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2017 North American Car, Truck, and Utility Vehicle of the Year finalists revealed

The finalists for the 2017 North American Car, Truck, and Utility Vehicle of the Year were announced Tuesday at AutoMobility LA ahead of the 2016 LA Auto Show. Approximately 60 judges, including Autoblog's editor-in-chief Mike Austin, evaluated over 40 vehicles and named three models as the finalists in each category. The award for the Utility Vehicle of the Year is new for 2017 and separates SUVs, crossovers, and minivans from pickup trucks. The finalists are: Car of the Year: Chevrolet Bolt Genesis G90 Volvo S90 Truck of the Year: Ford F-Series Super Duty Honda Ridgeline Nissan Titan Utility Vehicle of the Year Chrysler Pacifica Jaguar F-Pace Mazda CX-9 The winners for the 24th annual NACTOY awards will be named on January 9 at the Detroit Auto Show. Related Video: Chevrolet Chrysler Ford Honda Jaguar Mazda Nissan Truck Crossover Minivan/Van SUV Electric Luxury Sedan north american car of the year NACTOY

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.

Autoblog Podcast #390

Episode #390 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Steven Ewing and Sebastian Blanco from Autoblog Green talk about the 2015 Ford Mustang specs, the 2016 Smart models, a proposal to add real-world numbers to EPA economy tests and the potential downside of autonomous cars. We start with what's in the garage and finish up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Check out the new rundown below with times for topics, and you can follow along down below with our Q&A. Thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #390: The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. Topics: 2015 Ford Mustang specs 2016 Smart FourTwo and FourFour EPA wants road tests The downside of autonomous cars In the Autoblog Garage: 2014 Nissan Leaf 2015 Audi A3 Sportback E-Tron 2014 Scion tC Hosts: Dan Roth, Steven Ewing, Sebastian Blanco Runtime: 01:33:35 Rundown: Intro and Garage - 00:00 Mustang Specs - 34:40 2016 Smart Models - 51:14 EPA Tests - 01:02:57 Autonomous Cars - 01:11:19 Q&A - 01:21:22 Get the podcast: [UStream] Listen live on Mondays at 10 PM Eastern at UStream [iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes [RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator [MP3] Download the MP3 directly Feedback: Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes Podcasts Audi Ford Nissan Scion smart Electric Hybrid