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What happens to Renault-Nissan after Ghosn is gone?

Carlos Ghosn is a very, very busy man. Like, really busy. As in, he heads up three automakers (and their subsidiaries), running facilities in 68 countries and selling vehicles in 170 different markets across the globe. He flies over 300,000 miles per year and works 15 to 16 hours a day, just to manage an alliance between the Japanese and French that's responsible for an expected $140 billion in sales this year alone. The Chairman and CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, Ghosn has managed a number of remarkable feats during his time at both automakers, but there are some that are questioning how much longer the 60-year-old exec can handle the punishing nature of his responsibilities. According to Fortune, six months ago Ghosn signed a four-year contract to continue running Renault, while his tenure at Nissan will continue until at least 2017. Beyond that, though, the future is rather murky, and it's made worse by the high-level turnover that Renault-Nissan has experienced over the past few years, losing execs like Carlos Tavares, Johan de Nysschen and Andy Palmer. Fortune has an excellent, and lengthy, feature on Ghosn, his responsibilities and the danger posed to Renault-Nissan by his departure. If you're at all curious about what the exec has done for the two automakers, how this alliance has worked when so many other industry partnerships have failed and just what a post-Ghosn future may hold, head over and have a look. News Source: FortuneImage Credit: Lee Jin-man / AP Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Read This Infiniti Nissan Renault datsun dacia lada readthis

Ghosn took bullet train to Osaka en route to Lebanon

Japan Justice Minister Masako Mori speaks during a press conference about Carlos Ghosn's escape from Japan. / Getty TOKYO — Former Nissan and Renault boss Carlos Ghosn began his astonishing escape from Japan with a bullet train ride from Tokyo to Osaka, possibly accompanied by several people, Japanese news agency Kyodo reported Monday. Japanese authorities also said on Monday they may still press for Ghosn's extradition from Lebanon to face multiple charges of financial wrongdoing, even though the country does not normally extradite its nationals. Security cameras captured Ghosn leaving his home on Dec. 29 at about 2:30 p.m. (0530 GMT) and arriving some hours later at Tokyo's Shinagawa Station, where he took the train 300 miles to Shin Osaka Station, Kyodo said, citing a person familiar with the matter. The international fugitive then went by car to a hotel near Osaka's Kansai International Airport, where he boarded a private jet at 11:10 p.m., according to the media report. Ghosn was forbidden from leaving Japan while awaiting trial on charges of financial misconduct, which he has denied, but he fled at the end of 2019 to escape what he called a "rigged" justice system. Prosecutors are now working with police to piece together Ghosn's route and find out who helped him, Kyodo said. In the government's first briefing since Ghosn skipped bail, Justice Minister Masako Mori said on Monday that as a general principle, Tokyo could request the extradition of a suspect from a country with which it has no formal extradition agreement. Such a request would need to be carefully examined based on the possibility of "guaranteeing reciprocity and the domestic law of the partner country," Mori told reporters in Tokyo.   Arrest warrant Mori did not say what would guarantee reciprocity (the idea that benefits or penalties extended by one country to citizens of another should be reciprocated). She also did not say if there were any Lebanese nationals in Japan wanted in Lebanon. Mori offered little insight into the events of Ghosn's escape to his ancestral home, repeatedly saying she could not comment on specifics because of an ongoing investigation. Japanese officials broke days of silence about the Ghosn case on Sunday, saying they would tighten immigration measures and investigate his escape thoroughly. The authorities have also issued an international notice for his arrest.

Nissan exec Andy Palmer derides Toyobaru coupes as 'midlife crisis' cars

Andy Palmer, Nissan's executive vice president, does not like the Scion FR-S or Subaru BRZ. To us, that's like saying you enjoy barbecuing puppies, but we'll let him slide, because his statements about the Toyobaru twins are much, much more than just idle trash talk.
Speaking to Motor Trend's Nate Martinez, Palmer said, "Do we have any competitors [in the small, rear-drive coupe segment]? Are you talking about the Subaru [BRZ]? It was a car designed for a 50-year-old. It's for a midlife crisis. That's not what we do." Strong words, but what followed was even better.
"Are you coming to the Tokyo Motor Show? You'll see the answer to the midlife crisis. Except it won't be for the midlife crisis." So, if you were wondering whether Nissan is working on a competitor to the Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ, the answer seems to be a resounding "yes."