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Ex-Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn indicted, may remain in jail for months

TOKYO — Nissan's ex-chairman Carlos Ghosn was charged Friday with breach of trust, according to the Tokyo District Court, making the star executive's release unlikely for months. Ghosn, arrested Nov. 19, was earlier charged with falsifying financial reports in underreporting his income by about 5 billion yen ($44 million) over five years through 2015. Ghosn; Greg Kelly, another Nissan executive; and Nissan as a legal entity also were charged Friday with additional underreporting of income, from 2015 through mid-2018. Ghosn's lawyer Motonari Ohtsuru said he would request that Ghosn be granted release on bail. His detention period for the breach of trust allegations was due to expire Friday. Kelly and Nissan were not charged with breach of trust. Those allegations center on Ghosn's handling of investment losses and payments made to a Saudi businessman. Ghosn, 64, says he's innocent. Suspects in Japan are routinely held for months until trials start, and Tokyo prosecutors maintain that Ghosn, a Brazilian-born Frenchman of Lebanese ancestry, is a flight risk. Earlier this week Ghosn told a Tokyo court he was innocent, in his first public appearance since his arrest, and appealed for his detention to end. But the court rejected that request. "I have a genuine love and appreciation for Nissan," Ghosn told the court. "In all of my efforts on behalf of the company, I have acted honorably, legally and with the knowledge and approval of the appropriate executives inside the company." He said the compensation was never decided on, the investment deal never resulted in any losses to Nissan, and the payments to the Saudi businessman were for legitimate services related to dealers and investments in the Gulf. Ghosn, who appeared much thinner than before his arrest, came down with a fever the day after his court appearance, but has since recovered, Ohtsuru, the lawyer, said. His wife Carole Ghosn issued a statement overnight out of Paris, expressing concern over his sickness. "I am pleading with the Japanese authorities to provide us with any information at all about my husband's health. We are fearful and very worried his recovery will be complicated while he continues to endure such harsh conditions and unfair treatment," she said. Apart from prosecutors, only embassy officials and Ghosn's lawyers are allowed to visit him. Such visits were canceled Thursday but resumed Friday.

Tesla poaches Renault-Nissan communications boss Sproule

Need another sign that Tesla is growing into a force to be reckoned with? Bloomberg reports it has just snagged high-profile communications boss Simon Sproule from Renault-Nissan to become the EV maker's vice president of communications and marketing.
Sproule is an industry veteran, having spent 20 years at Nissan (where he grew to become CEO Carlos Ghosn's right-hand man). In addition, he logged stints at Ford, Jaguar (when it was still a Blue Oval-owned brand) and Microsoft. Despite all that experience, Sproule is still young, at just 45 years of age, as Bloomberg points out, yet he's held positions in the US, Japan and France over the years.
This is all good news for Tesla, which is in need of a strong spokesman outside of company CEO Elon Musk. It's been battling with the state of New Jersey and its governor, Chris Christie, over direct sales in the Garden State.

2014 Nissan GT-R Track Edition loses rear seats, gains performance

Nissan is adding yet another tier to the GT-R hierarchy for 2014 with the GT-R Track Edition. Debuting at the 2013 Chicago Auto Show, the bruiser ditches its back seat in the quest for a lower curb weight, and a set of more seriously bolstered front buckets keep occupants planted once the going gets twisty. The Nürburgring-developed Track Edition offers an integrated carbon fiber front splitter with brake cooling ducts as well as an even harder-core suspension. Engineers swapped the stock bits for special Bilstein DampTronic shocks and paired them with more aggressive springs.
The engine still delivers 545 horsepower and 463 pound-feet of torque and still relies on the split-second quickness of the standard GT-R's six-speed dual-clutch transmission. Expect to see just 150 examples of the 2014 Nissan GT-R Track Edition land on American shores starting this May. In the interim, check out the full press release below for more information.