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Carlos Ghosn's new lawyer, 'the Razor,' starts slashing

TOKYO — Carlos Ghosn's new lawyer took aim at Nissan, prosecutors and courts on Wednesday, dismissing the charges against the ousted chairman as an internal company matter and saying Japan was out of step with international norms by keeping his client in jail. "This should have been dealt with as an internal matter," Junichiro Hironaka, nicknamed the Razor, said at his first press briefing. Ghosn, who was arrested in November over alleged financial misconduct and remains in detention in a Tokyo jail, picked a new team last week with long-time defense attorney Hironaka as a key member to replace Motonari Otsuru, a lawyer who once ran the prosecutor's office investigating him. Hironaka's combative style contrasts with the low-key approach adopted by media-shy Otsuru. Ghosn's switch to an aggressive legal strategy came after his attempts to win bail failed and just before lawyers were due to sit down with prosecutors and judges for the first time to hash out a schedule for pre-trial discovery meetings, where prosecutors will reveal evidence and submit a list of witnesses. Hironaka said he didn't know why Ghosn picked him, but added that Ghosn probably wanted an experienced criminal lawyer as the case moved toward trial. The 73-year-old defense attorney is reputed for winning high profile cases, including the acquittal of a senior lawmaker, Ichiro Ozawa, on financial misconduct charges. He also helped free a senior bureaucrat Atsuko Muraki who was jailed for four months on corruption charges fabricated by prosecutors. Yet, even with greater legal firepower the former Nissan Motor Co boss faces a criminal justice system where only three out of every 100 defendants pleading not guilty are acquitted. Neither does Japan have a plea-deal mechanism that would allow Ghosn to agree to lesser charges for a lighter sentence. "The change in lawyers means a change in style, but the legal strategy will still be the same. I don't think it increases Ghosn's chance of an acquittal," said Masashi Akita, a defense lawyer at Shin-Yu Law Office in Osaka, ahead of Wednesday's comments by Hironaka. Ghosn has lost his perch atop an automotive alliance trio of French carmaker Renault SA and Japanese automakers Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. Attempts to win bail, including an offer to wear a GPS ankle bracelet and hire security guards to stop him trying to tamper with evidence, failed.

Formula Drift kicks off 11th season on Streets of Long Beach

The 2014 Formula Drift series kicked off last weekend in Long Beach, and saw Chris Forsberg, who you'll recall went mad and drifted around a warehouse in an Infiniti M, take the title behind the wheel of his Hankook Tire Nissan 370Z (shown above).
Forsberg really ran away with the first round of competition, outscoring his closest opponent, second-place finisher Kenneth Moen and his Bridges Racing Nissan 240SX, by 20 points. Third place was 2013 championship winner Michael Essa and his Yokohama BMW M3, 30.5 points behind Forsberg.
In the manufacturers' title, Nissan took an early lead with 122 points, which isn't a huge surprise considering five of the top ten drifters were piloting either a Z or a product of the brand's S platform. Ford, which had two drivers (Justin Pawlak and Vaughn Gittin, Jr.) in the top ten, took home second place, while BMW is currently third in the manufacturers' standings.

Nissan exec talks about smaller Leaf, and maybe a CUV EV as well

The Renault Zoe is a popular electric vehicle in Europe, and it gives buyers on the continent a zero-emissions option that's smaller than the Nissan Leaf. Here in the US, Nissan only offers its one all-electric passenger vehicle, but the company might be taking a page from its corporate partner to offer a smaller Leaf in the near future. According to Gareth Dunsmore, Nissan EV European head, Nissan is thinking about both a smaller EV based on the Zoe and larger, all-electric SUV/CUV. "We've invested $5.4 billion in electric cars such as the Leaf, so we need to ensure we're satisfying as many types of customer as possible," he said. "In Europe, that could mean looking towards B-segment hatches and SUVs or crossovers," according to Auto Express. "If we look towards crossovers or the B-segment for the next car, those could make perfect sense." As for what we actually know about the next-gen Leaf, details are scarce. We did get confirmation that a 200-mile range update is in the works, but information on timing and other details are still something we're waiting for. Let's throw the idea of a smaller Leaf into the rumormill and see when Nissan starts talking. The gallery above shows off the Nissan IDS concept, which was shown at the Tokyo Motor Show last year. Related Video: Featured Gallery Nissan IDS Concept: Tokyo 2015 News Source: Auto ExpressImage Credit: Copyright 2016 Sebastian Blanco / AOL Green Nissan Renault Crossover SUV Electric renault zoe nissan ids