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Lawyer for Ghosn slams bail condition as human rights violation

TOKYO (AP) — The lawyer for Nissan's former chairman Carlos Ghosn on Saturday criticized a bail condition that prevents his client from seeing his wife, as Ghosn awaits trial on financial misconduct charges. A judge has forbidden Ghosn from seeing his wife, Carole, including in the presence of lawyers, or talking to her on the phone. Prosecutors say the restriction is needed to prevent evidence tampering. "This is unfair," Takashi Takano, the lawyer, said in a phone interview, calling it a human rights violation. "It's cruel and unusual." His earlier appeal of the ban, rejected by district and appeals courts, went to the Supreme Court, which turned it down last month. The Supreme Court decision cannot be appealed, but Takano vowed to keep filing new petitions, stressing that the Supreme Court has not yet ruled on the constitutionality or the human rights aspects. The next one will be filed within two or three weeks, he said. Ghosn's lawyers recently filed a second petition with the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, arguing that the restrictions on seeing his wife amount to a deprivation of fundamental human rights. Takano acknowledged that the situation looks dismal, as Japan's Supreme Court is not easily influenced by other governments' views or by public opinion. "Even the strongest man in the world can be stressed, psychologically damaged. That's very natural as a human being," said Takano, noting that Ghosn was holding up well compared to other clients he has had. Ghosn has been aggressively taking part in meetings with his defense team, according to Takano. The case has entered the stage known as "pre-trial sessions," during which both sides hand in evidence. A trial date has not been set. In Japan, preparations for trials routinely take months. Ghosn, who led Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co. for two decades, was arrested in November and charged with falsifying financial documents in reporting retirement compensation, and with breach of trust in diverting Nissan money toward personal investment losses and a company effectively run by him. Ghosn, 65, a Brazilian-born Frenchman of Lebanese ancestry, has repeatedly said he is innocent, accusing some at Nissan of plotting against him and opposing a plan to merge Nissan with French alliance partner Renault. Renault is set to vote Tuesday on a possible merger with Fiat Chrysler.

Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV delayed until early 2016 in US

The Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Hybrid has been a noteworthy success for the Japanese brand with over 33,000 sales sold worldwide as of the summer of 2014. Unfortunately, the electrified crossover has seen continual delays for its planned North American debut. The latest news about the model pushes back its launch even more. The Outlander PHEV now isn't slated to go on sale in the US until roughly April 2016, according to Mitsubishi North America Executive Vice President Don Swearingen in Automotive News. Dealers are clamoring for the plug-in hybrid crossover, though. "That is going to be a vehicle that really sets us apart from the competition," said Ryan Gremore, 2015 chairman of the Mitsubishi National Advisory Board, to AN. Multiple postponements have plagued the Outlander PHEV in arriving to the US. It was once rumored to launch here in the fall of 2014, but a battery shortage pushed the date to 2015. Subsequently, a California mandate to fit a sensor to monitor degradation of the lithium-ion batteries caused another delay until late 2015 or early 2016. In foreign markets, the Mitsubishi CUV plug-in offers a 12-kWh battery and electric driving range of about 30 miles. However once sales actually begin, the US version is supposed to be completely different with a retuned hybrid system, which could alter these figures. The styling and interior are also supposed to see a change, possibly like the attractively reskinned PHEV Concept-S from the 2014 Paris Motor Show.

Aggressive new Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Concept-S coming to Paris

Already a hit in the rest of the world, the Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-In Hybrid is not coming to the US until late next year. That gives Mitsu plenty of time to upgrade the SUV to the next-generation model, and we might be getting a glimpse of what the US-speck Outlander PHEV will look like at the Paris Motor Show in early October. Take a look at the new "Sporty and Sophisticated" Outlander PHEV Concept-S that Mitsubishi is teasing in two dark images today. Mitsubishi says that what's being teased here is simply part of a "special package" that "magnifies the Outlander PHEV's unique driving experience." But, the last time Mitsubishi showed off an Outlander PHEV concept – at the 2012 Paris show – the production model ended up looking quite a bit like the show version. With aggressive lines all over the front fascia and bold strokes across the rear, the new concept certainly looks a lot better than the current model. We don't expect all of this auto show pizazz to make the final cut, but we like the direction that Mitsubishi is going here, extending the design language from the Outlander XR PHEV and GC-PHEV concepts from last year's Tokyo show. We should know more when we get to Paris on October 2nd. Until then, click on the images to get a better view and check out Mitsubishi's press release below. Mitsubishi Motors Europe issued the following news release at 6:00 pm on September 2, 2014. Paris, September 2, 2014 - Two years after it premiered its successful Outlander PHEV plug-in hybrid electric Twin Motor SUV/crossover at the 2012 Paris Motor Show, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) has elected the "Mondial de L'Automobile" again – this time to unveil another PHEV vehicle: Outlander PHEV Concept-S. Sporty & Sophisticated The Outlander PHEV Concept-S is a concept model MMC proposes as a special package of the Outlander PHEV production model that has a refined interior and exterior design that magnifies the Outlander PHEV's unique driving experience. The Outlander PHEV Concept-S takes "Sporty and Sophisticated" as the theme for its design. This refined design expresses the unique combination of spirited 4x4 performance from its twin-motor PHEV system, soothing silent running, and superior on-road performance.