TO THE EDITOR:
As Hans Greimel points out, Carlos Ghosn is a media-savvy showman ("Ghosn takes case to international court of public opinion," autonews.com, Jan. 8). He is playing to gullible journalists, not people who know Nissan.
He has not answered the tough questions, such as the lack of preparedness at Renault for the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicle Test Procedure, which has hurt both Renault and Nissan in Europe; the aging product lineup at Nissan that is the result of underinvestment in new models while he was CEO; the over-focus on market share at the expense of profits, with large fleet sales and the dreaded stair-step incentives that hurt Nissan's brand in the U.S. Those are the main factors behind Nissan's and Renault's weak profits and share price. These are not problems a CEO can rectify in a year or two.
There were lots of other issues, such as the absence of proper corporate governance at Nissan, particularly the absence of a compensation committee and the reported 15-minute board meetings where no one could ask questions. He has effectively killed any reputation he might have had for rescuing Nissan with his destructive management in recent years driven by greed and narcissism.
JANET LEWIS, Tokyo, The writer is a retired auto analyst.
