2010 Nissan Altima Sedan 4-door 2.5l on 2040-cars

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Renault to Nissan: Stop trying to contact our board members

TOKYO/PARIS — Renault told alliance partner Nissan to stop contacting the French company's directors ahead of a Thursday board meeting as the Japanese automaker tried to share evidence of wrongdoing by its ousted chairman, Carlos Ghosn, two sources said. Ever since Ghosn's Nov. 19 arrest in Japan, Renault and the French government, the automaker's biggest shareholder, have demanded to see the findings of a Nissan internal investigation that include allegations of financial misconduct by the 64-year-old executive. Ghosn was charged on Monday in Japan for failing to declare deferred income he had agreed to receive for the five years ending March 2015. While Nissan fired him as chairman days after his arrest, he remains chairman and CEO of its French partner. Renault's board meets on Dec. 13, and the findings of Nissan's investigation will be shared at the meeting where Ghosn's future could be also debated, one of the sources with knowledge of the matter said. The French firm told Nissan not to contact its directors ahead of the meeting, because such contact was outside the agreed channels for communication of the sensitive findings, the source said. Nissan offered last week to brief Renault's board about findings on what it considers proof of wrongdoing by Ghosn, said a second source who has knowledge of the matter but declined to be identified as it was confidential. But Renault advised Nissan to brief its lawyers instead, which led to a meeting between the Japanese firm's officials and Renault's legal teams early this week in Paris, the person said. The Japanese automaker later invited Thierry Bollore, who was named Renault's deputy CEO with the same powers as Ghosn a day after his arrest, as well as board members, to examine the contents of the findings, said the source. Bollore, though, told Nissan on Tuesday to "refrain from contacting the board," the source said. The exchange between Renault and Nissan is another example of the testy relationship between the two automakers, despite assurances by executives on both sides to preserve the alliance. The alliance, of which Ghosn has been the driving force, is widely seen as vital for the members' long-term survival. Board members invited to see the evidence included Martin Vial, who heads the French state shareholdings agency, interim Chairman Philippe Lagayette and independent director Patrick Thomas, the second source said. A Renault spokesperson declined to comment.

Pebble Beach Concept Car Lawn adds class to the grass

While Pebble Beach is traditionally thought of as the refuge of the pristine and pricey vintage vehicles of the world, there's no shortage of newer vehicles on display. And when we say "new," we mean really new. As in, not even in production new. This is the concept car lawn, and it's home to an eclectic group of vehicles from past and present.
Of course, calling it the "concept car lawn" is a bit of a misnomer this year (as it has been in previous years, too). Production models like the Alfa Romeo 4C were on display, alongside known quantities like the Hennessy Venom GT and modified versions of already-on-sale models, like the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Waterspeed Collection.
There were a few concepts on display, though. Toyota debuted the critically acclaimed FT-1 Concept in a new shade, while BMW's Beijing Motor Show stunner, the Vision Future Luxury, was also parked on the expensive grass. Also appearing were the Nissan GT-R in sheep's clothing, the Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge, and the recently debuted McLaren P1 GTR.

Why this could be the perfect time for Apple to make a car play

While the automotive and technology worlds have been pouring billions into autonomous vehicles (AVs) and preparing to bring them to market soon as shared robo-taxis, Apple has mostly sat on the sidelines. Of course, Apple is the last company to ever make its intentions known, and the super-secret tech cult giant hasn't been totally out of the AV game based on the clues that have slipped out of its Cupertino, Calif., citadel over the past few years. Related: Apple self-driving cars are real — one was just in an accident News first broke in 2015 that it had assembled an automotive development team, in part by poaching high-profile talent from car companies, to work on a top-secret self-driving vehicle project code-named Titan. (Thank you very much, Nissan.) Apple also subsequently broke cover by making inquiries into using a Northern California AV testing facility and receiving a permit to test AVs on public roads in California. But then as the AV race started to heat up in the last few years, Apple reportedly began scaling back its car activities by downsizing team Titan. More recently, Apple's car project has shown signs of life with the hiring a high-level engineer away from Waymo and luring one Tesla's top engineers and a former employee back to Apple. It also inked a deal with Volkswagen to provide a technology platform and software to convert the automaker's new T6 Transporter vans into autonomous shuttles for employees at tech company's new campus. That is a far cry from giving rides to Wal-Mart shoppers, like Waymo is doing as part of its AV testing in Phoenix. But this could be the perfect time for Apple to enter the AV market now that ride-sharing is reaching critical mass and automakers and others are planning to deploy fleets of robo-taxis. Apple could easily establish a niche as a high-end ride-sharing service – and charge a premium – given its cult-like brand loyalty and design savvy. The growth of car subscription models could also play in Apple's favor since is already has many people hooked on paying for phones in monthly installments – and eager to upgrade when a new and better model becomes available. To achieve this, some believe Apple will fulfill co-founder and CEO Steve Job's dream of building a car. And as the world's first and only $1 trillion company it's sitting on a mountain of cash that certainly gives it the means. But other tech darlings like Tesla and Google have discovered how difficult it can be to build cars at scale.