2008 Nissan Titan on 2040-cars

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Feds say Americans' bid to avoid extradition in Ghosn escape is 'flawed'

BOSTON — U.S. prosecutors on Tuesday said a former Green Beret and his son, wanted by Japan for helping former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn flee the country, were advancing a "flawed" interpretation of Japanese law to fight their extradition. Michael Taylor and his son, Peter Taylor, were arrested in Massachusetts last month at Japan's request for allegedly smuggling Ghosn out of the country on Dec. 29, 2019, in a box while he was out on bail awaiting trial on financial charges. Ghosn fled to Lebanon, his childhood home, after being charged with engaging in financial wrongdoing, including by understating his compensation in Nissan's financial statements. He denies wrongdoing. Lawyers for the Taylors in a motion last week asked a federal judge in Boston to quash the provisional warrants issued in May for their arrests, arguing that "bail jumping" is not a crime in Japan. Defense lawyers argued that helping someone jump bail was also not a crime. While Japan issued arrest warrants for the Taylors in January, the lawyers said the crime stated in the warrants is an immigration offense and a non-extraditable misdemeanor. But U.S. prosecutors in a brief filed on Tuesday said it would be "unprecedented" for the extradition case at this junction to be tossed based on a "flawed interpretation of Japanese law and a mischaracterization of the facts." While Japan has not yet formally sought their extradition, the country has confirmed that Taylors' conduct constitutes a felony, U.S. prosecutors said. "The purported loophole through which the Taylors seek to evade justice simply does not exist," U.S. prosecutors wrote. Prosecutors added that neither Taylor, including Michael, a U.S. Army Special Forces veteran and private security specialist, should be released from jail as they are flight risks. Abbe Lowell, the Taylors' lawyer, said he was reviewing the filing. Related Video: Government/Legal Mitsubishi Nissan Renault Carlos Ghosn

2013 Nissan Pathfinder: May 2013

Despite the snow-capped photos you see here, our long-term Pathfinder has been the subject of some proper pre-summer lovin' here in metro Detroit (we're working on a new gallery). Now that the warm weather has hit Michigan, many of our staffers have eagerly grabbed the keys to our big, brown Nissan for road trips all over the place. And the Pathfinder has indeed proven itself to be quite the worthy long-distance hauler, as editors John Neff and Seyth Miersma have already experienced.
This time around, a couple of our colleagues from AOL Autos put hundreds of miles on our trusty Nissan. And while everyone agrees that the Pathfinder is a solid vehicle for the task of road tripping, there are a couple of specific pros and cons that have been mentioned on several occasions.

Renault gets a 'wake-up call' — a record $8.6 billion loss

PARIS — French carmaker Renault said it had been given a wake-up call on Thursday with a record net loss of 7.29 billion euros ($8.6 billion) in the first half of the year, inflicted by the COVID-19 crisis and troubles at its alliance partner Nissan. Global automakers have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, which has shuttered factories and kept many customers away from car dealerships. But the Renault-Nissan alliance has been hit especially hard as it was already weakened by low margins and boardroom turmoil surrounding Carlos Ghosn, the architect of the alliance who was ousted in 2018. Renault shares were down 3.3% when trading opened in Paris. "Today's results will be a disturbing wake-up call," CEO Luca de Meo, the former Volkswagen executive who started at Renault this month, said on a call with analysts. "We are currently touching the bottom of a negative curve that started several years ago, and probably even earlier," de Meo added. "We are in a complex, difficult situation. We all are. But ... we were already, I would say, feverish. So for sure it is even harder for us." De Meo said the company would now double down on a previously announced turnaround plan, laying off thousands of workers, reducing the range of models, and improving cooperation between alliance partners on vehicle production. He said a team of 40 senior executives from across Renault was cloistered on the top floor of the company's headquarters in Boulogne-Billancourt near Paris, working on details of a strategic plan which will be presented in January at the latest. He said his focus would be pushing the Renault brands that can deliver profits — especially compact cars, SUV crossovers, and electric and hybrid vehicles — and shifting emphasis from volume to value. "We know what we need to do," de Meo said. "Better times are waiting at the end of this twisty road." Renault said group operating losses, factoring out the effect of Nissan's losses, reached 2 billion euros in the first half, compared with operating income of 1.5 billion last year. Sales slumped 34.9%, a result the company attributed mainly to the global COVID crisis and Renault burned through $6.38 billion in cash over the first half. Nissan Motor Co this week warned of a record $4.5 billion operating loss this year and its lowest sales in a decade. Its negative contribution accounted for 4.82 billion of Renault's net losses, the French firm said on Thursday.