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Ghosn hid part of Nissan salary, fearing he'd be forced out of Renault, exec testifies

TOKYO — Carlos Ghosn hid part of his compensation at Nissan because he feared the French government would force him out of Renault if it discovered how much he earned, an executive at the Japanese carmaker told a Tokyo court on Thursday. Hari Nada, a former Nissan vice president in charge of legal affairs, has been described as organizer of a putsch against Ghosn and is a key whistleblower in the case brought by Japanese prosecutors against the former Nissan and Renault boss, who was arrested in 2018. Nada was testifying at the trial of former Nissan executive Greg Kelly, who is charged with helping Ghosn hide 9.3 billion yen ($89 million) in compensation over eight years through deferred payments after Japan introduced new rules requiring executives to disclose payments above 1 billion yen. Kelly has pleaded not guilty. He has been on bail in Japan since his release from jail in 2018 and is facing trial without Ghosn because his co-accused fled to Lebanon in December 2019. Ghosn, who was one of the world's most prominent auto bosses as head of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, has denied wrongdoing. He says he is the victim of a boardroom coup by former Nissan colleagues worried he would push through a merger between Nissan and Renault, its largest shareholder. Nada told the court that Ghosn had concealed his true compensation because he feared the repercussions in France. He said Kelly had given him this information. "He didn't want to be fired. If he paid himself what he wanted and that was disclosed, the French state would have felt obliged to fire him," said Nada, who agreed to cooperate with Japanese prosecutors in return for immunity from prosecution. France's economy ministry declined to comment. Nada was demoted following Ghosn's arrest. Ghosn, who is also charged with enriching himself through $5 million in payments to a Middle East car dealership, and for a breach of trust for temporarily transferring personal financial losses to his employer's books, also denies any wrongdoing. A former Nissan chief operating officer offered another perspective on Tuesday, outlining the pains company officials took to hide GhosnÂ’s pay, because they worried about his quitting for a rival. “Carlos Ghosn is a world-class business leader and CEO,” said Toshiyuki Shiga, testifying at the trial of his former colleague Greg Kelly, charged with under-reporting GhosnÂ’s compensation.

Car Club USA: Club Loose

Car Club USA travels to Englishtown Raceway Park to document a wild Friday Night Drift Party at Club Loose. We hear how Club Loose co-founder Matt Petty brought drifting to the northeast US from Japan decades ago, and how this small New Jersey car club has produced international drifting champions like Chris Forsberg. "We were working out of California for over eight years," said Forsberg. "But it just didn't have that same feel or camaraderie as Club Loose." Each Car Club USA episode features a different car club or event from across the US, where passionate owner communities gather to share automotive experiences and embark on incredible adventures. From Main Street cruises to off-road trails, catch all the latest car club activity on Autoblog. Motorsports Nissan Racing Vehicles Car Club USA Videos drifting

Nissan's Le Mans-bound ZEOD RC electric racecar nearing completion [w/video]

Nissan is working away on its ZEOD RC (Zero Emission On Demand Racing Car) which is still on pace for a Le Mans arrival in 2014. As of right now, the DeltaWing-shaped car's carbon-fiber tub and chassis have been completed. The next step will be installing the twin electric motors and fitting the seat of driver and GT Academy winner Lucas Ordóñez. If the current schedule sticks, the zero-emissions racer will hit a UK track for test laps in September.
But while those initial shakedown laps will be under full electric power, it's unclear whether the setup fielded in the UK will survive until Le Mans. Nissan itself says that it will be testing a number of "electrified" drivetrains ahead of the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans, which is a significant departure from race car design - usually, the teams know what's powering their car before they start building it.
"Just developing a single powertrain option in only 12 months would be a mammoth task but we're looking to carefully examine a number of options to ascertain which will be best suited for Le Mans," said Darren Cox, Nissan's global motorsport director. Take a look below for a video and press release from Nissan documenting the ZEOD RC's build process.