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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.

Is a Nissan Leaf with a 250-mile range less than three years off?

Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn has never shied away from bold proclamations. Most recently, he implied that an electric vehicle with a single-charge range comparable to that of a gas-powered vehicle on a full tank may be fewer than three years out. We'd love to see it. Indeed, Ghosn said that such a car may be around in the "near future," Hybrid Cars said, citing a presentation Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn made to shareholders earlier this week. He also showed a video of a Nissan Leaf in Japan, which appears to start out on a trip with 417 km (259 miles) of range available. The 2015 Leaf's single-charge range is rated at 84 miles in the US. How to get another 120 miles or so? Ghosn's talking about a still-lighter vehicle as well as cheaper batteries and improved battery chemistry. He also alluded to shorter recharging times. Last month, word got out that Nissan was working on a top-of-the-line Leaf that, as soon as this fall, would include a 30-kilowatt-hour battery, up from the standard 24-kWh version. Such a variant, which would be launched ahead of the next-generation Leaf slated for as soon as 2017, could boost the Leaf's single-charge range to as far as 105 miles. Related Videos: Featured Gallery 2013 Nissan Leaf View 55 Photos News Source: Hybrid Cars Green Nissan Hatchback Electric single-charge range

Nissan Qashqai getting Juke-R treatment

As long as there are sacred cows, there will be heretics sharpening their knives in anticipation of the butchering. When Nissan first carved into the mighty GT-R to create the Juke-R, onlookers quickly fell into two camps: those who thought the plan was sheer genius and those who believed cannibalizing a GT-R to feed a Juke was a new brand of obscenity. We fell firmly in the former camp. Now Severn Valley Motorsport is looking to take that theme one step further by shoving the go-faster bits from a GT-R into a Nissan Qashqai. That noise you hear? It's us cackling like mad men.
While we can't say for certain, we're guessing the project should yield the world's fastest Qashqai thanks in no small part to the twin-turbocharged VR38DETT V6 engine from the GT-R. Throw in the all-wheel-drive system and the little CUV should change demeanor dramatically. We can't wait to see this thing in action.