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Nissan ex-Chairman Carlos Ghosn wins release from jail

TOKYO — The Tokyo District Court approved the release of former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn on bail of 1 billion yen ($8.9 million) on Tuesday, although the end of his four months of detention in Japan was delayed when prosecutors appealed that decision. Prosecutors filed their objection to Ghosn's release within hours of the announcement he was going to be granted bail. But their appeal was rejected by the court, paving the way for his release. A lawyer for Ghosn said he would not be able to leave the Tokyo Detention Center until Wednesday at the earliest, because bail procedures can't be done at night. The acceptance of Ghosn's request for bail, his third, came a day after the lawyer, Junichiro Hironaka, said he was confident the auto executive would gain his release. Hironaka, who recently joined Ghosn's defense team, is famous for winning acquittals in Japan, a nation where the conviction rate is 99 percent. Hironaka said Monday that he had offered new ways to monitor Ghosn after his release, such as camera surveillance. Hironaka also questioned the grounds for Ghosn's arrest, calling the case "very peculiar," and suggesting it could have been dealt with as an internal company matter. He welcomed the decision, telling reporters: "It was good we proposed concrete ways showing how he would not tamper with evidence or try to flee." The 1 billion yen bail set by the court was relatively high but not the highest ever in Japan. Among the conditions for Ghosn's release were restrictions on where he can live, a ban on foreign travel and other promises not to tamper with evidence or try to flee, the court said. The former head of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Motors alliance has been detained since he was arrested on Nov. 19. He says he is innocent of charges of falsifying financial information and of breach of trust. In Japan, suspects are routinely detained for months, often until their trials start. That's especially true of those who insist on their innocence. Prosecutors say suspects may tamper with evidence and shouldn't be released. Two previous requests submitted by his legal team were denied. His previous defense lawyer, Motonari Ohtsuru, had said Ghosn's release might not come for months. Hironaka is among many critics of the Japanese justice system who say such lengthy detentions of suspects are unfair.

Japanese automakers welcome North American trade deal, fear what's next

TOKYO — Toyota, Nissan and Mazda welcomed on Tuesday the revised North America trade deal that left Japanese automakers unscathed, but they may face a bumpy ride when Washington and Tokyo hold new talks on over $40 billion of annual U.S. auto imports from Japan. The United States and Canada reached an agreement on Sunday to update the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement after Washington had forged a separate trade deal with Mexico in August. The updated deal effectively maintains the auto industry's current footprint in North America, and spares Canada and Mexico from the prospect of U.S. national security tariffs on their vehicles. Mazda, which ships cars to the United States from Mexico and Japan, called the deal a "big step forward". Nissan, which makes the cars it sells in the United States locally as well as in Mexico, Japan and other countries, said it was "encouraged" by the agreement. Toyota, Japan's biggest automaker, said it was "pleased" that a basic deal was reached. Other automakers were not immediately available for comment. While the deal has removed the risk that the disintegration of the pact would have posed to automakers, bigger risks loom large for Japanese firms as a chunk of the roughly 7 million cars they sold in the U.S. last year were shipped from Japan, and a trade deal between Washington and Tokyo has yet to be agreed. The United States and Japan last week agreed to begin fresh trade talks, with U.S. President Donald Trump seeking to address Japan's $69 billion trade surplus, of which nearly two-thirds comes from auto exports. Washington is also investigating the possibility of slapping 25 percent tariffs on auto imports on national security grounds, although it has agreed with Japan to put any new tariffs on hold during the talks. Analysts say the United States may take a tougher stance on auto imports from Japan than from its neighbors. "If Japan requests an exemption from the 25 percent tariffs under consideration, Washington could propose a more strict cap on imports than it agreed to with Mexico and Canada," said Koji Endo, senior analyst at SBI Securities. "That would be a risk." This could be a big blow to Japan, as the United States is a key source of revenue for Japanese automakers including Toyota, Nissan and Honda. The U.S. market accounts for a quarter or more of their annual global vehicle sales, and of their total U.S.

2018 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross arrives in the U.S., pricing starts at $24,290

The first shipment of the 2018 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross has arrived in the United States. Mitsubishi's new all-wheel drive compact crossover will go on sale in showrooms in early March with a starting price of $24,290, including a destination charge of $995. The Eclipse Cross debuted last year at the Geneva Motor Show with design cues borrowed from the XR-PHEV II Concept from 2015. The exterior design, which Mitsubishi says is inspired by a runner in the "Get set" position, includes a forward-raked rear window, wedge profile and deep side crease. Its starting price slots it just below competitors like the Honda CR-V and Hyundai Tucson, and it will come in four trim levels. Those include the base ES, which is the only trim available with front-wheel drive. Adding all-wheel drive, or S-AWC in Mitsubishi speak, adds only $600 to the base price. The LE S-AWC trim starts at $25,890 and the range-topping SE S-AWC starts at $27,390, though neither are eligible for options, so those are pretty much the prices customers will be dealing with. All trim levels are powered by a direct-injection turbocharged 1.5-liter inline-four that makes 152 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque. The S-AWC acronym would stand for Super All-Wheel Control, Mitsubishi's system that manages torque supplied to each wheel for added straight-line stability and cornering performance. It offers three selectable driving modes — auto, snow and gravel — to enhance performance. Safety technology includes blind-spot warning and lane-change assist, forward collision mitigation and lane-departure warning, plus a system that automatically adjusts headlight brightness to the conditions. Interior features include an available 7-inch infotainment display with a touchpad controller, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus voice recognition via Google Assistant or Siri. There's also a full-color LCD head-up display available. A dual-pane sunroof and heated rear seats are some of the other niceties. The Eclipse Cross joins the brand's stable of crossovers, the Outlander and slightly smaller Outlander Sport, which helped Mitsubishi to a banner year in 2017, selling more than 100,000 vehicles for the first time in a decade. It also joins the Outlander PHEV, also new for 2018. Related Video: