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Feds arrest two men accused of smuggling Carlos Ghosn out of Japan in a box

Authorities say this Dec. 30, 2019, image from security camera video shows Michael Taylor, center, and George-Antoine Zayek at passport control at Istanbul Airport in Turkey. Taylor, a former Green Beret and his son, Peter Taylor, 27, were arrested Wednesday in Massachusetts on charges they smuggled Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn out of Japan in a box in December 2019, while he awaited trial there on financial misconduct charges. / Getty Images   WASHINGTON — A former Green Beret and his son were arrested Wednesday in Massachusetts on charges they smuggled Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn out of Japan in a box while he awaited trial there on financial misconduct charges. Michael Taylor, a 59-year-old former Green Beret and private security specialist, and Peter Taylor, 27, are wanted by Japan on charges they helped Ghosn escape the country in December after he was released on bail. The men were arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service in Harvard and were expected to appear before a judge via videoconference later Wednesday. The tale of the daring escape began on Dec. 28, 2019, when Peter Taylor arrived in Japan and met with Ghosn at the Grand Hyatt Tokyo for about an hour, authorities said. Just before 10 a.m. the next day, Michael Taylor flew into Osaka, Japan, on a chartered Bombardier Global Express jet from Dubai with another man, George-Antoine Zayek, carrying two large black boxes with them. The elder Taylor was experienced with sticky situations. Over the years, he has been hired by parents to rescue abducted children, gone undercover for the FBI in a sting on a Massachusetts drug gang and worked as a contractor for the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan. The last assignment had landed him in a Utah jail for 14 months, caught in a federal contract fraud case that upended TaylorÂ’s family and finances before he agreed to plead guilty to two charges. It's not clear yet how Ghosn hooked up with Taylor. At their arrival, Taylor and Zayek, his Lebanese-born colleague, told airport employees they were musicians carrying audio equipment. Meanwhile, Ghosn, who was out of custody on a hefty bail, headed to the Grand Hyatt in Tokyo and met up with Peter Taylor in his hotel room, authorities said. The elder Taylor and Zayek joined after a brief stop to rent a separate room near the airport. And soon after their arrival, the group left the Grand Hyatt and split up.

Join Autoblog editors for a full video tour of the 2019 Detroit Auto Show

The 2019 North American International Auto Show might have been a little more quiet than past years, but there were still some pretty major reveals, including the Toyota Supra, new Ford Explorer, Shelby GT500, Subaru WRX STI S209 and Kia Telluride. We also saw some lovely concepts like the Nissan IMs and Lexus LC Convertible. Senior Editor Alex Kierstein, Consumer Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski and Senior Green Editor John Beltz Snyder join me, Associate Editor Reese Counts — with Social Media Manager Michael Dylan Ferrara behind the camera — on a long walk through the show. We discuss cars, poke around the stands, dress a bloody wound and answer your questions in the Facebook comments. For more Detroit coverage, you can check out Autoblog's picks for the best in show, listen to our podcast or look at the best images from all the reveals. Finally, don't forget to watch Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore hand over our 2019 Technology of the Year award. Related Video: Green Detroit Auto Show Acura Cadillac Chevrolet Ford GM Hyundai Infiniti Kia Lexus Nissan RAM Subaru Toyota Volkswagen Truck Convertible Coupe Crossover Hatchback Minivan/Van SUV Videos Sedan facebook 2019 detroit auto show live

Don't expect to hear about second-gen Nissan Leaf anytime soon

With Chevy revealing the first details of the next-gen Volt at the Detroit Auto Show last month and Tesla priming the pump for the lower-cost Model 3, we're obviously curious to hear about the next-gen Nissan Leaf. It looks like we're going to have to wait. "Of course things are in the works," Nissan's Brian Brockman told AutoblogGreen at the Chicago Auto Show last week, reminding us that the automaker has long been proud of its EV leadership. What that means in practice is that people shouldn't expect to hear anything specific about the new Leaf until we get closer to the summer, well after the New York Auto Show in April. After all, no other companies have to worry about cannibalizing existing pure EV sales, he said. The Chevy Volt is a plug-in hybrid so the now-confirmed Bolt EV that may get here in 2017 is likely to appeal to a slightly different crowd and the audience for a $30,000 Tesla Model 3 is not really the same as the one interested in today's $100,000 Model S. There are any number of other plug-in vehicles coming in the next few years, but the Leaf reigns supreme as the best-selling pure EV in the US, so forgive us if we're curious to know what's coming next, beyond that vague descriptions of it as more mainstream looking with a longer range. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2013 Nissan Leaf View 13 Photos Green Nissan Electric brian brockman