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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 QX55 Luggage Test | The price to be paid for a coupe

The Infiniti QX55 is the crossover-coupe version of the QX50, which like other such variants available throughout the industry, chops the roofline and cargo area down to create a "coupe-like" appearance. Obviously, this results in a reduction in cargo capacity, but because that reduction is largely above the back seat line, the actual reduction in usable cargo space isn't as great as you might expect. While carrying a large box or some other tall, bulky thing will be more difficult, smaller items like suitcases won't necessarily be much different since carrying them above the back seat line can reduce or eliminate rear visibility and create a hazard by flying forward while stopping as well. It's for those very reasons I don't stack to the roof in luggage tests. Now, I have not tested the QX50, so I have no point of comparison in that regard. But I have tested a variety of crossover-coupes and the QX55 does indeed share common attributes ... and detriments.  On paper, the Infiniti QX55 has 26.9 cubic-feet of cargo space behind its back seat. That is basically the same as the Audi e-Tron Sportback and a bit less than the Mustang Mach-E and Toyota Venza. The Cayenne Coupe figure just seems inaccurate.  The QX55's back seat reclines, however, so its amount is variable. I do not know where Infiniti set it while doing it's measurement, but I set it for a comfortable degree comparable to most fixed back seats. You can also easily lower the back seat with handles in the cargo area. Both elements are pictured below.  Now, let's get to the bags. As in every luggage test I do, I use two midsize roller suitcases that would need to be checked in at the airport (26 inches long, 16 wide, 11 deep), two roll-aboard suitcases that just barely fit in the overhead (24L x 15W x 10D), and one smaller roll-aboard that fits easily (23L x 15W x 10D). I also include my wife's fancy overnight bag just to spruce things up a bit (21L x 12W x 12D). Cool, that was easy. All the bags easily fit with minimal Tetrising and ... Oh no. Wait, they don't. Despite all the bags seeming to be clear of the liftgate, the power-closing function got stuck repeatedly. I could slam it shut manually, but that's another no-no here at Luggage Test Portland in order to keep things consistent.  I then Tetrised and Tetrised and Tetrised again. No good, no good, no good. "Boy, what an annoying cargo area," I said to an empty street. This is what eventually worked after the sixth attempt.

Infiniti boss ices plan for EV

Infiniti President Johan de Nysschen has postponed plans for an electric vehicle in order to focus on high-volume models. Automotive News reports de Nysschen is attempting to be realistic about Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn's goal of nearly tripling Infiniti global sales from 170,000 units last year to 500,000 by March 31, 2017, saying, "500,000 cars by 2017 is an inordinately ambitious challenge." An electric vehicle would likely sell in rather small numbers.
Still, the executive is already making moves to improve Infiniti sales worldwide with new production in both China and England. Meanwhile, the company plans to unveil a new volume compact sedan set to bow in 2015. Meanwhile, de Nysschen is also working on two new models above the company's current M line. Those will borrow styling cues from machines like the Essence Concept, but will be far less exotic, tilting more toward high-performance luxury than true sports car.