2014 Nissan Murano Sv on 2040-cars

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Men accused of helping Ghosn escape can be extradited to Japan, federal judge says

This Dec. 30, 2019, security camera image shows Michael L. Taylor, center, at passport control at Istanbul Airport in Turkey, where Carlos Ghosn was smuggled through to Lebanon.   BOSTON — A federal judge in Boston on Thursday rejected a last-ditch effort by two men to avoid being extradited to Japan to face charges they helped former Nissan Motor Co Ltd Chairman Carlos Ghosn flee the country. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani cleared the way for U.S. Army Special Forces veteran Michael Taylor and his son, Peter Taylor, to be handed over to Japan, after the U.S. State Department approved their extradition. Judge Talwani said that "although the prison conditions in Japan may be deplorable," it was not enough to bar extradition. She added the U.S. has "sufficiently established that the actions the Taylors are alleged to have committed amount to an extraditable offense." Nissan and the Japanese embassy in Washington did not immediately comment. The Taylors were arrested in May at Japan's request. Talwani put their extradition on hold on Oct. 29 so she could hear their challenge to the State Department's decision. Prosecutors say the Taylors helped Ghosn flee Japan on Dec. 29, 2019, hidden in a box and on a private jet before reaching his childhood home, Lebanon, which has no extradition treaty with Japan. Ghosn was awaiting trial on charges that he engaged in financial wrongdoing, including understating his compensation in Nissan's financial statements. Ghosn has denied wrongdoing. Prosecutors said the elder Taylor, a private security specialist, and his son received $1.3 million for their services. The Taylors' lawyers argued they could not be prosecuted in Japan for helping someone "bail jump" and that, if extradited, they faced the prospect of relentless interrogations and torture. Ghosn in a court filing sought to support their claim, arguing he faced prolonged detention, mental torture and intimidation in Japan and the Taylors would face "similar or worse conditions."

Nissan recalls 226k vehicles over airbag inflators

Nissan and Infiniti are the latest automakers to issue recalls involving faulty airbag inflators from Takata. The Japanese automakers have announced campaigns covering about 226,326 units from seven models built in the early 2000s because they contain the bad part in the passenger-side, front airbag. The affected vehicles include the 2002-2004 Nissan Sentra, 2002-2003 Pathfinder and 2002-2003 Maxima, and it also covers the 2002-2003 Infiniti QX4, 2002-2003 I35, 2003 FX45 and 2003 FX35.
Like the other vehicles with the faulty inflators, it's possible for the part to rupture during airbag deployment and spray metal shrapnel at occupants. Nissan and Infiniti have even included vehicles with replacement airbags in this campaign because those parts also could have been defective. Both companies were also part of the earlier regional campaign to fix cars in high-humidity climates where the problem has been found to be the worst.
As is the usual response, Nissan and Infiniti will notify owners of the affected vehicles and will make the repair at no charge. According to the filing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, these fixes will commence around August 11. Scroll down to read the report from NHTSA, or read the full defect notice as a PDF, here.

2015 Nissan Juke

I didn't always like the Nissan Juke. When it launched in 2010, I just couldn't get over the way it looked – it came across as super weird, and kind of hideous at first blush. But I slowly warmed up to the funky little crossover/hatchback/thing, and after spending some time behind the wheel, I really learned to love Nissan's small wonder. It's a genuine hoot to drive, offering hot hatch-like thrills in a package that doesn't look like anything else on the road. The Nismo and RS models that followed only increased my ardor for the turbocharged Juke, and now, I find myself smiling whenever I see one of these little guys bombing down the road. Going into 2015, Nissan hasn't really made major changes, but there are a host of smaller improvements on hand to make it a more well-rounded vehicle than ever before. And to up the funk factor for the new year, there are a slew of customization options now available to customers through the Juke Color Studio – for better or worse. Following my first drive of the third-generation Nissan Murano in Napa Valley, I took the refreshed Juke for a spin to see if the 2015 model year improvements still make for a car that's good to drive and easy to use, while bursting with the same personality that slowly won me over in the first place. Drive Notes Powering the Juke is the same turbocharged, 1.6-liter inline-four as last year, with 188 horsepower and 177 pound-feet of torque on tap. I've always liked this engine – it's punchy and feels good when being worked via the 2014 model's six-speed manual transmission. There's lots of power down low, with a nice bit of boost mid-range through each gear. Altering the drive modes between Normal and Sport heighten this, and honestly, the turbo/manual setup in this front-wheel-drive Juke was kind of hilarious – a real treat. Sadly, Nissan will no longer offer the manual transmission on non-Nismo Juke models for 2015, so you're stuck with the continuously variable transmission. Bummer. In sport mode, the usually good Xtronic CVT tends to rev high and hold itself there – a tendency of older such transmissions that's seriously off-putting, especially for enthusiasts. Still, the Juke is available with a choice of either front- or all-wheel drive. The FWD Juke is fun, offering decent amounts of grip with a hint of predictable understeer. But I've always liked the four-season factor of the AWD Juke.