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Arrest warrant for Ghosn's wife a 'pathetic' move by Japan, spokeswoman says

BEIRUT — A decision by Japanese prosecutors to issue an arrest warrant for Carlos Ghosn's wife shortly before the fugitive car boss was due to speak publicly about his case was "pathetic," a spokeswoman for Ghosn told Reuters on Tuesday. The ousted Nissan Motor and Renault chairman fled to Lebanon, his childhood home, in late December from Japan, where he faced trial for alleged financial misconduct. Ghosn is expected to speak on Wednesday at a news conference in Beirut and detail some of the claims he has made against Nissan since his arrest in November 2018. He has alleged there was a Japanese government-backed coup to oust him. It's his first such appearance since his arrest in November 2018. "Last time Carlos Ghosn announced a press conference and got re-arrested. This time, the day before he is announced to speak out freely for the first time, they issued an arrest warrant for his wife Carole Ghosn," the spokeswoman said. Japanese prosecutors issued the warrant for Ghosn's wife Carole for perjury, Japanese media reported. The spokeswoman said Carole Ghosn voluntarily went back to Japan nine months ago to answer prosecutors' questions and was free to go without any charges. "The issuance of this warrant is pathetic," she said. Japan is looking for a way to extradite Ghosn, but Lebanon and Japan have no extradition agreement and Lebanon does not normally extradite its own citizens. The perjury arrest warrant accuses Carole Ghosn of falsely claiming not to know, or to have met, people connected to a company that received payments from Nissan Motor, part of which it subsequently transferred to a firm owned by Ghosn. Separately, a senior Ministry of Justice official said staff were poring over Lebanese laws to find a way to return Ghosn and that Japan "will do whatever it can" to have him face trial.   Naming names at Nissan Ghosn is expected to detail some of the claims he has made against Nissan since his arrest. Citing an interview with Ghosn, Fox Business reported that he said he has "actual evidence" and documents to show there was a Japanese government-backed coup to "take him out." He plans to identify those he believes responsible, the broadcaster said.

Meet Sparky, Nissan's Leaf-based, Frontier-bedded EV parts hauler [w/video]

For many enthusiasts, the concept of the ute - a car with a pickup bed - is somehow irresistibly appealing. On paper, it promises the marriage of a truck's utility and a car's superior driving dynamics, and for that reason alone, we'd love to see more of them. Yet while other parts of the world get them in good numbers, North America doesn't ever see them - at least not for long. Based on what we've seen of late, though, that's not due to a lack of motivation on the part of engineers.
BMW wowed us several years ago with an M3 ute, and earlier this year, some interns converted a Mini Paceman into the pickup-bodied Paceman Adventure. Loathe to let their rivals in Munich and Oxford have all the fun, Nissan has built its very own car-based pickup. Meet Sparky, the world's first Leaf Frontier.
Like the M3, this all-electric ute is used as a parts hauler for Nissan's engineering teams at its sprawling Stanfield, AZ tech center and proving grounds.

Here are the best-selling cars and trucks from January 2015

Every month, Autoblog slogs through all the sales figures reported by automakers that do business in the United States, and, after a little bit of sorting, we put it into an easy-to-read chart in an attempt to make it as easy as possible to follow the ins and outs of sales and shipments. But that only covers the brands themselves, not the individual models they sell. And we think you'd all be interested in knowing which vehicles beat their rivals in sales from month to month, so we've put together this handy gallery to keep you in the know. While the leader of the pack may not come as much of a surprise, the order that the top ten finishes in changes frequently – due to automaker deals, the price of gas, etc. – and we've included some statistics to help you see how their current performance stacks up to month's past. Click here to see January 2015's Top Ten Best-Selling Cars And Trucks In America. By the Numbers Chevrolet Ford GM Honda Nissan RAM Toyota Car Buying