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Carlos Ghosn coup theory grows: Did Nissan set him up for a fall?

'What is fascinating about this story is the politics of it'

It won't be long now before Nissan Leaf finally overtakes Chevy Volt

The two best-selling plug-in vehicles ever are the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf. When the two vehicles launched in late 2010, the plug-in hybrid Volt quickly outpaced the all-electric Leaf and, despite lots of ups and downs since then, continues to hold on to a cumulative sales lead. This will change in 2015. Cumulatively, from November 2010 through November 2014, the Volt sold 71,867 units while the Leaf trails with 69,220. That's a difference of just 2,647. Based on current trends (with the Leaf selling around 2,500-2,700 a month and the Volt at 1,500-1,700) we expect the Leaf to take over either in January or, more likely, February when the Leaf takes over as the most popular plug-in car in America. Perhaps even March, depending on how low the numbers are for January and February, which are always slow sales months in the US. Of course, once it takes the crown, the Leaf can't expect to easily hold on for long. A new Volt is coming in the second half of 2015, likely beating a new Leaf to market. The question is, then, how well the Chevy sells with all of its new bells and whistles. Do you think the Volt will be the comeback kid once the 2016 model becomes available? Featured Gallery 2013 Nissan Leaf View 55 Photos Green Chevrolet Nissan AutoblogGreen Exclusive Electric Hybrid ev sales hybrid sales

Nissan IDx future in a coma, prospects dim

The answer, at least for the public, was always a huge "Yes!" when it came to the Nissan IDx Nismo and IDx Freeflow concepts shown off at the Tokyo Motor Show 2013. We were told they were "in the plan" for production if fans got behind them, but that sunk to "increasingly cloudy" plans for production. Two months later we were being told the production version would get less retro styling. But the damning swerve came in January this year, when Nissan said it was shifting priorities to focus on volume offerings. When The Truth About Cars spoke to the VP of product planning for Nissan North America, Pierre Loing, the smothering blanket of reality was thrown over the IDx duo: Nissan has no small, rear-wheel platform to build them on. At least, not one that it could make any money with. The 370Z is built on an architecture too big for the IDx, and sister company Renault only has small front-wheel-drive platforms. The idea of developing a chassis just for the IDx doesn't make any sense, as sales trends for the Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ should show. Will we see anything of the concepts in production guise, then? Loing said Nissan "may have some room" for a product with retro design cues and said to check back "in a few years" to get a final answer. But really, the answer appears to be, "No."