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Carlos Ghosn re-arrested and thrown back in jail [UPDATE]

TOKYO — Tokyo prosecutors arrested Nissan's former chairman Carlos Ghosn on Thursday for a fourth time, on fresh allegations that cut short his brief time outside detention. Early in the morning, Ghosn was taken from his apartment in Tokyo to the prosecutors' office and then sent to the Tokyo Detention Center, the same facility where he spent more than three months following his arrest in November. He had been released on bail just a month earlier. It's unclear how long Ghosn may be detained under the latest arrest, which involves what prosecutors said was a new alleged crime. "My arrest this morning is outrageous and arbitrary," Ghosn said in a statement issued Thursday. "It is part of another attempt by some individuals at Nissan to silence me by misleading the prosecutors. Why arrest me except to try to break me? I will not be broken. I am innocent of the groundless charges and accusations against me." The prosecutors defended the move, saying the latest allegations are a new case requiring precautions to prevent Ghosn from destroying evidence. They allege $5 million in funds sent by a Nissan subsidiary to an overseas dealership were diverted to a company controlled by Ghosn. "We now have a totally different case, and we are only doing what we think is right," Shin Kukimoto, deputy chief prosecutor at the Tokyo District Prosecutor's Office, told reporters. "As a result of our investigation, we have a new case in which he must be detained, and we have appropriately obtained an arrest warrant from the court," he said. Ghosn, 65, was first arrested on Nov. 19 on charges of under-reporting his compensation. He was rearrested twice in December, including on breach of trust charges. The multiple arrests prolong detentions without trial and are an oft-criticized prosecution tactic in Japan's criminal justice system. The allegations in the most recent arrest cover three money transfers from 2015 through last year, according to the prosecutors. Kukimoto said the new allegation of breach of trust is different from an earlier charge made in January. The companies where the money was transferred to, the motives, and the alleged scheme are all different, he said. He refused to identify the three companies allegedly involved but said one company was in effect owned by Ghosn. Unlike an earlier case, in which Ghosn caused damage to Nissan to benefit himself and a business partner, this time it was merely "for his own personal benefit," Kukimoto said.

Mitsubishi Europe boss says two new PHEV crossovers due next year

In an interview with Automotive News Europe, Mitsubishi's European CEO Bernard Loire told the publication, "In the second half of next year we will have a replacement of the current Outlander. It will be on an alliance platform. There also will be another smaller SUV coming at the same time." The statements came in response to a question about expanding the automaker's plug-in hybrid lineup, leading readers to expect that by this time next year, Mitsubishi will have two crossover PHEVs on the market. The current Outlander has been on the market since late 2012, the plug-in hybrid showing for the 2014 model year. We've already seen fairly polished versions of fourth-generation Outlander prototypes out testing, sporting looks inspired by the Engelberg Tourer concept revealed at this year's Geneva Motor Show. Some suspect the 2.0-liter four-cylinder in the current PHEV powertrain will make way for a 2.4-liter mill as in the Engelberg, paired with high-efficiency motors on both axles. The show car also touted features like all-wheel drive improved with active yaw control and enhanced anti-lock braking software. Figure on an EV range that improves the current Outlander PHEV's 22 miles, going perhaps as far as the Engelberg's 43 miles. Loire didn't give away anything about the second model, but an Autocar report from earlier this year quoted "a senior source" as saying "We will not have a unique nameplate" for the second battery-electric vehicle. The magazine said the Eclipse Cross and Outlander Sport are in line for series hybrid powertrains, without indicating which might come first. Loire told AN the brand's doing fine with respect to Europe's coming CO2 legislation, so it doesn't need to make rash moves. With the Eclipse Cross forming 20% of sales on the Continent, the middle crossover would be a rational choice for the next plug-in hybrid, especially since it's retiring the 2.2-liter diesel option around the end of 2020. On the other hand, the Outlander Sport will be 10 years old next year, a replacement can't be far away. The new plug-ins come with the realignment of Mitsubishi's crossover range. The Outlander, sitting on a new architecture shared among the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, will grow into a proper mid-size choice; the prototype spotted in Michigan is clearly larger than the current vehicle.

Race Recap: 2014 Pikes Peak Hill Climb

The weather didn't interrupt the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb this year, the sun staying out to shine throughout a mildly cloudy day. The crowds didn't interrupt the race, either. Last year there were incidents like the woman who leaned so far into the road that her camera tore a hole in a speeding Shelby Cobra and she had to be sent to the hospital. This year the organizers shrank the number of spectator viewing areas and put others behind fences, such that long stretches of the route were uninhabited by anything other than varmints.
The only unexpected visitor was a dusty track and what some competitors said were slightly higher temperatures that changed the amount of grip and increased times. Yet the calm let a couple of teams, like that sun, break through the clouds of past misfortune and claim victories they'd been targeting for years.