1987 Nissan Maxima - Classic! on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Tokyo court rejects Carlos Ghosn's bail request

TOKYO — A Tokyo court rejected former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn's latest request for bail on Tuesday, more than two months after his arrest. A statement from the Tokyo District Court announcing its decision gave no explanation for prolonging a detention of the 64-year-old executive, which has drawn international scrutiny of Japan's justice system. Ghosn had promised to wear an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet, give up his passport and pay for security guards approved by prosecutors in his latest attempt to gain release from a Tokyo detention center. His family said they will appeal. Ghosn has been in custody since Nov. 19. He had a bail hearing Monday. A Tokyo court rejected an earlier request for bail last week. Ghosn, who led Nissan Motor Co. for two decades, has been charged with falsifying financial reports in underreporting his compensation from Nissan over eight years, and with breach of trust, centering on allegations Ghosn had Nissan temporarily shoulder his personal investment losses and pay a Saudi businessman. Ghosn has said he is innocent, explaining that the alleged compensation was never decided, Nissan didn't suffer losses and the payment was for legitimate services. His wife, Carole Ghosn, appealed for his release through Human Rights Watch earlier this month, saying Ghosn's treatment has been harsh and unfair. Her views echo widespread criticism of Japan's criminal justice system both inside and outside Japan. Suspects who insist they are innocent get held longer. Suspects are held in a cell and routinely grilled daily by investigators without a lawyer present, although lawyers are allowed to visit. Ghosn's lawyer Motonari Ohtsuru has acknowledged Ghosn's release may not come until the trial, which may be six months away. A date for the trial has not been set. Nissan officials say an internal investigation has found that Ghosn had schemes to hide his income and that he used company money and assets for personal gain. A special committee Nissan set up after Ghosn's arrest to strengthen governance held its first meeting Sunday. Seiichiro Nishioka, a former judge and co-chair, told reporters after the meeting that Ghosn had shown questionable ethics, and too much power within the company had been focused in one person. The committee's findings are due by late March. Ghosn's pay was long a sticking point in Japan, where executives generally get paid far less than their American and other Western counterparts.

Dacia Duster to spawn inexpensive Nissan Terrano, will we get it?

When going to overseas auto shows, one can't help but spend an inordinate amount of time eyeballing forbidden automotive fruit. It's often of the seriously rare, criminally powerful and six- or seven-digit variety. But more often than one might think, the genuinely affordable overseas hero makes us swoon, too. So it is with the Dacia/Renault Duster, the cheap-as-chips, hard-wearing utility vehicle. We've often thought that its basic, rugged charms would play well in the US if saddled with a low enough price tag, but we've never seen much of a window for that to actually come true.
But now, Autocar India is reporting that Nissan will flex its alliance with Renault to spin off a Duster of its own, one that exhumes the Terrano nameplate, a moniker once used for overseas versions of the first- and second-generation Pathfinder. The new model will feature unique sheetmetal to give it a familial look, but the interior will be the same, and we expect the same goes for the powertrain, meaning there will be a range of gasoline and diesel four-cylinder engines with both manual and automatic gearboxes and front- or all-wheel drive.
So, does that mean we'll get a Nissan version of the Duster-based Terrano to call our own? Sadly, almost certainly not. Company spokesman Dan Bedore tells Autoblog flatly, "There are no plans to bring this model to the US." Bummer. Even if it isn't ultimately as capable as the larger, long-in-the-tooth Xterra (it's more on par with the now departed Canadian-market X-Trail), we think the Duster's archetypal SUV looks and low cost barrier would win it plenty of fans in our market. Our guess is that redesigning the model to meet US regulations (crash, emissions, lighting, etc.) would be prohibitively expensive, and the Dacia/Renault model is built in some pretty distant facilities - Brazil, India, Romania and Russia among them - making the business case harder still.

2016 Nissan Titan XD arrives with diesel V8 power

Feels like this one's been coming soon (or is that #CumminsSoon?), forever. Over a decade since the Nissan Titan launched, the Japanese fullsize pickup has finally been given a full redesign, and it looks to be a worthy – and interesting – competitor in the light-duty pickup class. First and foremost, the truck debuting here in Detroit is the Titan XD – it's not a trim level, but a totally different version of the standard Titan, despite looking the same. The best way to explain the difference is that if the Titan competes with a Silverado 1500, the XD competes with something a step higher, but not a full 2500. Think of it as a Silverado 2000 or something – a step between light and heavy duty. Nissan truly thinks there's a white space in this pickup segment. The company isn't ready to release details on the standard Titan just yet, and the XD with the diesel engine will be the first version to come to market. The diesel in question is the long-awaited 5.0-liter V8 from Cummins, producing 310 horsepower and 555 pound-feet of torque, mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. When properly equipped, the Titan XD can tow up to 12,000 pounds, and has a payload capacity of 2,000 pounds. Nissan has confirmed that gasoline V6 and V8 options will be available on both Titan and Titan XD models, but has not released any details at this time. The 5.0-liter Cummins turbodiesel V8 will only be offered on the XD. Nissan is upgrading its Around View Monitor with features to aid with towing, too. Shown here as a Crew Cab, the Titan will be offered in King Cab and Single Cab configurations, as well, with three bed lengths (a 6.5-foot bed is seen here). Nissan has also told us that a lower-grade work truck will be available, as well. As the models roll out, the Titan and Titan XD will be offered in several trims, including a rugged-looking Pro-4X model and a new, top-of-the-line Platinum Reserve. All except the Pro-4X can be had with two- or four-wheel drive. Speaking of looks, we have to say, this is a pretty nice looking truck. Its appearance is fresh and modern, if awfully reminiscent of other trucks in the segment (hard to offer a unique design with that shape, of course). Up front, there are premium elements like available LED headlamps with LED running lamps, and out back, those same modern bulbs are used for the taillamps.