2011 Nissan Juke Sv on 2040-cars

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Nissan Juke-R pitted against Bugatti Veyron in brilliantly odd drag race

The Nissan Juke-R must've been a tough car to build a business case for, yet the madcap little crossover with the heart of a GT-R is now a production reality. Admittedly, we should probably assign some quotes around "production," since the vehicle is being built on a one-by-one on-demand basis at extraordinary cost - at an estimated price of well over $600,000, it has little in common with the already bonkers everyday Juke. We're just happy it exists at all.
With 545 horsepower, we also didn't figure it needed more power. But that apparently hasn't stopped the tuning community, which probably only had to adapt performance adders designed for the GT-R to the mechanically similar CUV. Thus, we end up with this mile-long drag race, which pits a Bugatti Veyron against a Juke-R prepared by an outfit called Shpilli Villi Engineering with a claimed 700 horsepower. That's still well down on horsepower versus the legendary quad-turbo supercar, but the much smaller Nissan also figures to be a lot lighter while boasting similar all-wheel-drive traction. We don't have much more information to go on other than this video, and it doesn't appear that both drivers necessarily got their best runs in, but it certainly makes for jaw-dropping watching. Check it out by scrolling below.

Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla owner's garage makeover, Lucid signs deal with LG Chem

A Tesla owner has remodeled his garage to resemble a Tesla showroom. The Model S owner, who also runs Teslainventory.com, painted one wall a very specific shade of red, mounted a Tesla logo on it, and even bought the same table and stools used in some showrooms. He also documented the transformation, and gives tips on how other fans can give their own garage a makeover. Check it out in the video above, and read more at Electrek. Lucid Motors will source lithium-ion batteries from LG Chem. Lucid's batteries will use proprietary cell chemistry developed in partnership with LG. Lucid also has a battery supply deal with Samsung SDI for its first vehicle, but says it could use batteries for other companies through its own supply business, or for specific performance variants of its electric sedan. "The differing performance attributes available from the two cell suppliers provide Lucid with maximum flexibility to select the best cell for each application," Lucid says. Read more in the press release, or at Green Car Congress. Nissan, Renault, and Mitsubishi will share an electric vehicle platform. As other automakers are building their own mass market EVs, these three are teaming up in order to be able to offer their own models at prices competitive to their gasoline powered counterparts. According to the Nikkei, EVs from the three companies will all use the same platform as the upcoming 2018 Nissan Leaf, and will share motors, inverters, and batteries. Read more from Reuters, or at Green Car Reports. Related Gallery Lucid Motors EV Prototype News Source: Electrek, YouTube: DAErik, Lucid, Green Car Congress, Reuters, Green Car Reports Green Automakers Mitsubishi Nissan Tesla Renault Green Automakers Green Culture Electric Videos recharge wrapup

Nissan and Carlos Ghosn settle SEC claims over undisclosed compensation

WASHINGTON — Nissan and its former Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn have agreed to settle claims from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over false financial disclosures related to Ghosn's compensation, an SEC statement said on Monday. Nissan will pay $15 million, while Ghosn agreed to a $1 million civil penalty and a 10-year ban from serving as an officer or director of a publicly traded U.S. company, the SEC statement said. Ghosn was arrested in Japan and fired by Nissan last year. He is awaiting trial in Tokyo on financial misconduct charges that he denies. Former Nissan human resources official Gregory Kelly agreed to a $100,000 penalty and a five-year officer and director ban. Nissan, Ghosn, and Kelly settled without admitting or denying the SEC's allegations and findings. The SEC said in total Nissan in its financial disclosures omitted more than $140 million to be paid to Ghosn in retirement — a sum that ultimately was not paid. The SEC also accused Ghosn in a suit filed in New York that he engaged in a scheme to conceal more than $90 million of compensation. That suit is being settled as part of the agreement announced Monday. Nissan confirmed it had settled the allegations and said it "is firmly committed to continuing to further cultivate robust corporate governance." Nissan provided significant cooperation to the SEC, the agency said. The company now has a new governance structure with three statutory committees — audit, compensation and nomination — and has amended its securities reports for all relevant years. The SEC said beginning in 2004 Nissan's board delegated to Ghosn the authority to set individual director and executive compensation levels, including his own. The SEC said "Ghosn and his subordinates, including Kelly, crafted various ways to structure payment of the undisclosed compensation after Ghosn's retirement, such as entering into secret contracts, backdating letters to grant Ghosn interests in Nissan's Long Term Incentive Plan, and changing the calculation of Ghosn's pension allowance to provide more than $50 million in additional benefits." "Investors are entitled to know how, and how much, a company compensates its top executives. Ghosn and Kelly went to great lengths to conceal this information from investors and the market," said Stephanie Avakian, co-director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement.