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Japan prosecutors seek 2 years in prison for ex-Nissan exec Greg Kelly

TOKYO — Japanese prosecutors demanded two years in prison for former Nissan executive Greg Kelly and accused him of joining a “conspiracy” to pay his former boss Carlos Ghosn illicitly in closing arguments Wednesday in a yearlong trial. “That unpaid compensation existed is clear,” prosecutor Yukio Kawasaki told the Tokyo District Court, reading briskly from a thick document. Kelly, a 30-year veteran at the Japanese automaker, was living in the U.S. when he was arrested in November 2018 upon returning to Japan to attend a meeting. The first American to be appointed to NissanÂ’s board, Kelly says he is innocent. He sat calmly in the courtroom, wearing his usual red tie and dark suit, alongside defense lawyers. Everyone in the courthouse was wearing a mask because of the pandemic. Kelly told The Associated Press in an interview last month he did not know all the details of GhosnÂ’s pay. He was determined to retain Ghosn, Nissan's former chairman, because of his extraordinary management skills and wanted to pay him in a legal way, he said. Ghosn was arrested at the same time as Kelly and also maintains he is innocent. He skipped bail in late 2019 and fled to Lebanon, the country of his ancestry. It has no extradition treaty with Japan. The charges center around a pay cut of about 1 billion yen ($10 million) a year that Ghosn voluntarily started taking from 2010, halving his pay after disclosure of high executive pay became mandatory in Japan. Nissan Motor officials considered various ways to make up for the money Ghosn gave up, such as paying him consulting fees after retirement. They also mulled other methods such as payments through subsidiaries and stock options. Nothing had been paid at the time of the arrests. The contention is over whether that money should have been reported as compensation as a de facto promised sum under a binding contract, or didnÂ’t need to be disclosed until it was finalized. Ghosn has said a group at Nissan engineered his arrest because they feared that French automaker Renault, which owns 43% of Nissan, would gain more control over the company. Other Nissan officials made similar comments during KellyÂ’s trial. Renault sent Ghosn to Nissan in 1999 to lead its rescue from the brink of bankruptcy. He successfully steered the maker of the Leaf electric car and Infiniti luxury models for nearly two decades.

Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla factory tour video, Obama rejects Keystone XL

Tesla takes us on a 90-second factory tour in a new video. In the footage, we see humans and robots hard at work putting together the electric cars we all know and love. Pieces of the manufacturing process are interspersed with larger shots of the factory floor. In the end, we see the finished product leave the factory and speed off onto a cone course. Check it out in the video above. President Obama has rejected the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline. After a seven-year review, he says it would not be in America's interest to build the 1,179-mile pipeline to bring oil from Canada's tar sands to the Gulf of Mexico. He cites passing a bipartisan infrastructure bill as a better way to create jobs, says US gas prices are already falling, and that reducing reliance on fossil fuels is a better way toward energy security. "The industry can find a different way to move that oil," says Christine Tezak, energy market analyst at ClearView Energy Partners. "If prices go up, companies will get the oil out." Read more at The New York Times. Chevrolet is donating a 2016 Volt to support For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST). Donations raised from the auction will help the organization bring student robotics projects to communities in need of greater science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education representation. "The Volt exemplifies technology, and behind the next-generation Chevrolet Volt is a diverse team of engineers who understand the power of science and math," says Chevrolet Marketing Director Steve Majoros. "FIRST brings science and math alive outside the classroom, just like we are bringing it alive on the road." Read more from Chevrolet. Nissan has been ranked among the top five percent of global corporations in the Carbon Disclosure Project's (CDP) 2015 Climate Change Report. Nissan scored a perfect 100 points in CDP's Climate Disclosure Leadership Index. Nissan's successful Leaf EV, as well as its efforts to reduce well-to-wheel CO2 emissions by 90 percent by 2050, earned the automaker its high marks. "Nissan is providing customers with innovative products and promoting effective use of energy and resource by increasing sourcing diversity, such as with renewable energy and recycled materials," says Nissan Corporate Vice President Joji Tagawa. "We will continue our activities to achieve our environmental philosophy of 'a Symbiosis of People, Vehicles and Nature.'" Read more in the press release below.

Nissan teases next-gen Titan in 'Truckumentary'

The Nissan Titan has grown long in the tooth over its decade on the market, especially against major competitors on the truck scene like the latest Ford F-150. Not for long, though, because the next-generation Titan is expected to debut at the upcoming auto show in Detroit in January. Ahead of that big unveiling, the Japanese brand is launching what it calls the Nissan Titan Truckumentary, a series of videos delving into what it takes to engineer a fullsize pickup. The first teaser clip is already online and shows the next-gen Titan wearing camouflage amidst engineering snippets. Hopefully, future releases starting in mid-December will give an even better look. Until now, Nissan has kept Titan development a guarded secret, but it did reveal that a 5.0-liter diesel V8 from Cummins with claims of over-300 horsepower and around 550 pound-feet of torque will be part of the powertrain range. The truck was has also been rumored to offer a wider range of models than before, including the possibility of a regular cab version and a V6 engine option. Earlier spy shots have given an even clearer view than this video, showing a pickup with headlights pushed out to the corners. Check out the video above to hear what Nissan engineers have to say about developing the new Titan, and read below for the automaker's announcement of the Truckumentary series. "Nissan Titan Truckumentary" tells story of next-generation pickup truck development NASHVILLE, Tenn. – To celebrate the launch of the next-generation Titan, Nissan will be telling the story of its upcoming full-size pickup's development via a series of short videos under the "Nissan Titan Truckumentary" banner. A teaser of this video series was issued today along with an introductory letter to the series from Nissan North America's Director of Product Planning for trucks and SUVs and Chief Product Specialist for the next-generation Titan, Rich Miller. "The 'Truckumentary' is not meant to be the all-encompassing last word on Titan," said Miller. "Rather it's the continuing story of the vehicle's evolution, accompanied by a close look at the American-based team that is bringing this all-new truck to market." The series will launch in mid-December with more than a dozen videos coming throughout the next calendar year. About Nissan North America In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing.