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Nissan Leaf, e-NV200 get orange treatment for Ultraman Ginga S

The automobile-as-crime-fighting-teammate concept dates back at least to the 1960s Batman television series, gained further currency during the 1980s with Knight Rider and was referenced in the recent Kia ads featuring Los Angeles Clippers basketball star Blake Griffin and Jack McBrayer of 30 Rock fame. Now, Nissan has put a bright, colorful spin on the idea by tricking out both a Leaf electric vehicle and an e-NV200 electric van for the Japanese television show Ultraman Ginga S. A far cry from the aforementioned muscle cars (the Leaf powertrain delivers just 107 horsepower), the vehicles still cut dashing figures by featuring a lot of orange, a bunch of geegaws, a body kit and cannons. Yes, cannons. They were shown off at the Tokyo Toy Show. The Ultraman Ginga series debuted on Japanese television just last year, according to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB). Nissan started making the real-world e-NV200 electric van in Spain in May. No plans have been announced for US sales, though the Japanese automaker will export the van to its home country. There's an explanatory video and Nissan's press release about the Ultraman Ginga vehicles below, but we apologize in advance, as you will need to be able to read Japanese for the PR. The video has been helpfully translated. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. ???????????????????????????? --??????????2014????????????e-NV200???????????-- ?????????(??:????????? ??:???? ???)???????????????(??:?????? ??:?? ??)??????????????????????? ???????????????100%???????????*1???6?9??????100%????????e-NV200?????????????2????????????????TV?????????????????S*2(???????????)???????? ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????11?5??????????????????10????????????e-NV200???????????????????????????Leaf to Home??????????????????????????????????????????? ???7?15???????????????????S??????????????????????????????????Web?????????????????????????? ???6?12???6?15????4?????????????????????????????2014???????????????e-NV200????????????????????????????????????????????????????? (*6?12??13????????????????????????????) ????????S????????????????????????> ??: 6?12?(?)11:30~ ??: ???????? ?4??? No.4-1???????

NHTSA opens investigation into Nissan's handling of airbag recall

In March of 2014, Nissan recalled eight models among its Nissan and Infiniti brands, totaling more than one million vehicles, over faulty occupant classification system software controlling the passenger airbag. The company discovered a variety of factors that would interfere with the system's ability to detect an adult passenger in the shotgun seat, resulting in an illuminated warning on on the dashboard and the passenger airbag not deploying in an accident. Yet 124 complaints submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration since the recall allege that the dealer-installed fix hasn't actually fixed the problem; some consumers say the problem persists after multiple trips to the dealer. The Detroit News reports that NHTSA is opening an investigation into the matter to determine whether a new recall is needed. The occupant sensor has been a bugbear for Nissan over the past couple of years; a much smaller recall for the issue in 2013 covered five of the eight vehicles that were recalled in 2014, and that earlier recall also continued to generate complaints after the issue had supposedly been fixed. At the same time, the company learned that in two instances there was another twist, where the dashboard warning wasn't illuminated but the passenger airbag still didn't go off in an accident. Nissan isn't alone, though, with airbag recalls on a steep upswing across the industry even before the Takata debacle.

Carlos Ghosn, the cost cutter who cost a lot in compensation

PARIS — In his 40 years in the auto industry, the praise Carlos Ghosn has won for turning around businesses has regularly been matched by criticism over the amount he has been paid to do it. In the latest furore over his finances, Japan's Nissan Motor Co said on Monday it planned to oust Ghosn as chairman after alleging he had made personal use of company assets, among other acts of suspected misconduct. The scandal comes just five months after the 64-year-old head of the Renault-Nissan alliance narrowly won a shareholder vote at Renault over his 7.4 million euro ($8.5 million) pay package for 2017, after losing a 2016 vote. Brazilian-born, of Lebanese descent and a French citizen, Ghosn began his career in 1978 at tire maker Michelin, before moving to Renault in 1996, where he oversaw a turnaround at the French automaker that won him the nickname "Le Cost Killer." After Renault sealed an alliance with Nissan in 1999, Ghosn used similar methods to revive the ailing Japanese brand, leading to "business superstar" status in Japan, blanket media coverage and even a manga comic book on his life. As auto markets in western Europe and Japan struggled, Ghosn championed a cheap car for the masses in emerging markets and embraced the electric vehicle before many others. He also never made it a secret that he believed there were too many carmakers in the world and consolidation would continue — in 2016 he added Japan's Mitsubishi Motors to the alliance. But in recent months, attention has increasingly turned to how the complex web of cross-shareholdings between the alliance partners might be simplified to ensure it can thrive following the eventual departure of its main architect. In March, sources close to the matter told Reuters the alliance partners were discussing plans for a closer tie-up in which Nissan would acquire the bulk of the French state's 15 percent stake in Renault. With Japan's Yomiuri newspaper reporting on Monday that Ghosn had been arrested by Tokyo prosecutors on suspicion of under-reporting his salary, the alliance's plans for the future just got more pressing.Writing by Mark PotterRelated Video: Earnings/Financials Plants/Manufacturing Nissan Renault