Just yesterday, it looked as if Renault CEO and former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn might make it out of jail by the weekend. Japanese prosecutors had another idea, however. The industry titan was re-arrested Friday morning on suspicion of aggravated breach of trust, pushing the possibility of bail and a hotel Christmas further from the realm of possibility.

Detained since his initial Nov. 19 arrest, Ghosn is now accused of covering losses incurred through derivatives trading with Nisan funds. Those losses — totalling $16.6 million — took place in 2008. (Read More…)

Detained in a Tokyo jail since his Nov. 19 arrest, Renault CEO and former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn could soon find himself out on bail. A Tokyo district court has rejected an appeal aimed at keeping Ghosn in detention, meaning Christmas might be brighter for the auto industry titan than previously thought.

Meanwhile, Nissan’s scrambling to ensure that, if Ghosn does walk free, he won’t return to a number of glitzy homes. (Read More…)

Nissan’s strategy for both the 2019 Maxima large sedan and the 2019 Murano crossover is the same – make minor tweaks as part of a mild refresh.

My thoughts on the Maxima are stated here. As for the Murano, well, read on.

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As you may or may not know, invitations for press junkets often arrive quite some time in advance. So when Nissan sent the invite to drive the 2019 Maxima more than a month before the wraps came off the real thing in Los Angeles, I was excited.

See, I’ve always liked the idea of Maxima – a large, front-drive sedan endowed with a little bit of sportiness. Maybe it’s not the four-door sports car of yore, but surely it’s less sleepy than an Avalon, less generic than an Impala, and less in-your-face than a rear-drive Charger/300.

So, if the execution fell a bit short, and if the look grew a bit stale, well, maybe now is the perfect time for an update, I thought. After all, the smaller Altima is all-new. It seemed like the Maxima would be next in line for a full-zoot reboot, even though it launched a little less than four years ago.

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Two automakers, two investigations, and two very different outcomes for one man.

Renault’s board of directors met in France today, deciding that CEO and chairman Carlos Ghosn should stay on in his current role in the wake of an internal investigation that members say showed no signs of criminality. Meanwhile, Ghosn sits in a Tokyo jail, indicted on charges of financial misconduct at Renault’s alliance partner, Nissan.

Away from the Paris streets, it seems everything’s hunky dory in France. (Read More…)

Nissan’s board didn’t wait long to oust Carlos Ghosn as chairman following his Nov. 19 arrest, but alliance partner Renault’s board stood firm, awaiting more information. The waiting continued as Mitsubishi voted to drop Ghosn as chairman.

The disgraced executive, indicted this week by Japanese authorities on charges of underreporting his income by tens of millions of dollars, remains in a Tokyo lockup but still holds the title of Renault CEO. If the French automaker’s board finds the contents of a dossier delivered by Nissan compelling, that status could soon change. (Read More…)

Carlos Ghosn, his right-hand man, Greg Kelly, and the automaker Ghosn headed for years have been indicted by Japanese authorities following the pair’s re-arrest. The new raft of financial allegations raised last week gave the authorities the ability to keep Gosn and Kelly locked up until official charges could be laid.

Nissan, whose board ousted Ghosn as chairman shortly after his November arrest in Tokyo, didn’t get a free pass in the matter. Apologies were in order, but legal pain awaits. (Read More…)

By the 1989 model year, the weak-selling Nissan Stanza Wagon (aka Nissan Prairie) was gone from the United States, but the unrelated Nissan Stanza sedan continued to sell (poorly) through 1992. You didn’t see many of these cars back then, and they’re exceptionally rare Junkyard Finds today.

Here’s an ’89 that I found in a Northern California self-service wrecking yard last summer. (Read More…)

Prior to his arrest in Japan last month over presumed financial misconduct, Carlos Ghosn was allegedly planning to remove Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa. The plot has certainly thickened.

Ghosn, who was serving as Nissan Motor Co.’s chairman before being taken into custody, was believed to be on the cusp of an upper-level management shakeup within the Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance. Part of that plan included finding a new CEO for Nissan, according to inside sources.  (Read More…)

It seems to be a prime week for frightening headlight arrangements. Following all hands being turned to stone after casting their eyes upon the LT-trimmed 2020 Silverado HD, we learn this Italdesign creation will be entering production next year.

Dubbed the “Nissan GT-R50 by Italdesign,” it’s obviously based upon the R35 GT-R. In addition to its alarming front fascia, the company has also upped the power ante to 710 horses.

And, oh yeah – it’ll set you back a cool million.

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The old adage of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” applies to household plumbing, your kid’s Lego creations, and the squeaking ventilation fan in my Dodge Charger. It also applies to the Nissan Frontier pickup, apparently.

Seriously. Even though this thing is almost old enough to vote, Nissan is selling them by the boatload.

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He won’t have to travel far. Carlos Ghosn, who was booted as Nissan chairman following his November 19th arrest in Tokyo, will reportedly be re-arrested on a new claim of financial misdealings.

The new allegations, which also involve underreported income, give Japanese authorities what they’ve been looking for — more time with which to lay formal charges. Under the current extension granted late last week, Ghosn would have to walk free on December 10th. If re-arrested, it’ll mean a meager Christmas for the industry giant. (Read More…)

Fallen auto industry magnate Carlos Ghosn can stay in a Tokyo detention center for another 10 days, following an extension approved Friday by Japanese authorities. Arrested two weeks ago on suspicion of underreported income and other potential financial crimes, Ghosn will be released on December 10th if authorities fail to lay charges — though no one expects that to happen.

Despite their disagreement on how the Ghosn affair should be handled, the three automakers Ghosn once reigned over have put forward a unified front. We’re all good, the chummy Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance claims. (Read More…)

LOS ANGELES – If you weren’t specifically told the Nissan Maxima sedan and Nissan Murano crossover received a redesign for 2019, you’d likely not notice.

I’m not being mean – Nissan just didn’t change much with either vehicle.

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Mitsubishi Motors, which joined the Renault-Nissan Alliance in 2016, voted unanimously to drop Carlos Ghosn as its chairman Monday, just a week after the executive’s arrest on suspicion of financial misdealings.

According to CEO Osamu Masuko, who now dons the title of interim chairman, it was an “agonizing decision.” For Ghosn, the agony has just begun. Currently housed in a Tokyo jail awaiting formal charges, the industry titan ended last week by seeing the company he ran for 15 years, Nissan, oust him as chairman. Renault hasn’t made a decision as to the fate of its CEO.

While Ghosn is accused of underreporting his income in the early part of the decade, a Japanese newspaper has shed light on another alleged misdeed. (Read More…)