2004 Mitsubishi Galant Ls Sedan 4-door 3.8l on 2040-cars

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Ghosn's first jail interview: I was the victim of 'plot and treason'

TOKYO — Carlos Ghosn said Nissan executives opposed to his plans for closer ties with automaking partner Renault SA resorted to "plot and treason" to disrupt them and were behind the financial misconduct allegations against him. Speaking to the Nikkei newspaper in his first media interview since his arrest on Nov. 19, Ghosn said he had discussed plans to integrate the companies with Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa in September. But Nissan executives employed "plot and treason" to uproot those plans, Ghosn said. Ghosn, who spearheaded Nissan's turnaround two decades ago, had pushed for a deeper tie-up between Nissan and Renault, including possibly a full merger, despite strong reservations at the Japanese corporation. He remains in detention following his arrest and indictment on charges related to breach of trust and understating his salary. His arrest has clouded the outlook for closer ties between Nissan and Renault, along with Mitsubishi Motors Corp, the third member of the automaking alliance Since his arrest, Saikawa has said it was not the time to discuss revising the partners' complex capital ties. Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors have dismissed Ghosn as chairman, while he has resigned from the helm at Renault. Ghosn denied accusations of improper payments to a company run by a Saudi businessman, saying the payment had been approved by a Nissan executive. Ghosn also called accusations by both Nissan and Mitsubishi that he received nearly 8 million euros in improper payment through a Dutch-based joint venture of the two automakers "a distortion of reality," and argued his luxury residences in Rio de Janeiro and Beirut were approved by Nissan's legal department. Nissan has said it was not aware that it had paid for many of Ghosn's properties. On Wednesday, a spokesman said that the company was unable to comment on Ghosn's legal defense. Ghosn, in the 20-minute interview, denied that his tenure at Nissan had been a "dictatorship." "People translated strong leadership to dictator, to distort reality" for the "purpose of getting rid of me," he said. Ghosn added that his health was fine, and that he wouldn't flee if freed on bail. Meanwhile, NHK reported that Saikawa plans to hold his first face-to-face discussion with new Renault Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard on the sidelines of an alliance meeting in the Netherlands on Thursday.Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Mitsubishi had a shockingly good year in the U.S., and here's why

The year 2017 was a very good one for Mitsubishi in the United States. For the first time since 2007, the company sold more than 100,000 cars and crossovers here. Most of the credit goes to the Outlander, which sold just over 8,700 more examples this year than in 2016 for a total of 35,310. It was also the overall bestseller for the company in America. Its slightly smaller cousin, the Outlander Sport, was the second-best with 33,160 units, a number that barely changed from 2016. Also interesting to note is that each of Mitsubishi's crossovers roughly equaled the total number of traditional car sales, which include the last Lancers, Evos and i-MiEVs, as well as the Mirage hatch and Mirage G4 sedan. The Lancer actually did all right considering it was phased out in the middle of last year, selling over 12,000 units, almost as many as in 2016. Mirage hatchback sales dropped quite significantly at just over 6,000, but Mirage G4 sedan sales increased by roughly the same amount. Considering the weaker car sales, Mitsubishi has probably made the right decision to focus on expanding its crossover line with the all-new Eclipse Cross launching this year, and the newly available Outlander PHEV. This milestone also marks Mitsubishi's slow and steady gains lately. According to the company, this is the fifth year of increased sales in the U.S. And on a global scale, the company saw gains, too. Its sales topped 1 million worldwide compared with 934,000 in 2016. In China sales were up over 50 percent, and it also saw sales increases in the Germany, Russia, Japan, Australia, and many countries in southeast Asia. So it seems Mitsubishi is making a nice little turnaround for itself. Related Video:

Fiat taps Mitsubishi for European pickup

Mitsubishi is often derided in the US for its relatively boring lineup, Lancer Evolution aside, but the company is on the upswing worldwide, recently posting record global operating profits. The Japanese automaker may get a further boost in the near future from a rumored pickup truck deal with Fiat.
According to insider sources speaking to Automotive News Europe, Mitsubishi would reportedly build a variant of its widely respected L200 pickup truck for the Fiat Professional brand in Europe and Latin America starting in 2016. The L200 is larger than the Fiat Strada front-wheel-drive pickup already available in those markets, and it's available in rear- and four-wheel-drive configurations. The idea of adding a midsize truck to the commercial lineup was in the Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles five-year plan, but it didn't include any mention of a partnership to build it.
At first blush, the Mitsubishi agreement seems like an odd move, given that Fiat already owns pickup truck specialists Ram. However, according to ANE, the company had at one time planned to use a version of a new Dodge Dakota pickup for duty in Europe and Latin America, but the model never came to fruition.