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Nissan expands Ghosn probe to more countries, executive Munoz under scrutiny, sources say

BEIJING — Nissan Motor Co Ltd has broadened its investigation into ousted chairman Carlos Ghosn to include dealings that took place in the United States, India and Latin America, three people with knowledge of the inquiry said. In one aspect of their internal probe, company investigators are looking into decisions made in the United States by Jose Munoz who led Nissan's North American operations from 2014 to 2018, the people said. Munoz was recently placed on a leave of absence due to the probe, they added. Nissan said this month that Munoz, its chief performance officer and widely seen within the industry as close to Ghosn, was on leave "to allow him to assist the company by concentrating on special tasks arising from recent events." Munoz is not cooperating with investigators, two of the people with knowledge of the probe said, both describing his actions as "stonewalling". One of the sources described Munoz, who currently heads Nissan's China operations, as a "person of interest" in the probe, adding that it was not clear whether he would be accused of any wrongdoing. Munoz, 53, did not reply to Reuters requests for comment. The people with knowledge of the probe spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. A lawyer for Ghosn, Motonari Otsuru, said in an emailed comment: "I am unaware of this." Some of the questions put to Munoz relate to dealer franchise rights, one of the sources said. Other questions relate to contracts with parts suppliers and service providers that Munoz approved when he was at the helm of Nissan's U.S. operations, another source said. The sources said the findings made as part of the probe into Ghosn's affairs in the U.S. market are being shared with prosecutors. Tokyo prosecutors declined to comment. Nissan has said its internal investigation had uncovered "substantial and convincing evidence of misconduct" by Ghosn and that its scope is expanding. Ghosn, once the most celebrated executives in the auto industry and the anchor of Nissan's alliance with France's Renault SA, has been charged with under-reporting his income. On Friday, he was also charged with aggravated breach of trust, accused of shifting personal investment losses worth 1.85 billion yen ($17 million) to Nissan. In his first public appearance since his Nov.

Consumer Reports no longer recommends Honda Civic

Consumer Reports annual Car Reliability Survey is out, and yes, there are some big surprises. First and foremost? The venerable publication no longer recommends the Honda Civic. In fact, aside from the walking-dead CR-Z and limited-release Clarity fuel-cell car, the Civic is the only Honda to miss out on CR's prestigious nod. At the opposite end there's a surprise as well – Toyota and Lexus remain the most reliable brands on the market, but Buick cracked the top three. That's up from seventh last year, and the first time for an American brand to stand on the Consumer Reports podium. Mazda's entire lineup earned Recommended checks as well. Consumer Reports dinged the Civic for its "infuriating" touch-screen radio, lack of driver lumbar adjustability, the limited selection of cars on dealer lots fitted with Honda's popular Sensing system, and the company's decision to offer LaneWatch instead of a full-tilt blind-spot monitoring system. Its score? A lowly 58. The Civic isn't the only surprise drop from CR's Recommended ranks. The Audi A3, Ford F-150, Subaru WRX/STI, and Volkswagen Jetta, GTI, and Passat all lost the Consumer Reports' checkmark. On the flipside, a number of popular vehicles graduated to the Recommended ranks, including the BMW X5, Chevrolet Camaro, Corvette, and Cruze, Hyundai Santa Fe, Porsche Macan, and Tesla Model S. Perhaps the biggest surprise is the hilariously recall-prone Ford Escape getting a Recommended check – considering the popularity of Ford's small crossover, this is likely a coup for the brand, as it puts the Escape on a level playing field with the Recommended Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, and Nissan Rogue. While Ford is probably happy to see CR promote the Escape, the list wasn't as kind for every brand. For example, of the entire Fiat Chrysler Automobiles catalog, the ancient Chrysler 300 was the only car to score a check – there wasn't a single Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, or Ram on the list. That hurts. FCA isn't alone at the low end, either. GMC, Jaguar Land Rover, Mini, and Mitsubishi don't have a vehicle on CR's list between them, while brands like Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Nissan, Lincoln, Infiniti, and Cadillac only have a few models each. You can check out Consumer Reports entire reliability roundup, even without a subscription, here.

Nissan IDX production model to get sharper, less retro styling

The Nissan IDx seems like the type of concept that auto enthusiasts wish they could be driving. With a compact size, style inspired by the classic Datsun 510 and a rear-wheel-drive powertrain, it certainly ticks many of the boxes that people want. Unfortunately, the car seems to be miles away from actually getting a green light for production, but rumors about the retro coupe's future keep cropping up.
The last we heard about the IDx, the biggest complication with the coupe was that it was a tough project to make profitable. Nissan didn't have a cheap enough rear-wheel drive platform to make the affordable coupe work. The latest rumors point to a potential solution to this problem. According to Motoring from Australia speaking to an insider close to Nissan, the new plan is to tweak the styling to be less retro and adapt the car to work on the platform for the forthcoming, next-generation Z car.
The new look reportedly cribs from the Nissan Sport Sedan Concept from the 2014 Detroit Motor Show, including its floating roof design and sharper edges around the fenders. In terms of power, the source tells Motoring, the IDx could use a naturally aspirated 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with around 180 horsepower on tap. That might not sound like too much, but remember the Z car itself is rumored to get smaller and lighter when it's new generation hits the stage. If the weight is low enough, potentially using it for the IDx might just work.