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Nissan's Ultimate Smart BBQ e-NV200 is crowd-funded fun in Japan

When the weather starts warming up, expect the grills to start heating up. A Japanese company is trying to get a jump on the higher temperatures with a crowdfunding campaign for a Nissan e-NV200 with a full kitchenette and many more bizarre features hidden inside. The company calls it the Ultimate Smart BBQ Vehicle. More than just a rather bizarre video, a crowdfunding site is hosting a project to actually hold parties around Japan with this Nissan. The goal is to raise 1 million yen (about $8,500 at current rates), and it has about 180,000 yen ($1,500), as of this writing. A pledge of at least 30,000 yen ($250) gets you and a friend invited to one of these events. However, if you really need the Ultimate Smart BBQ Vehicle, then 25 million yen ($208,500) buys it outright. This van is designed to be an emissions-free party machine. Sliding out of the rear is a 1,500-watt electric grill complete with a rotisserie, and there's even a sink for washing dishes. A full disposal system even helps with cleanup afterwards. Beyond just a place to do some outdoor cooking, this e-NV200 is outfitted with practically everything necessary to host some festivities. An ultrasonic mosquito barrier should keep the bugs away, and a water mister also helps keep guests cool. When it starts getting dark, there's a smartphone-linked screen on the side to display pictures or movies, and the setup even doubles as a karaoke machine. Likely the weirdest feature, though, is a deployable drone that can take pictures of your shindig. Our Japanese language skills are limited to counting from one to ten and asking what time it is in Tokyo right now, so it's hard to really suss out all the details. But from a Q&A at the bottom of the page (translated by our friends at Google Translate), it appears you have to be a Japanese resident to donate. And the site doesn't take American Express. If anyone knows how to read Japanese and wants to tell us more, please comment below. Because now we're hungry and want some yakitori.

Nissan ex-chief Carlos Ghosn cancels hastily arranged Tokyo press conference

TOKYO — Former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn on Friday abruptly canceled plans for what would have been his first press conference since his arrest in November, after journalists had been notified about a briefing just two hours earlier. Ghosn's lawyers called to cancel the event that was to be held at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan (FCCJ), but did not immediately give a reason for the abrupt change, an official at the FCCJ told Reuters.Automotive News cited a source as saying his family and media team staged a "last-minute intervention" to get him to call off plans to make his case at the press conference, fearing he would be faced with questions he couldn't answer without tipping his legal team's strategy, or that Japanese prosecutors would take a dim view of him publicly criticizing their actions and attempt to revoke his bail. A spokesman for the Ghosn family in Tokyo did not answer his mobile phone and did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. If the conference had not been canceled, Ghosn would have spoken as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hosts national leaders at the G20 leaders gathering in Osaka, including U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron, who Ghosn's wife Carole have called on to raise the issue of her husband's treatment by Japan's courts. In May a Japanese court dismissed an appeal by Ghosn to ease a bail restriction that bans him from contacting his wife and rejected a subsequent request to allow him a one-off monitored meeting with Carole. His lawyers have argued that that condition violates Japan's constitution and international law on family separations. Ghosn's movements are also monitored and he is only allowed internet access from a computer at his lawyer's office that records the activity for the court. Once among the world's most feted auto executives, Ghosn is awaiting trial in Japan over charges including enriching himself at a cost of $5 million to Nissan, in a scandal which has rocked the industry and exposed tensions in the automaking partnership between Nissan and Renault SA. Since his initial arrest in November last year, Ghosn has been charged four times for crimes which also include underreporting his Nissan salary and temporarily transferring personal financial losses to his employer's books during his time at the helm of Japan's No. 2 automaker.

Nissan teases crossover concept for Frankfurt

Nissan released a teaser shot on Monday of a crossover concept that will debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show, and it's quite the tease. Nissan literally gave us no further information. Speculation is rampant as to the vehicle's identity. Autocar suggests it could wear the famous Z badge, which would be a stunning departure from the Z's sports-car heritage. Other theories indicate it could be the next-generation Juke. The photo does show off Nissan's latest design language which is used by the Murano and Maxima in production. The only other info we have is a cryptic line from Nissan's press release: "So can Nissan continue to innovate and move the bar higher? What if Nissan created a new way to feel driving excitement? The answer will come at the Frankfurt Motor Show." Expect more information and images to dribble out and or/leak this week in the run-up to the show. Related Video: