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Nissan files civil suit against Ghosn, seeking $91 million in damages

TOKYO — Nissan filed a civil suit Wednesday seeking 10 billion yen ($91 million) in damages from the Japanese automaker's former Chairman Carlos Ghosn. Nissan filed the case in Yokohama District Court to recoup some of the monetary damages suffered, it said, “as a result of years of misconduct and fraudulent activity" by Ghosn. The claim was calculated by adding the costs from what Nissan called Ghosn's “corrupt practices,” such as rent for overseas property, use of corporate jets and payments to Ghosn's sister, as well as costs for the internal investigation into Ghosn's alleged wrongdoings. Representatives of Ghosn said in a statement they couldn't comment as they had yet to see the legal documents. “Nissan's maneuvers continue,” they said, while noting Nissan had claimed larger damages before. Ghosn, who led Nissan for two decades and saved it from near-bankruptcy, was arrested in Japan in November 2018, and charged with underreporting his future compensation and breach of trust in diverting Nissan money for personal gain. He was awaiting trial but skipped bail and showed up in Lebanon late last year. Japan has no extradition treaty with Lebanon, and he's unlikely to be arrested. A date had not been set for his trial, and Ghosn has said he was worried his ordeal would never end and he would not get a fair hearing. The bail conditions also barred him from seeing his wife. He has repeatedly lashed out at Japan's judicial system, where the conviction rate is higher than 99%. Japanese authorities recently issued an arrest warrant for Ghosn and three Americans, accused of helping his escape. Separately, they issued an arrest warrant for Ghosn's wife on suspicion of perjury. Ghosn has repeatedly said he is innocent, saying that the promised compensation had never been decided, and all the payments were for legitimate services. Wednesday's lawsuit by Nissan comes on top of the civil case Nissan filed against Ghosn in the British Virgin Islands in August last year. It alleged unauthorized payments, sought to regain a luxury yacht and pursued other damages, according to Nissan. Yokohama-based Nissan, which makes the Z sportscar, Leaf electric car and Infiniti luxury models, is also facing trial in Japan as a company in relation to Ghosn's scandal. It has indicated it will agree to any penalties. Nissan's reputation has been sorely tarnished over the Ghosn fiasco, and its sales have dropped. Nissan reports financial results Thursday.

Infiniti showcases Vision Gran Turismo concept in the metal

Automakers have been clamoring to convey their ethos to a new generation and cast their brand in a positive light through the Vision Gran Turismo series. But while these concepts are designed for the virtual reality of Gran Turismo 6, some automakers have gone a step further by pulling their creations out of cyberspace and rendering them in the metal. And that's just what Infiniti has done with its design. Infiniti revealed its Concept Vision Gran Turismo back in December, striking a a sleek, low-slung form that looks more polished than a racing car but more track-focused than most concepts. It's powered (at least hypothetically) by a 4.5-liter V8 hybrid powertrain, with center-lock carbon-fiber wheels and rearward-biased 45/55 weight distribution. It's the kind of beast we'd love to drive, but while that may only be possible on Playstation, at least we know it does exist in physical reality – even if only as a full-scale model. Infiniti showcased it alongside the Q80 Inspiration and Q60 Concept at an exclusive event during the Shanghai Motor Show last week, but just revealed the photos now, so you can scope them out in the slideshow above. Related Video: Show full PR text INFINITI VISION GT DISPLAYED OUTSIDE ITS ONLINE WORLD FOR THE FIRST TIME SHANGHAI, China – Last week at the 2015 Shanghai auto show, Infiniti held its inaugural Infiniti Design Night ahead of Auto Shanghai 2015. The evening occasion took place at the Shanghai Himalayas Art Museum. Under the theme of "Aesthetics of Contrast," Infiniti Design Night showcased three design concepts showing an exciting path to Infiniti's future: the Q80 Inspiration (first shown in Paris, October 2014), Q60 Concept (Detroit, January 2015), and the Vision Gran Turismo designed especially for the latest Gran Turismo® 6™ video game. This was the first time the Vision GT was displayed as a real "flesh and bones" concept car, having only been seen and experienced digitally in GT6 prior to this event. The dramatic Infiniti Concept Vision Gran Turismo The Infiniti Concept Vision Gran Turismo is a vision of what a high performance Infiniti could look like in the future. Available for download in GT6 exclusively on the PlayStation®3 system, it was created through close collaboration with the creators of Gran Turismo®, the racing game franchise developed by Polyphony Digital Inc. that has sold more than 72 million copies worldwide.

Massive Airbag Recall Affects Seven Automakers

The recall of faulty airbag inflators supplied by Takata has exploded today to grow to seven automakers. In most cases, only models in certain high-humidity regions were affected because the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found in its investigation that moisture played a role in determining whether there would be a problem. However, some companies opted for national campaigns. The exact number of affected models for these campaigns isn't yet known at this time. BMW is recalling an undisclosed number of 325i, 325Xi, 330i and 330Xi models from the 2001 through 2005 model years and the 2001-2006 model year versions of the 325Ci and 330Ci for the driver side and passenger side inflators. Only vehicles currently registered in Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii and the US Virgin Islands are covered under this recall. Neither Chrysler's filing with NHTSA nor its press release list the specific models affected, but a company spokesperson told Autoblog that at this time it only covers the driver and passenger side inflators for the 2006 Dodge Charger in Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii and the US Virgin Islands In most cases, only models in certain high-humidity regions were affected because the NHTSA found that moisture played a roll in determining if there would be a problem. Ford is recalling an estimated 58,669 cars that include the 2005-2006 model years of the Ford GT for the driver and passenger inflators, the 2007-2007 model years of the Mustang for the driver side and 2004 Ranger for the passenger side. It covers vehicles originally sold or currently registered in, wait for it... Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii and the US Virgin Islands. Honda is issuing three separate recalls regarding the problem. First, the company is recalling the 2002-2003 model years Civic, CR-V and Odyssey and the 2003 model year of the Accord, Element, Pilot and Acura MDX to replace the passenger's side inflator. This covers all models nationwide. Second, Honda is repairing the passenger's side airbag inflator in the 2003-2005 Accord, Civic, CR-V, Element, Pilot, the 2003-2004 model year versions of the Odyssey, the 2003-2005 model year Acura MDX and 2005 Acura RL. However, only for vehicles located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Owners will be notified in July. Finally, Honda is separately replacing some models' driver's side inflators.