2003 Nissan 350z Base Coupe 2-door 3.5l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Renault to alert prosecutors about Carlos Ghosn's wedding costs

PARIS — Renault has found evidence that it paid part of Carlos Ghosn's wedding costs and is preparing to turn the investigation over to prosecutors, two weeks after the French carmaker's scandal-hit chairman and chief executive was forced out. An internal probe established that a 2016 sponsorship deal with the Chateau de Versailles included a 50,000 euro ($57,000) personal benefit to Ghosn, the carmaker said on Thursday, confirming a report in Le Figaro. The carmaker replaced Ghosn on Jan. 24, more than two months after his arrest in Japan over allegations of financial misconduct uncovered by Renault's Japanese affiliate Nissan, which he also chaired. Renault began its own examination of payments to Ghosn within days of his detention but had not flagged any irregularities until now. Renault has discovered that "Mr Ghosn was accorded a personal benefit valued at 50,000 euros under the terms of a sponsorship contract with the Chateau de Versailles," the company said in a statement on Thursday. "Renault has decided to bring these findings to the attention of the judicial authorities." The office of Ghosn's Japanese lawyer Motonari Otsuru did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Ghosn remains in detention in Tokyo with limited opportunity to respond publicly to allegations against him. Renault had agreed before the wedding to sponsor 2.3 million euros of Versailles renovations in return for a credit granting the carmaker services from the chateau worth 25 percent of that amount, or 575,000 euros, a person with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Le Figaro reported that the chateau allowed Ghosn to host his wedding reception on its grounds in exchange for Renault's donations to the Versailles estate, resplendent home to France's last kings. The rental fee was deducted from Renault's credit for use of the Grand Trianon at Versailles on Oct. 8, 2016, when Ghosn and his second wife Carole hosted their wedding reception at the 17th-century palace, the source said. The event had already attracted public attention for its opulence and Marie Antoinette-themed costumes. The Renault board was informed about the discovery on Wednesday, as reported by Le Figaro, the source added. Earnings/Financials Government/Legal Mitsubishi Nissan Renault renault-nissan

Nissan happy with plug-in vehicles for now, will wait on hydrogen

Anyone who's driven the Nissan Leaf knows that it won't set any land speed records. Still, ask Nissan Vice Chairman Toshiyuki Shiga, and the battery-electric vehicle will be miles ahead of any hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles for the foreseeable future in Nissan's advanced-powertrain plans. Figuratively, of course. Shiga, speaking in Singapore, elaborated on Nissan's interest in developing a production hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle, and, to put it bluntly, he said the company didn't have much interest, the Japan Times reports. Sure, Nissan reached an agreement with Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler and Ford early last year to work together to speed up fuel-cell-vehicle powertrain development. Like Toyota, Honda and Hyundai, the automakers appear to be following the axiom that hydrogen fuel-cell technology is the best-of-all-worlds option for advanced powertrain because of the combination of zero emissions and conventional-vehicle-like full-tank range. Still, the prohibitively high cost of building hydrogen refueling stations will prevent any substantial adoption anytime soon, Shiga says, hence Nissan's focus on battery-electric vehicles. Nissan sells the all-electric Leaf in about 40 countries, and the model is the best-selling battery-electric vehicle in the world. In the US, Nissan sold 24,411 Leaf vehicles through October, up 35 percent from a year earlier.

2023 Japan Mobility Show Mega Photo Gallery: All the highlights and reveals from Tokyo

The 2023 Japan Mobility Show managed to serve up a surprise heap of exciting and futuristic designs and production reveals. Our staff was on the ground in Tokyo for this year's show, where we captured not just all of the latest automotive trends, but some genuinely weird and fascinating stuff.  Browse: Some Delightful Oddities of the 2023 Japan Mobility Show But on to the cars. This year's show featured introductions from Daihatsu, Honda, Lexus, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru, Suzuki and Toyota. Some are weird; some are wild; most are probably destined to change significantly before production or merely fade into the void with the rest of the industry's vaporware, but if even a few of these make it to showrooms, we'll consider it a win. Scroll on down for our live galleries of each of the show's major debuts (and cars we're only now seeing in person for the first time). Enjoy!   BMW X2 and iX2 BMW X2 View 6 Photos   Daihatsu me:MO Concept Daihatsu me:MO concept View 14 Photos   Daihatsu Vision Copen Concept Daihatsu Vision Copen View 7 Photos   Daihatsu Osanpo Concept Daihatsu Osanpo View 6 Photos   Daihatsu Uniform Concept Daihatsu Uniform concept View 6 Photos   Honda Prelude Concept Honda Prelude concept View 5 Photos   Honda Sustania-C and Pocket Concepts Honda Sustania-C and Pocket Concept View 8 Photos   Honda CI-MEV Concept Honda CI-MEV View 3 Photos   Infiniti Vision Qe Concept Infiniti Qe concept View 14 Photos   Lexus LF-ZC Lexus LF-ZC View 8 Photos   Lexus LF-ZL Lexus LF-ZL View 10 Photos   Mazda Iconic SP Mazda Iconic SP concept View 8 Photos   Mitsubishi D:X Concept Mitsubishi D:X Concept View 8 Photos   Nissan Hyper Force Concept Nissan Hyper Force concept View 11 Photos   Nissan Hyper Tourer Concept Nissan Hyper Tourer concept View 6 Photos   Nissan Hyper Punk Concept IMG_6533 copy View 8 Photos   Subaru Sport Mobility Concept Subaru Sport Mobility Concept View 7 Photos   Suzuki Swift Suzuki Swift View 5 Photos   Suzuki eWX Suzuki eWX Concept View 3 Photos   Suzuki eVX Suzuki eVX concept View 4 Photos   Toyota Land Cruiser Se Concept Toyota Land Cruiser Se concept View 4 Photos   Toyota FT-3e Concept Toyota FT-3e View 6 Photos   Toyota FT-Se Concept Toyota FT-Se View 7 Photos     Tokyo Motor Show Honda Infiniti Lexus Mazda Mitsubishi Nissan Subaru Suzuki Toyota