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Carlos Ghosn video: 'This is about conspiracy. This is about backstabbing'

TOKYO — Nissan's former Chairman Carlos Ghosn maintained his innocence in a video released by his legal team Tuesday and accused some executives at the Japanese automaker of a "conspiracy" that led to his arrest on financial misconduct allegations. "The first message is that I'm innocent," said Ghosn, wearing a white shirt and dark jacket and speaking calmly in the nearly 10-minute video shown at the Foreign Correspondents' Club in Tokyo. "This is a conspiracy," he said. "This is not about specific events, this is not about, again, greed, this is not about dictatorship. This is about a plot. This is about conspiracy. This is about backstabbing." His lawyer Junichiro Hironaka said the video was prepared in case Ghosn was not able to speak at a news conference planned for Thursday. Ghosn was arrested last week while out on bail and remains at the Tokyo Detention Center. Ghosn said the executives behind the conspiracy were motivated by what he called "selfish fears," including what they saw as a merger with French alliance partner Renault SA. They mistook his leadership for greed and dictatorship, when he was the biggest defender of Nissan's autonomy, Ghosn said. He also said he was worried about Nissan, wondering whether those executives were really watching out for the company. Hironaka said a section of the video in which Ghosn mentioned names was removed on his legal advice. Nissan Motor Co., while declining to comment on the criminal case, has said an internal investigation has found that Ghosn falsified financial documents to under-report compensation, and that he used Nissan money for personal gain. "Nissan's internal investigation has uncovered substantial evidence of blatantly unethical conduct," company spokesman Nicholas Maxfield said when asked for comment on Ghosn's video. "The company's focus remains on addressing weaknesses in governance that enabled this misconduct." Ghosn's fourth arrest was on a fresh breach of trust allegation based on suspicion that payments from a Nissan subsidiary to an Oman dealership were diverted to a company effectively run by Ghosn. On Monday, Nissan Motor Co. shareholders voted to oust Ghosn from its board and to approve the appointment of French alliance partner Renault SA's Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard as Ghosn's replacement. Renault owns 43 percent of Nissan.

2015 Nissan Micra is your cheapest new car, Canada

Canadians looking for a brand-new car on the cheap, take note. This is the 2015 Nissan Micra, and it will arrive at dealerships this spring boasting a starting price of $9,998 Canadian dollars (circa $9,100 US), well under the $11,898 asked for a 2014 Versa Sedan.
Of course, that ultra-low asking price isn't for a fully loaded model. The Micra will arrive in the Great White North in three trims - S, SV and SR - with the buyer's choice of a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic. A 109-horsepower, 1.6-liter four-cylinder is the sole engine choice. There will also be a number of accessory options that should allow some personalization for the small cars, with Nissan claiming that things like door handle finishers and mirror caps will be available in five different colors (plus chrome) for under $200.
"At Nissan, we understand the need in Canada for small, urban-friendly cars that are fun to drive and express their driver's personality. With Micra, we're delivering a proven global vehicle at a very attractive price - it's going to make a huge impact on the market," said Christian Meunier, the President of Nissan Canada.

Nissan GT-R and Jaguar F-Type meet for time trial battle [w/poll]

It seems that the Jaguar F-Type Coupe R is the performance coupe du jour. First, Motor Trend challenged it against a Porsche 911 on video to see how it fared. Now, Autocar in the UK is pitting the Jag against the latest iteration of the Nissan GT-R around a small course in a time trial battle.
On paper, it certainly looks like the F-Type Coupe is the clear winner. The two performance cars boast the same 542 horsepower (at least by UK specs), but the Jaguar does it with more torque, less weight and an eight-speed gearbox, compared to the six-speed in the GT-R. That seems like an automatic recipe for victory. However, the Nissan claims a faster sprint to 62 miles per hour and all-wheel drive. Nobody wants to watch a video of the new car running away into the sunset, and once the two of them make it to the track, the playing field appears much more level.
So which would you rather have? Keep in mind, that while the GT-R is cheaper than the F-Type Coupe R by a few thousand pounds in the UK, in the US a base R starts at $99,000, and the Nissan has a base price of $101,770. Scroll down to watch the video, and then make your choice in the poll, below.