2010 Nissan Murano S on 2040-cars

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Ghosn out at Nissan, still in at Renault, still in jail in Tokyo and facing more charges

When the corporate jet carrying Renault- Nissan- Mitsubishi CEO Carlos Ghosn landed at Tokyo Haneda airport on November 19, Japanese authorities had already taken position on the tarmac, waiting for him. Police and authorities representing Tokyo prosecutor's office boarded the plane to query Ghosn about financial improprieties, and ended up taking Nissan's chairman and CEO into custody. A few days later, on November 22, Nissan's board voted to remove Ghosn from both positions for what it classified as "significant acts of misconduct." The charges include understating his income in filings to the Tokyo Stock Exchange by at least $44 million, and misusing company funds. Japanese police arrested Greg Kelly as well, the high-ranking Nissan exec said to have assisted Ghosn in the subterfuge. Ghosn and Kelly remain on Nissan's board until a shareholder vote is held to decide those positions. Kelly was Nissan's first American director, and the carmaker's former head of human resources. In France, Renault's board voted to keep Ghosn in his positions, and has requested details from Nissan about the alleged improprieties. The board put Thierry Bollore in the role of deputy CEO with all of Ghosn's powers while Ghosn is "incapacitated," and lead independent director Philippe Lagayette will act as temporary chairman. Nissan has since told Renault that it is investigating financial malfeasance at RNBV, the Amsterdam-based joint-venture company that oversees the alliance. Mitsubishi has watched from afar, only saying it will perform its own investigation, and could remove Ghosn. Tokyo police can hold a suspect for 72 hours for initial questioning without charges. With the deadline looming, Tokyo prosecutors asked the court for, and were granted, a ten-day extension. If they choose, prosecutors can request another ten-day extension. Within 23 days, however, prosecutors either need to charge Ghosn and Kelly, or release them. There are several charges that acquire more details by the day. The most serious accusation is that Ghosn understated his pay from 2011 to 2015 by half, claiming roughly $44 million in remuneration when he actually received around $88 million. Over the weekend, it came out that Japanese prosecutors could be working on new charges of Ghosn under-reporting his salary since 2015 by $27 million. A Japanese newspaper said Ghosn told Kelly in an email to lie on the financial statements.

This Leaf glows in the dark

Pessimists may say that it's weird to have an all-electric vehicle look like it's radioactive. But when it comes to an effort by Nissan Europe to publicize the idea of using solar energy to power one's house or car, that'd be missing the point. Either way, the car looks pretty cool. Nissan is looking to get more people to go solar across the pond, and has given an all-electric Leaf a special glow coating to get the point across. Nissan worked with inventor Hamish Scott to create a special coating that allows the Leaf's paint job to absorb enough sunlight to give off a glow for as long as 10 hours of darkness. Go up to the Nordic countries, and that's still not long enough to get through a winter's night, but for most of the Continent, that'd certainly be sufficient. Better yet, the coating, which catches ultraviolet energy, is fully organic, though it'd take some smart science people to figure out how that's the case. But the coating is said to last a quarter century, which is a little longer than Leaf batteries are expected to last. Check out Nissan's press release below and take a look at the 55-second video from Nissan UK. The manufacturer worked with inventor, Hamish Scott, creator of STARPATH, which is a spray-applied coating that absorbs UV energy during the day so that it glows for between eight and 10 hours when the sun goes down. While glowing car paint is already available, as are glow-in-the-dark car wraps, the bespoke, ultraviolet-energized paint created especially for Nissan is unique thanks to its secret formula made up of entirely organic materials. It contains a very rare natural earth product called Strontium Aluminate, which is solid, odorless and chemically and biologically inert. Feb. 12, 2015 Nissan in Europe is first car maker to apply glow-in-the-dark car paint EV pioneer Nissan is first manufacturer to partner with similarly innovative inventor to create paint that uses UV energy absorbed during daylight to glow at night Increasing numbers of LEAF owners expanding sustainability efforts by installing solar panels to their homes ROLLE, Switzerland – Nissan in Europe has become the first manufacturer to apply glow-in-the-dark car paint to showcase how its market-leading, all-electric LEAF is helping more and more people convert to solar energy at home Various third-party companies have applied non-organic glow-in-the-dark paint to vehicles before, but Nissan is the first car maker to directly apply such technology.

2015 Nissan Murano gets edgier, lighter for NY

Nissan's Murano stands as one of the originators of the crossover movement - it was perhaps the first such vehicle to throw out the idea that a CUV had to look like a boxy, cladded-up sport utility vehicle in order to be successful. Now poised to enter its third generation, the midsize Nissan is not only getting a new look and a host of new technologies, it's getting a new home: Canton, MS.
With dramatic new styling presaged by the Resonance Concept at last year's Detroit Auto Show, the new Murano debuting at this week's New York Auto Show includes a toned-down "V-Motion" nose, and the Japanese automaker's trademark boomerang-shaped light fixtures. Aside from the chunky chrome U-shaped grille element up front, the new Murano's most striking design detail is its cantilevered roof with funky "disconnected" D-pillars, a floating look reinforced by a greenhouse edged in brightwork. Overall, it's a much more bold and expressive piece of design than Nissan's recent second-generation Rogue, fitting, as the Murano has always been on the daring end of CUV design.
Boasting a 0.31 coefficient of drag and a ton of sheetmetal surface development, the Murano's new form is available with LED headlamps and features active grille shutters for improved aerodynamics. The company claims visibility has been improved as well - and not just because of its brilliant available Around View Monitor camera system - Nissan says it has "optimized the angles and thickness of the bottom of the A-pillar," along with fiddling with the size and location of the side mirrors.