. Enthusiasts celebrated it, the automotive media embraced it, and Ford employees rallied around it. It reminded people that Ford was capable of more than trucks, SUVs, and quarterly earnings reports.

That type of enthusiasm is difficult to measure on a balance sheet, but it matters. It energizes an organization, strengthens a brand, and creates stories that customers remember long after the financial results have been forgotten.

I've driven both generations of Ford GT, and while I admire the 2005-06 car, the 2017 version felt like a company embracing innovation rather than relying on nostalgia. Cars like that rarely happen unless someone at the top is willing to fight for them.

Another example is Tadge Juechter. While not a CEO, Tadge represents the same principle. He was an enthusiast and engineer who spent years championing Corvette and ultimately helped bring the mid-engine C8 to life.

The move was controversial. Corvette enthusiasts had spent generations associating the car with a front-engine layout, and there were plenty of reasons to avoid the risk. A front-engine Corvette was familiar, profitable, and successful. A mid-engine Corvette required significant investment, engineering resources, and organizational commitment.

Yet Tadge and his team believed the platform had reached its limits.

The result has been one of the most successful Corvette generations ever produced. The C8 Stingray delivered supercar performance at an attainable price. The Z06 introduced a flat-plane-crank V8 that rivals some of the world's best sports cars. The E-Ray demonstrated how hybridization could improve performance without abandoning the Corvette's character, and now the ZR1 and ZR1X have elevated the platform to levels few enthusiasts could have imagined a decade ago.

After nearly two decades at Spring Mountain, I've watched the Corvette program grow steadily, but the arrival of the C8 accelerated that growth dramatically. The car is attracting buyers from Porsche, BMW, Lotus, and other performance brands who may never have previously considered a Corvette. Including me.

That doesn't happen because of a spreadsheet.

It happens because somebody was willing to champion a vision for what the car could become.

The same pattern appeared during the reign of Luca di Montezemolo. Ferrari produced some of its most celebrated modern products during this period, including the 360 Modena, F430, 458 Italia, Enzo, and 599.

I found the F430 somewhat conservative from a styling perspective, but Ferrari corrected course beautifully with the 458 Italia. It combined breathtaking design with world-class performance and remains one of the best examples of balancing beauty and capability. More importantly, Ferrari consistently felt like a company run by people who understood why customers dreamed about Ferraris in the first place. Though the Luce may be the most egregious exception.

That is harder to measure than profit margins, but arguably just as valuable.

The same philosophy appears to be guiding Lotus today. Despite the industry's push toward electrification and increasing regulation, Lotus leadership has continued to speak about the importance of building sports cars that excite drivers rather than simply transporting them.

As someone who has spent more than two decades building a business around Lotus, I find that encouraging. Product plans may change, powertrains may evolve, and regulations may force compromises, but it still matters when the people at the top understand why enthusiasts fell in love with the brand in the first place.

Looking across Toyota, Ford, Corvette, Ferrari, and Lotus, a common theme emerges. The most memorable automotive products rarely come from committees focused solely on cost, volume, and efficiency. They tend to emerge when enthusiasts occupy positions of influence and are willing to advocate for products that create excitement, even when the financial case is not immediately obvious.

Enthusiast leaders tend to recognize something that can be difficult to quantify.

Nobody hangs a spreadsheet on their garage wall.

People remember the sound of an engine. They remember the first perfect corner. They remember the car that made them turn around and look at it after parking. Those emotional connections build brands that survive for decades and create loyalty that competitors struggle to replicate.

That does not mean passion alone is enough. Automotive history is filled with passionate leaders who ignored financial realities and nearly destroyed their companies. The goal is not an enthusiast replacing a businessperson. The goal is a businessperson who is also an enthusiast, a combination that is surprisingly rare in today's automotive industry.

This discussion feels particularly relevant today as the industry navigates hybrids, EVs, software-defined vehicles, and increasing regulatory pressure. The temptation is to reduce cars to transportation appliances and allow efficiency metrics to drive every decision.

Yet the companies creating the most excitement continue to be led by people who understand that driving still matters. That doesn't mean every car needs a V8 or a manual transmission. It simply means someone at the executive level should care whether the product creates an emotional connection with its customers.

After four decades around this industry, I've learned that you can usually tell whether an enthusiast had a seat at the table. The evidence isn't found in the annual report or the quarterly earnings presentation.

It's found in the cars people still talk about twenty years later.

— Shinoo Mapleton

InoKinetic Group, Inc. | Temecula, CA | inokinetic.com | drakancars.com

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