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Nissan union wants French to stop meddling with Renault alliance

Nissan is getting some unexpected reinforcements in its ongoing battle with the French government over its involvement in Renault. Its Japanese union, which has traditionally been a very hands-off entity, issued harsh criticism for the French government's attempts to assert control over its alliance partner. According to Bloomberg, this is the first time in 16 years that Nissan's union has weighed on the company's affairs, and it's stating its position on the matter in no uncertain terms. The union called France's attempt at scoring double voting rights within Renault "unacceptable and against the intended spirit of the Alliance." "We support the numerous attempts of Nissan to engage with the French government to find a balanced and constructive solution that will benefit and strengthen the Alliance," the union said in a statement obtained by Reuters. It's unclear what impact the union speaking out will have on the current power struggle between Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn (shown above) and the French government, but we doubt it'll contribute to any quicker of a conclusion. Related Video: News Source: Reuters, BloombergImage Credit: Itsuo Inouye / AP Government/Legal Nissan Renault France renault-nissan alliance

Tesla poaches Renault-Nissan communications boss Sproule

Need another sign that Tesla is growing into a force to be reckoned with? Bloomberg reports it has just snagged high-profile communications boss Simon Sproule from Renault-Nissan to become the EV maker's vice president of communications and marketing.
Sproule is an industry veteran, having spent 20 years at Nissan (where he grew to become CEO Carlos Ghosn's right-hand man). In addition, he logged stints at Ford, Jaguar (when it was still a Blue Oval-owned brand) and Microsoft. Despite all that experience, Sproule is still young, at just 45 years of age, as Bloomberg points out, yet he's held positions in the US, Japan and France over the years.
This is all good news for Tesla, which is in need of a strong spokesman outside of company CEO Elon Musk. It's been battling with the state of New Jersey and its governor, Chris Christie, over direct sales in the Garden State.

Weekly Recap: New bosses try to jump-start Cadillac and Lincoln

Both of America's domestic luxury brands seem to be stuck in neutral.
It's ironic that Cadillac and Lincoln got new bosses within days of each other this month. It's also a commentary on the fact both of America's domestic luxury brands seem to be stuck in neutral.