Carlos Ghosn Still Drives a Nissan
Don’t hate the product, hate the players.
You know how you worked at that fast food joint in high school, had a less-than-stellar experience, and—to this day—can no longer stomach eating that particular chain's food? Well, as it turns out, former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn doesn't really have that problem because despite being accused of financial crimes by his former employer and being subjected to what a U.N. panel called "extrajudicial abuse" by the Japanese justice system, he's still pretty much cool with driving and riding in Nissan-made vehicles.
In a recent interview with The Drive's Editor-in-Chief Kyle Cheromcha, Ghosn claimed that he has many cars and that he can indeed still climb into a Nissan without any hard feelings toward the product itself.
"Yeah, yeah, because I get into Nissan cars that I have done," the former Nissan head said. "For example, I spent a lot of time supervising the development of the Patrol, which is a car that I revived, that I practically imposed on product planning because it was extremely important, particularly for the Middle East. And today I have a Patrol, between the cars that I have, I like the Patrol."
For our U.S. readers, Patrol is essentially what the rest of the world calls the Nissan Armada, the company's full-size, body-on-frame SUV. Ghosn goes on to say that his ill will is not reserved for Nissan itself or its products but rather the executives and "thugs" that have put him in his current predicament.
"It’s not because it carries a brand of the company I led for 18 years, and I have nothing against the company itself. I have a lot against the board of this company, and some of the executives of this company. I think these people are thugs, there’s no other way to qualify that, and their employees are gonna pay a high price for their leaders. That’s it."
A very respectable and level-headed way of looking at things especially considering the fact that if I were thrown into a Japanese jail by Nissan and barred from contacting my wife for months, only to have escaped via stuffing myself into a musical equipment case as part of an Argo-esque rescue mission, I'd be tempted to key every car sitting on my local Nissan dealership's lot out of pure spite. But that's just me.
When asked if he has a favorite car, Ghosn replied, "Well, it depends on if I’m driven, or if I’m driving. So yes, favorite car to be driven in, I think probably one of the most comfortable is without any doubt the Mercedes [S-Class]. You know, whether you are in the Series 5 or Series 4, I think it’s still the top of the line in comfort if you’re being driven. And if you want to drive a car today, I think particularly with the road conditions in Lebanon, the Porsche Hybrid is a great car to drive." Sorry, Infiniti QX80, you didn't make the cut.
You can read the full interview here.
Got a tip or question for the author? You can reach them here: chris.tsui@thedrive.com
