- A few months ago,
we came out with an episode that was somewhere in between
a love letter and an intervention.
We detailed how, from our perspective,
Nissan is blowing it as a company
and how many of their problems
were tied to the decisions of Carlos Ghosn,
the ex-CEO accused of under reporting
his salary at Nissan by millions.
A man who smuggled himself out of Japan to flee prosecution
despite his claims that he was set up by Nissan.
- I've been treated like a terrorist in Japan,
like somebody who was gonna hurt other people.
- With rumors of the new 400Z coming out this year,
it's clear that Nissan is trying to turn things around.
Did they listen to us?
Did we just save Nissan?
And was Carlos Ghosn framed?
So many questions!
All we want is a cool car again!
(upbeat music) (car revs)
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Look, I'm no dumb dumb.
I'm sure that Nissan has been developing a 400Z
for years now.
I know that I, a lowly internet auto-journo wannabe
have no bearing on a billion dollar, multi-national company,
but I would really like to believe
that Nissan listens to their fans
and you and I, we're fans at heart,
so when new rumors came out about their newest venture,
the so called 400Z, it made me happy to hear
that they're taking steps to re-energize their brand.
I'm not so sure what to think about Carlos Ghosn though.
He's a slippery guy who was arrested in November of 2018.
Earlier this year,
Ghosn evaded Japanese authorities by smuggling himself
in an audio equipment shipping cotainer
and fled to his home country of Lebanon.
What?
Ghosn recently came out with a statement blasting Nissan
and the Japanese judicial system,
a system in which 99.9% of accused persons are convicted,
but, quote, "partly because prosecutors only pursue cases
"when they are extremely confident
"the suspect will be proven guilty,"
which doesn't bode well for Carlos Ghosn.
In an interview, Ghosn was quick to point out how,
allegedly, Nissan set him up
and how much the company is failing without him,
which, to his credit, it kind of is.
We called that out.
Alex, roll that footage.
In the Spring of 2019, Nissan lost 95% of net income
and 99% of their operating profit.
Nissan is basically in the same exact position they were in
before Carlos Ghosn took over.
With both Nissan and Ghosn
throwing out wild accusations about each other,
there's a lot of conflicting information out there
so, for this video,
we're gonna look why Carlos Ghosn
thinks the system is rigged against him,
why shareholders are putting
a $13 million bounty on his head
and if you stick around, you'll hear what we know
about the new Nissan 400Z
that's supposedly coming out this year.
It's a rumor.
But first, let's took a look at what Nissan
and the new CEO are doing to restore faith in fans
and navigate this storm of bad press.
In the wake of the Carlos Ghosn scandal,
Nissan hired a new interim CEO, Hiroto Saikawa,
to clean things up,
but he was ousted by the board last September
over failing sales and a dispute about his pay.
Shortly after, they hired Makoto Uchida,
who vowed to turn things around for Nissan
but things, they didn't pan out,
and shareholders started getting fed up
with crashing profits.
Nissan's shareholders weren't the only ones
that were disappointed in Uchida.
When he traveled to the US headquarters in Nashville,
back in January, Uchida was verbally accosted.
He opened the meeting by saying, quote,
"I want to hear all the negatives.
"I'm hear to listen, don't hold anything back."
And, I guess they took that to heart
because Uchida got reamed for an hour and a half
by Nissan dealers who said that the company
needed to work hard to fight against a quote,
"bargain basement brand reputation."
Props to them for being honest.
Some of the biggest gripes dealers had
were regarding better marketing,
almost non-existent profitability,
collapsing residual value and faster product updates.
Huh, those all sound like things
that we addressed in our last episode.
We nailed it.
Frankly, it's only a matter of time
before Uchida either resigns or gets forced out.
He's even come out and said
that if profits don't bounce back,
he's alright with getting fired.
It doesn't matter who's in charge after Ghosn, though.
Nissan needs a new leader with vision, not just a scapegoat.
When Carlos Ghosn was in charge,
the company expanded production all over the world
but as demand for Nissan cars is continuing to dry up,
Nissan has announced that they are eliminating
an additional 4,300 white collar jobs
and are considering shutting down two of their factories.
On top of that, Nissan is cutting 10% of their product line,
going from 69 models, nice, to 62.
This might help them keep their head above water
for a little bit,
but bigger shake ups need to happen
or else, Nissan is finished.
So that's got me thinking.
How did Carlos Ghosn do that 20 years ago?
We would have never gotten the 350Z or the new R35
without the cuts Ghosn made,
but despite saving the company, he was seen as a villain.
I mean, look at this guy's face. (screams)
Many smaller parts companies had cross holdings with Nissan,
but as soon as Carlos Gohsn took over,
he disintegrated those alliances.
Frankly, it made sense from a business perspective
but in the eyes of the Japanese,
it seemed like a slap in the face
from an out of touch foreigner.
Slowly, Nissan's volume cars
started to dilute the brand a little bit.
They stopped making cars for enthusiasts
and quality went downhill.
While the hate for Ghosn might have subsided
as profits bounced back,
people started turning on him
as soon as things weren't going so great,
and that's one of the reasons Ghosn believes he was set up.
Which is why, days before our Nissan video dropped,
he squeezed himself into a small insulated box
made for audio equipment,
which was loaded onto a private jet by hired hands,
including the son of an American Green Beret
and he fled to his home country of Lebanon to seek asylum.
That's not something that I would have predicted.
Now there's arrest warrants for everyone involved.
Geez, I mean all I wanted was an S16,
but this sequel to the "Bourne Identity" is pretty cool too,
I guess.
Can't wait to read this book.
Yep, I read books.
I'm reading "The Outsider" by Stephen King right now,
as well as a Bruce McLaren biography,
which will come in handy on our podcast, "Past Gas".
If you haven't listened to or watched "Past Gas",
our podcast, check it out.
We have a second channel for it.
Donut podcast, you'll find it right there
or listen to it on Spotify or Apple Podcast.
Anywhere else you get your podcasts.
"Past Gas".
I know, it's an insane thing that only happens in movies.
- He reported got there in a musical instrument case.
I am not making this up.
- But, it happened
and Carlos Ghosn has been safe in Lebanon
since late December.
The Lebanese government even came out
and said they wouldn't comply with Japanese authorities
to extradite Ghosn back to Japan to face prosecution.
- I was in Japan
and I was under the control of the prosecutor.
Now I'm free, I can defend myself.
- Nissan shareholders are mad as hell too
and are proposing a reward of $13 million
in exchange for the return of Carlos Ghosn.
13 million?
How much is a ticket to Lebanon?
I'm gonna go.
He probably has guards.
I want to be a Ghosn goon.
I'm not gonna try to catch Carlos Ghosn,
I'm gonna become a Ghosn goon.
What do you want to do boss?
And then he can tell me in a cool French accent.
I'll be like, I'm on it.
Ah, that'd be cool.
(upbeat country music)
13 million might seem like a lot for a bounty,
but it's a paltry sum compared to the $90 million
in damages Ghosn has been sued for
and the estimated $318 million
Nissan claims Ghosn cost the company.
Despite all this though,
Nissan is doing their best to move past it
and focus on reinvigorating their brand.
How, you ask?
We've all heard the rumors,
so what can we realistically expect with this new 400Z?
It's time to enter The Speculation Zone.
(dramatic music)
There's been chatter for years now
about what Nissan is gonna do with their next Generation Z
and while details are murky,
there are a few key things that have been corroborated.
The name 400Z is just a rumor.
Nissan hasn't officially come out
saying it's gonna be called that,
but it would make sense given the previous Z numbering.
You know, 240, 300, 350, 370.
While the numbering usually follows
the displacement of the engine, like 3.5 liter, 3.7 liter,
the 400Z will apparently not have a four liter engine.
Some sources have speculated that it's gonna have
a three liter turbo V6
somewhere to the engine in the infiniti q60,
which makes about 400 horsepower,
which is why the 400, in the name, makes sense.
But, the turbo V6
isn't the only engine they would offer.
There might be an entry level four cylinder version
and even a hybrid version, who knows?
Nissan has apparently partnered with Mercedes
to develop the new car,
much in the same way
that BMW helped Toyota develop a new Supra,
so it's entirely possible that the two liter,
turbo charged, AMG,
inline-four could be the four cylinder option.
We'll have to wait and see of course.
The top of the line engine for the 400Z
would maybe come as part of the Nismo package
and might bump the power up to 475,
just short of the 485 that the GT-R makes.
That's the kind of high end performance option
we've all been waiting for.
Thanks for listening to us, Nissan.
That sounds awesome, if it's real.
It is speculation after all.
All that excitement might be short lived.
The price point of the new Z
is probably gonna be more towards the new Super territory
and further away from what the Z's
have traditionally been priced at.
Z cars started out as an affordable sports car
for the every man,
but as the price gets closer to a GT-R,
doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose?
There's an undeniably huge gap
between the boring Nissan models that dot our highways
and their performance models,
and that's alienating Nissan's diehard fans,
so hopefully the new Z is affordable.
While we're on the subject of the new Supra,
why doesn't Nissan take a page out of Toyota's book?
We've all heard about the GR Supra
but did you know about the GR Yaris?
The Gazoo racing version of this tiny hot hatch
is one of the sickest new cars, I'm super stoked for it
and it proves that manufacturers can make a car
for enthusiasts in an era of endless volume cars.
That sounds like a lot of fun.
My point is Nissan could totally redeem themselves
by making whatever the GR Yaris equivalent is.
The Versa right now, it's boring,
I would probably never buy one
but just imagine if it came out with a Nismo Versa
that had a six speed manual, 250 horsepower,
maybe it's still front wheel drive to keep costs down?
That seems realistic,
and it was just something that you could just throw around
and have a ton of fun in.
That kind of car would totally recapture
the spirit of the V13 Centra SER
because that's what Nissan used to be, man.
They used to have a fun car at every price level
and that's not really true any more.
In conclusion, I'm very optimistic for Nissan.
They're listening to both their fans
and the people that actually sell them.
They're trying to right the ship.
Keep at it Nissan, you'll figure it out.
You're welcome.
Here at Wheelhouse, we're saving one car company at a time.
That's a very bold thing to say, Nolan.
I mean, I can't imagine a world without Nissan.
I tried it once and I got a bad headache.
Thanks for watching, be nice, I'll see you next time.
(upbeat music)
Photosynthesis.