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Kayaba, Sumitomo to pay millions for price-fixing in US

Kayaba Industry Co, which does business in the US as suspension parts maker KYB, and Sumitomo Electric Industries are facing payments in the millions to settle price-fixing cases about the components that they make. As part of the Department of Justice's ongoing crackdown of price fixing in the auto industry, KYB agreed to pay $62 million and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to set the cost of shock absorbers from the mid '90s through 2012. The company allegedly worked with co-conspirators to keep the cost of the parts high, and those components then made it into vehicles from Honda, Kawasaki, Nissan, Subaru, Suzuki, and Toyota. "Any collusive agreement among competitors to restrict price competition undercuts our free enterprise system and violates the law," said Carter M. Stewart, US Attorney of the Southern District of Ohio, in the DoJ's announcement. Over the past few years, the DoJ has brought cases against 37 parts suppliers and 55 executives, leading to over $2.6 billion in fines. The investigations haven't always been so successful – some of the Japanese execs fled from the US to avoid prosecution. Critics allege that price fixing is simply how business is done. According to Automotive News, Sumitomo Electric Industries is also facing a $50 million settlement in a civil lawsuit that's related to price fixing of parts like wiring harnesses and heater control panels. The plaintiffs include owners and dealers that purchased vehicles with these parts. The company asserts that the violations are from before 2010, and it now has different process in place to avoid further violations. KYB Agrees to Plead Guilty and Pay $62 Million Criminal Fine for Fixing Price of Shock Absorbers Kayaba Industry Co. Ltd., dba KYB Corporation (KYB) has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $62 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix the price of shock absorbers installed in cars and motorcycles sold to U.S. consumers. According to charges filed today, KYB conspired from the mid-1990s until 2012 to fix the prices of shock absorbers sold to Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. (manufacturer of Subaru vehicles), Honda Motor Co. Ltd., Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., Nissan Motor Company Ltd., Suzuki Motor Corporation and Toyota Motor Company, including their subsidiaries in the United States.

Nissan wants an American driver for its Le Mans team

"We'll use every driver development tool we have to take them to the next level, but they will also have to step up." - Darren Cox
Nissan is aiming to put an American behind the wheel of one of its LMP1 racecars in 2016 as part of plans to grow its motorsports program in the United States.

NISMO confirms hotter GT-R, return to Le Mans and more performance models [w/videos]

Nissan has made three announcements, all of which intend to sharpen the global significance and sales of its NISMO performance arm. Calling it "a new era for NISMO as its global performance car and motorsports brand," Carlos Ghosn cut the ribbon on the new, larger, nicer NISMO headquarters in Yokohama, Japan. For the first time since the division was founded in 1984, all of its employees are located in one place that was dubbed "a hothouse of passion and performance." Sign us up.
There, the team will start overhauling Nissan's entire range with NISMO models. The Juke NISMO is right around the corner for the US market, the second generation of the 370Z NISMO is coming for 2014, the first GT-R NISMO is being developed, and after that will come "a range of affordable performance Nissan models from small cars to flagship sports cars" - a new model every year. The expanded product line will mean that markets that haven't had access to NISMO's works will finally be able to buy them.
The last big news is that from now on NISMO will manage every one of Nissan's global motorsports programs, and its largest initiative will be prepping an entry for Le Mans in 2014. While Nissan has left the DeltaWing project, it hasn't walked away from experimental racers: the brand aims to have "a pioneering Nissan race car showcasing electric technology" ready in 15 months that shows "a new approach to innovation and excitement."