- One of our favorite car companies of all time
has gone through a rough couple of years, to put it lightly.
(intense music)
- There have been class-action lawsuits,
recalls, scandals, bad cars, bad blood.
And that's not even mentioning
the elephant in the boardroom,
one Carlos Ghosn.
- In this final chapter of our Nissan saga,
we're gonna take a look at how Nissan was failing,
how they plan to turn it around,
and finally, what we think of the new Z.
Will it be enough to bring Nissan back from the brink?
We'll see.
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If you've been following along
with our previous installments on the Nissan scandal,
you already know that a lot has happened.
For anyone who hasn't, I'll try to sum it up real quickly.
(upbeat music)
- Ever since the merger between
Nissan Mitsubishi and Reneault,
way back in the late 90s,
there's been some bad blood
between Nissan Executives and Carlos Ghosn,
who is seen as an outsider
that didn't understand the Japanese way of doing business.
And to their credit, he did a lot of questionable things
while managing the giant conglomerate.
- Most of his decisions paid off,
and made it possible for Nissan
to continue putting out cars.
But some choices Carlos made drew criticism
within the company, and made a lot of people mad.
Mass layoffs and cost-cutting
truly saved Nissan from the brink of bankruptcy.
But in the process, the brand became diluted and cheapened.
Nissans became the default fleet vehicle
because they were dirt cheap,
turning a once well-respected brand into somewhat of a joke.
Sorry, a Juke. (drum riff)
(audience booing)
(laughs)
- Shoddy craftsmanship,
plastic parts that broke easily,
CVTs, depressing interiors, you name it.
If it was gonna save a buck, Nissan did it.
While this is ultimately what saved them,
and made it possible for the cool Nissans
we love that came out around this time to be produced,
like the 350z, 370, and GTR,
resentment within the company
was beginning to grow behind Carlos Ghosn's back.
Then in 2018,
Carlos Ghosn was arrested by Japanese authorities
for allegedly under-reporting his income
by a factor of millions of dollars.
- From an outside perspective,
Ghosn was almost certainly guilty,
and Nissan made sure to paint him as a villain
in order to save face and prove to investors
that the slumping sales
were almost certainly because of Ghosn.
The new leadership meant a new profitable direction
for the company after many bad fiscal quarters
mired in scandal.
While Ghosn was rotting in a Japanese jail
awaiting his trial, Nissan cycled through CEO after CEO,
each resigning after they couldn't turn the profits around.
Then something happened that no one ever saw coming,
this part is insane.
On a calm night at Japan's Kansai Airport,
on December 30th, 2019,
Carlos Ghosn stuffed himself into a box
used for transporting audio equipment.
You know, those big black crates?
They usually have like a stenciled name on there
of like a band you don't really like,
like Imagine Dragons or Twenty One Pilots.
With the help of an American ex-Green Beret,
and his son, Ghosn was loaded onto a private jet.
He had gotten out on bail in March,
and was still under indictment, unable to leave the country.
If he had simply tried to walk through security,
he would have been detained immediately.
But since the audio box is too big
to fit through the X-ray machine,
it allowed it to be loaded onto the plane,
without anyone looking at it.
The plane took off close to midnight,
and landed in Istanbul the next day.
From there, Ghosn took a second jet
to Beirut, Lebanon, his childhood home,
and a country that has no extradition laws with Japan.
Worked out.
If this sounds like a Hollywood movie to you,
you're not alone
There's actually a movie being made
about the American ex-Green Beret and his son,
starring Oscar winner, Sam Rockwell.
That's real, and I can't wait for it.
Dude, Sam Rockwell rules.
So why did Ghosn flee in the first place
if he claims he's innocent?
Well, there's something you need to know
about Nissan's motive and the Japanese justice system.
Japan has a 99.4% conviction rate,
meaning almost 100% of people
accused of crime are convicted.
That means theoretically, if Carlos Ghosn
went through with the trial,
he would have almost certainly
been convicted of his crimes and face jail time.
He claimed in interviews, he was set up by Nissan Execs.
And I'll be honest, at first, I didn't really believe him.
Go ahead, roll that clip.
- In an interview,
Ghosn was quick to point out
how allegedly Nissan set him up.
- But after more details came out
from leaked internal emails between execs,
the truth became clear
that there was a conspiracy to frame Carlos Ghosn.
We have since apologized to Ghosn,
and rolled back our accusations because we are human.
We make mistakes.
And also, he knows ex-Green Berets.
I apologize to you, Mr. Ghosn.
I'm sorry we passed judgment on you
before all the facts came out.
Carlos has since been hiding out in Lebanon ever since,
giving interviews once in a while to try and clear his name.
Meanwhile, the Japanese government is pressuring Lebanon
to rethink the extradition of Ghosn.
Needless to say, this international political nightmare
wasn't great for business.
So Nissan has been taking steps,
to let's say, refocus the narrative,
introducing their plans to move past it all,
and focus on what really matters:
making their cars good.
(upbeat music)
Nissan unveiled their Nissan Next strategy in 2020,
as a plan to take the company into its next chapter,
and use it like one of those men-in-black,
memory-erasing lights.
So people forgot about the last 10 to 15 years of Nissan.
The plan highlighted a redesign
of all that Nissan has to offer.
Plus upgraded generations, a new Z,
and an all new electric platform.
In fact, Nissan CEO, Ashwani Gupta, said in his presentation
that they were using Nissan next, to quote,
- [Ashwani] Redefine our business, our culture,
and our product.
- From A to Z.
And then he stood in silence for a few seconds,
as no one clapped,
maybe 'cause they didn't understand the alphabet.
(chuckles)
One of the biggest, the most surprising updates
is that we're gonna see a new Frontier,
which hasn't seen a new generation since 2004.
Well, I mean, you know, they dress it up,
make it look nicer,
but it's essentially been the same for that long,
which is insane.
- I gotta say, the 2022 Frontier looks great,
albeit the capabilities
are a little less than its competition,
namely the Chevy Colorado or the Jeep Gladiator.
But hey, it's a step in the right direction
for a company that is known for taking their sweet time
introducing next-gen vehicles.
Like seriously, it looks- it looks good.
It looks really good.
Along with the Frontier, we also got a glimpse
of the new updated Pathfinder,
which I actually haven't seen yet.
Let me- let's see here.
That does look nice. Ooh, what's this off-roady one?
Eh, this is the nice- I'm all right with that.
Whoa, Pathfinder, I haven't seen you since before COVID,
you've been working out?
The 2022 Pathfinder's bigger and bulkier than ever.
Now can seat up to eight people.
The best part is Nissan got rid of the continuously
variable transmission in the Pathfinder.
So no more cheap CVT problems.
And mind you, I still can't afford any of these vehicles,
but it's fun to get lost in the fantasy, isn't it?
I'm imagining me, over-landing in that Pathfinder,
truly finding some paths of my own.
(uplifting music)
- Paths of my own.
Paths of my own.
Woaaa, Pathfinder.
As for EVs, Nissan is making their entry-level electric car,
the Leaf, a lot more attractive for ballers on a budget.
The range stays about the same at about 150 miles,
but the electric motor is more powerful,
and quick-charging ports are now standard.
The updated Leaf is actually thousands less
than the previous-gen.
That's right, the base Leaf
is more than $4,000 less than the 2021 Leaf.
And when you add the $7,500 EV government incentives,
that puts the MSRP right above $20,000,
that's pretty amazing.
Even the high-end trim level, the Leaf S Plus,
is only $26,000 after the rebate, that's awesome.
This is a pretty sick development,
considering EV's like the BMW i3,
which has the same range, starts at close to $45,000.
Nissan understands how to move forward,
especially with electric,
and that's evidenced by their new EV,
the Ariya, priced at around $40,000.
The Ariya electric SUV is taking aim
at Tesla's model Y, although I think it looks
a bit cooler, specially in akatsuki copper.
The specs stack up to the model Y as well,
with 389 horsepower in the performance version,
of top range of 310 mile-per-charge,
in the long-range trim level.
Very cool.
Not specific to any one car that Nissan makes,
but throughout their whole lineup,
interiors are getting upgraded.
Because let's be honest, the past couple of decades,
Nissan interiors have been pretty... meh.
Before this starts to sound like a Nissan commercial,
though, I want to reiterate that they maybe tried to frame
Carlos Ghosn, and cover it up, and that that sucks.
(applause)
- Hello, New York City, I'm Cody Walker.
And now it's my great pleasure,
to introduce for the very first time, the all-new Nissan Z.
(car revving)
- We've all seen the new Z by now.
And overall, it's gotten a great reception from enthusiasts.
The z35 is inspired by basically every generation before it,
and you can find styling cues all over the car
to prove that.
There's the front fascia
that was inspired by the original 240,
the taillights inspired by the z32,
even the gauge cluster and boost gauge placement
is a nod to the old Zs.
While this car is respected by old heads,
and young heads alike,
it's beautifully modernized and has something for everyone.
And I really love it.
As far as the powertrain goes,
our suspicions were correct when we guessed
it would have the twin-turbo V6 engine
from the Infiniti Q50 and Q60, it makes 400 horsepower.
Hence why people think the z35
will be called the foreign Z.
Those 400 horsepower sent to the rear wheels,
either through a 9-speed automatic or a 6-speed manual.
I just want to say that it's awesome
Nissan is still offering new Zs with a third pedal in 2021.
Great job, guys.
When they said that it would have a manual,
I didn't even know that there was a crowd in the audience.
This is when the crowd cheered the most.
(audience cheering)
- Even Ashwani started punching the air.
This shows that even though it might mean
more cost to them, at the end of the day, to offer manual,
they're still willing to give the fans
what they want out of this car.
Speaking of cost, at a cost of around $40,000,
the new Z price is exactly where we predicted it would fall.
The optimist in me was hoping for $35,000,
but that might've been wishful thinking, in retrospect.
But the 40 grand price tag falls in line with the 370,
if you count for inflation,
Ashwani said in his presentation, that quote,
- [Ashwani] The Z has always been
an accessible sports car.
- And that's true.
When the 240 debuted in 1969,
it was meant to be an affordable alternative
to American sports cars.
And that's still true.
I'm sure the highest trim will probably be close to $50,000,
but for a 400 horsepower sports car,
that's still attainable for a lot of people.
I think in my head, any criticisms towards the new Z
is that maybe Nissan didn't go hard enough.
I don't know, maybe we'll see a refresh
where they break away a little bit from the retro styling,
and start to do something new.
Maybe we'll see that in like five, seven years,
or in the case of Nissan, 15 years.
Take the Corvette CA for example, right,
obviously a Corvette, very Chevy, very Corvette.
But if you put it next to the C7,
it looks a lot different.
Chevy took a big swing and it paid off,
everyone wants one of those things.
That being said, if anyone from Nissan is watching this,
I still think the Z looks amazing.
I really want one, it's on my short list of cars to get.
Everyone wants one.
So overall the new Z is pretty much
as we predicted.
Nissan luckily didn't surprise us with any curve balls,
so, at least for now.
There's no doubt in my mind that when the Z goes to market
in the US in spring of 2022, it will be in high demand.
Most people who are gonna buy one will buy a Z
regardless of what's in the headlines about Carlos Ghosn,
or anything related to Nissan.
Z fans are hardcore.
And from what I've seen so far,
the z35 is a great next chapter,
in the more than 50-year lega-Z.
Just made that up, Nissan, you can use that if you want.
Just send the royalties to 6969 Sheeeeesh Street.
Goddammit. (Joe and Graham laugh)
So now that we know what to look forward to with the new Z,
what should we see from Nissan in the future?
- As a Nissan fan, I think the company
is taking the correct steps forward
when it comes to turning their public image around.
There's a lot of history behind that badge.
There's a lot of fans that have been turned off
over the decisions the company has made
over the last few decades.
If Nissan can make balanced, reliable cars
like they did in the 80s and 90s,
and stop cutting corners, when it comes to things like
plastic parts and CVTs and whatnot,
they should be able to win over a new group
of young enthusiasts that grew up in a time
where Nissans were cheap, fleet vehicles.
Obviously I do not have a business degree,
and this is a total armchair-quarterback speak,
but I think they're taking the right steps
to achieve that goal.
And now that the Z has been taken care of,
what I would love to see is a new GTR as well.
Possibly the biggest complaint you see about Nissan
is that they are very late to update models.
Think about it.
The 370z was in production for 11 years.
Now think about how much technology has advanced
from 2008 to 2020; that's way too long.
And it's not even the oldest.
The GTR, Nissan's halo car, and a symbol of their legacy,
has been produced in its current state
with minor refreshes here and there and some updates,
since 2007; 14 years.
I know sports cars don't make a ton of money
for car companies, but this car is Nissan.
If there were any symbol of a company's vitality,
this is it.
And they've let it become a little stagnant.
Nissan, if you're listening, use all this interest
you drummed up from the Z presentation,
and your new models, to motivate your engineers
to design the next GTR.
The next generation of car enthusiasts deserves an R36,
so they can feel the same excitement
we felt watching Godzilla tear up the track back in the day.
Or talk about how we would improve delivery
on Paul Walker's R34 in the second "Fast and Furious".
That new generation of enthusiast deserves, if nothing else,
a benchmark of modern performance printed on a poster
that they can hang in their bedroom,
assuming kids still do that.
I think kids just like lights now, led lights.
I hope Nissan is back, because at the end of the day,
I'm a Z boy, and I want more fun cars.
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- That's enough beans.
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