1996 3000gt Automatic, Red/tan, Coilovers, 20 Brand New Rims And Tires on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Lexus tops JD Power Vehicle Dependability Study again, Buick bests Toyota

It shouldn't surprise anyone, but Lexus has once again taken the top spot in JD Power's Vehicle Dependability Study. That'd be the Japanese luxury brand's fourth straight year at the top of table. The big news, though, is the rise of Buick. General Motor's near-premium brand beat out Toyota to take second place, with 110 problems per 100 vehicles compared to Toyota's 111 problems. Lexus owners only reported 89 problems per 100 vehicles. Besides Buick's three-position jump, Scion enjoyed a major improvement, jumping 13 positions from 2014. Ram and Mitsubishi made big gains, as well, moving up 11 and 10 positions, respectively. In terms of individual segments, GM and Toyota both excelled, taking home seven segment awards each. The study wasn't good news for all involved, though. A number of popular automakers finished below the industry average of 147 problems per 100 vehicles, including Subaru, (157PP100), Volkswagen (165PP100), Ford/Hyundai (188PP100 each) and Mini (193PP100). The biggest losers (by a tremendous margin, we might add) were Land Rover and Fiat, recording 258 and 273 problems per 100 vehicles. The next closest brand was Jeep, with 197PP100. While the Vehicle Dependability Study uses the same measurement system as the Initial Quality Survey, the two metrics analyze very different things. The VDS looks at problems experienced by original owners of model year 2012 vehicles over the past 12 months, while the oft-quoted IQS focuses on problems in the first 90 days of new-vehicle ownership. Like the IQS, though, the VDS has a rather broad definition of what a problem is. Because of that, a low score from JD Power is no guarantee of extreme unreliability, so much as just poor design. In this most recent study, the two most reported problems focused on Bluetooth connectivity and the voice-command systems. The former leaves plenty of room for user error due to poor design (particularly true of the Bluetooth systems on the low-scoring Fords, Volkswagens and Subarus), while the second is something JD Power has already confirmed as being universally terrible. That makes means that while these studies are important, they shouldn't be taken as gospel when it comes to automotive reliability. News Source: JD PowerImage Credit: Copyright 2015 Jeremy Korzeniewski / AOL Buick Fiat Ford GM Hyundai Jeep Land Rover Lexus MINI Mitsubishi RAM Scion Subaru Toyota Volkswagen Auto Repair Ownership study

Renault names new leaders as jailed Carlos Ghosn bows out

PARIS — Renault appointed Michelin boss Jean-Dominique Senard as its new chairman on Thursday, after Carlos Ghosn was forced to resign in the wake of a financial scandal that has rocked the French carmaker and its alliance with Japan's Nissan. Senard will become chairman immediately, the company said, with deputy chief executive Thierry Bollore taking over Ghosn's other Renault role as full CEO. The appointments may begin to ease a Renault-Nissan leadership crisis that erupted after Ghosn's Nov. 19 arrest in Japan and swift dismissal as Nissan chairman. Senard, 65, now faces the task of soothing relations with Renault's Japanese partner and resuming talks on a new alliance structure to cement the 20-year-old partnership. "It's important that this alliance remain extremely strong," Senard told reporters after a board meeting - citing the mounting investment demands of new vehicle technologies. "It is our compulsory duty to go forward together." Ghosn's exit also marks a clear end to one of the auto industry's most feted careers, two decades after he was despatched by former Renault boss Louis Schweitzer to rescue newly acquired Nissan from near-bankruptcy — a feat he pulled off in two years. After 14 years as Renault CEO and a decade as chairman, Ghosn formally resigned from both roles on the eve of the board meeting. Ghosn's arrest and indictment for financial misconduct has strained the Renault-Nissan relationship, threatening the future of the industrial partnership he transformed into a global carmaking giant over two decades. For two months, the tensions deepened as Renault and the French government stuck by Ghosn despite the revelation he had arranged to be paid tens of millions of dollars in additional income, unbeknownst to shareholders. Ghosn has been charged with failing to disclose more than $80 million in additional compensation for 2010-18 that he had agreed to be paid later. Nissan director Greg Kelly and the Japanese company itself have also been indicted. Both men deny the deferred pay was illegal or required disclosure, while not contesting the agreements' existence. Ghosn has denied a separate breach of trust charge over personal investment losses he temporarily transferred to Nissan in 2008. Ghosn had agreed in recent days to step down from Renault, Reuters reported on Tuesday — but only after the French government, Renault's biggest shareholder, called for leadership change and his bail requests were rejected.

Carlos Ghosn changes to hotshot attorney and a new defense strategy

TOKYO — Carlos Ghosn's chief defense attorney Motonari Otsuru resigned and was replaced by a team that includes hotshot lawyer Junichiro Hironaka, in a change of strategy from the ousted Nissan Motor chairman three months after his arrest. Ghosn, Nissan's one-time savior, has been held in detention since his Nov. 19 arrest. He's been indicted and accused of under-reporting his salary and breach of trust. He has denied the charges. The once-feted auto executive hired Hiroshi Kawatsu as head of a new defense team, his office said on Wednesday. Hironaka, 73, has won several high profile cases, helping acquit senior lawmaker Ichiro Ozawa and senior bureaucrat Atsuko Muraki. Hiring Hironaka would mean a more aggressive legal strategy, said Nobuo Gohara, a former prosecutor. Otsuru previously led the special prosecutors' office that is now handling Ghosn's case. "Otsuru was miscast. He worked at the heart of the special prosecutors office so he was not someone who was going to go after them aggressively," Gohara said. "Hironaka is an experienced defense lawyer who has won a number of cases. He will mount a more thorough and aggressive defense." Otsuru's office confirmed his resignation in a statement, but gave no reason for the move. A second member of Ghosn's defense team, Masato Oshikubo, had quit, it said. Go Kondo, Ghosn's third defense lawyer, was unavailable for comment. Ghosn released a short statement thanking Otsuru for his team's "tireless and diligent work," and called him a "very capable and intelligent man and lawyer." The sudden change in attorneys comes ahead of the expected start of informal meetings with prosecutors and judges to discuss pretrial preparations, an indication that there will be no new charges against Ghosn. "As we begin the trial phase, I have decided to engage Hironaka-sensei as my legal counsel," Ghosn said, using an honorific suffix. "I look forward to defending myself vigorously, and this represents the beginning of the process of not only establishing my innocence but also shedding light on the circumstances that led to my unjust detention." Ghosn, 64, told the Nikkei newspaper last month that Nissan executives opposed to his plans for closer ties with automaking partner Renault SA had plotted to remove him. Ghosn was widely credited with rescuing Nissan from near-bankruptcy after he was brought over to Japan in 1999 by Renault after the French automaker bought a chunk of Nissan.