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Carlos Ghosn 'very comfortable' after questioning by Lebanese prosecutor

BEIRUT/TOKYO — Carlos Ghosn's lawyer said he was "very comfortable" with legal proceedings in Lebanon on Thursday, after the fugitive ex-Nissan boss was questioned over an extradition request from Japan where he faces criminal charges. Ghosn fled Japan to Lebanon, his childhood home, last month as he awaited trial on charges of under-reporting earnings, breach of trust and misappropriation of company funds, all of which he denies. His dramatic escape has raised tension between Tokyo and Beirut at a time when Lebanon is seeking an international bailout to help it tackle a deep financial crisis. Ghosn slammed the Japanese justice system at a two-hour news conference on Wednesday, prompting Japan's justice minister to launch a rare and forceful public response. After questioning in Beirut about Japan's Interpol wanted notice, two judicial sources said the prosecutor had imposed a travel ban, a step Carlos Abou Jaoude, a Beirut-based lawyer for Ghosn, described as procedural to broadcaster Al Jadeed. Lebanon has no extradition agreement with Japan. "He (Ghosn) is very comfortable with the path," Jaoude told another broadcaster, MTV, adding that Ghosn was also comfortable in himself "especially after what he went through."   Related: CES 2020 and Carlos Ghosn | Autoblog Podcast #609 Ghosn: Nissan-Renault strife and his arrest can be traced back to Macron The rise, fall and flight of Carlos Ghosn   One of the judicial sources said authorities had asked Japan for its file on Ghosn, including the charges against him, and would not question him again until the information is received. Ghosn would surrender his French passport on Thursday, he said. Ghosn said later he was more comfortable with the Lebanese judiciary than that of Japan. "I will fully cooperate," he told broadcaster LBCI. Japan's Justice Minister Masako Mori said Ghosn's allegations that he had had "zero chance" of a fair trial in Japan were unfounded. "Defendant Ghosn was looking to justify his unlawful exit from Japan by propagating a false recognition of our justice system," she said at the second of two news conferences, the first of which was held shortly after midnight. "I felt that we needed to respond immediately to broadcast a correct understanding to people around the world." Ghosn told LBCI her comments were "ridiculous." "Today my concern is clearing my name and reputation because all the accusations against me are fabricated," he told Al Jadeed. Trial in Lebanon?

Weekly Recap: Volkswagen moves forward under Muller

Most stunning was the speed of it all. On the morning of September 18, Volkswagen AG stood atop the automotive world. It was profitable and sold more cars than Toyota and General Motors, its two main rivals for global supremacy. By nightfall, the company would be embroiled in scandal. Revelations the German auto giant cheated on diesel emissions testing in the United States reverberated from Washington to Wolfsburg, Germany. What started out as a problem with 482,000 VWs and Audis in the US exploded into an international scandal. Millions of vehicles have the rigged software, meaning VW broke environmental rules as its cars spewed pollutants all over the world. The fallout began immediately. Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn – one of the most respected and capable executives in the business – apologized on Sunday and Tuesday. On Wednesday he resigned. As the week progressed, the company's stock took a beating and credit agencies threatened to drop their ratings. VW dealers and owners said they felt betrayed. The automaker hired a law firm that defended BP after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The EPA is already extending its testing procedures to look for "defeat devices" like the ones used by Volkswagen. On Friday the company announced a major restructuring. Matthias Muller, Porsche's chief for the last five years, took over as CEO of Volkswagen and is charged with picking up the pieces of a shattered company facing regulatory action and lawsuits. With GM, Toyota, and Takata scandals still fresh, Volkswagen will likely experience unprecedented levels of scrutiny. Additionally, VW's markets in the United States, Canada, and Mexico will be combined into a North American region under the leadership of former Skoda boss Winfried Vahland, though US chief executive Michael Horn will stay on. The company is also realigning its brands by specialty and streamlining its board. Firings, government action, restructurings, and international outrage – things that usually build up over months or years – all occurred in about a week. With dizzying speed, Volkswagen's future has changed dramatically. It all happened, it's still happening, so fast. OTHER NEWS & NOTES 2016 Buick Cascada to start at $33,990 Buick hasn't made a convertible in 25 years. That's a whole person who can drink plus a kindergartner. So it's been awhile. Enter the 2016 Buick Cascada. It has top-shelf Opel engineering, slinky design, and it's reasonably priced.

Nissan helping Mexican dealers crack US market

Nissan may not be the top seller or even the top import brand in the United States... but it is in Mexico. South of the border, Nissan accounted for over 26 percent of new cars sold last year, and it's not only applying some of the same lessons it learned on its way to the top of Mexican market to the US – it's bringing in some of the same dealers. In an effort to increase its market share particularly in southern states with large Hispanic communities like California and Texas, Nissan is helping some of its largest dealer groups in Mexico buy up American dealerships, according to a report from Automotive News. Among those Nissan dealers in Mexico expanding into the US market are Grupo Autofin Mexico (which owns 60 locations, including three Nissan dealers in Orange Country), Grupo Autocom (which controls 17 Nissan, Infiniti and Renault locations in Mexico and now owns one Infiniti and four Nissan dealers in the San Francisco bay area) and Automotores Soni SA de CV (one of Mexico's largest dealer groups which recently took over two locations in Houston). Aside from encouraging these and other Mexican dealer groups – many of which have longstanding ties to the Renault-Nissan Alliance and its brands – to break into the US market, Nissan has been using its right of first refusal to offer dealerships going up for sale in the US to its Mexican dealers before American ones. There has yet to be any outcry from Nissan dealers in the US, though. The effort, lead by Nissan's North American chief Jose Munoz (who used to run the Mexican division), is part of the company's drive to increase its market share in the US from 7.7 percent currently to 10 percent by 2017. And the know-how of these Mexican dealership groups forms part of that strategy. But Nissan hopes to tap more than just their experience to drive an increase in sales. The Japanese automaker is also targeting the Hispanic market within the United States, offering Spanish-speaking Americans service in their own language with the benefit of a common cultural background. According to AN, Nissan has already surpassed Honda to become the No. 2 import brand among Hispanic customers in America, accounting for some 32 percent of the company's growth last year. News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Nissan Nissan Car Dealers Mexico