by: Cathy Droz and Melanie Droz Shawcroft
I often wonder when reviewing a vehicle who makes all the decisions other than designers, marketing and engineering? Who is the CEO of the company? Why were they chosen? You hear a lot about Mary Barra and former Ford CEO Alan Mulally, but what about some of the other brands, like NISSAN? When reviewing the 2016 Nissan Altima 2.5 SL, my daughter Melanie and I decided we needed to know 5 solid reasons why Carlos Ghosn was the chosen one for Nissan. What we didn’t realize was there must be 100 reasons why. Here are just a few and then we’ll give you 5 reasons why you should add the 2016 Nissan Altima on to your car shopping list this year.
Carlos Ghosn CEO of Nissan… Did you Know?
1. Forbes Magazine called him “the hardest-working man in the brutally competitive global car business”. He splits his time between Paris and Tokyo and logs in over 150,000 miles in airplanes per year. Japanese media have called him “Seven-Eleven” (works hard from morning till night”
2. He holds both Brazilian and French citizenships. He speaks four languages fluently: French, Portuguese, English, and Arabic and has studied Japanese. He also maintains ties to Lebanon, where he lived for 10 years. In fact he has been hailed as a potential presidential candidate in Lebanon. He has declined all political overtures.
3. Beginning in 2001, Ghosn’s life story was turned into a superhero comic book series in Japan, titled The true story of Carlos Ghosn, in the manga comic book Big Comic Superior. In some Tokyo Restaurants he has a bento box named after him. ( bento box is a businessman’s lunch)
4. Carlos has been the subject of a number of books in English, Japanese and French. Some of them are: Shift: Inside Nissan’s Historic Revival, Turnaround: How Carlos Ghosn Rescued Nissan, The Ghosn Factor: 24 Inspiring Lessons from Carlos Ghosn, the Most Successful Transnational CEO.
5. Ghosn’s quest for the development of Nissan’s line of zero-emission electric cars. The Nissan Leaf, is the world’s first mass-produced zero-emission electric vehicle. Ghosn authorized more than $5billion to bring the Leaf and other derivative electric cars to market.
The 2016 Nissan Altima 2.5 SL… Did you Know?
1. Similar to the legend who runs the Nissan operation, the 2016 Altima works extremely hard to beat the competition in its class. With a 2.5-liter 4-cyliner engine, Xtronic continuously variable transmission and active understeer control, this vehicle has the ability to travel many miles on the 17” machined aluminum-alloy wheels without breaking the gasoline bank. With an average of 31 miles per gallon, it would be easy to log 150,000 miles a year, just like the workhorse Ghosn.
2. This 2016 Nissan Altima is also very worldly, like the CEO. Hailing from Japan, the Altima also has the ability to speak English, French or Spanish through the NissanConnect Navigation system available with the optional technology package. This features the 7″ touch-screen color display with Nissan voice recognition, Sirius XM, Intelligent cruise control, remote start via Smartphone and stolen vehicle locator (just to name a few). With qualities like this, the Altima may be a legitimate presidential candidate as well.
3. The Altima, despite not having its own comic book like Ghosn, has superhero safety features that make this sedan feel secure. With driver and front passenger, side-impact and curtain airbags along with the traction control system and electronic brake force distribution, I am sure Nissan would encourage their fearless leader, their most precious cargo (Ghosn) to drive the streets in the Altima. He could even keep his Bento Box lunch warm on the Heated Zero Gravity front seats.
4. A passenger can definitely enjoy reading one of Carlos’ books in the comfort and convenience of the Altima. One can stay cool with the dual zone automatic temperature control and rear A/C vents in the leather appointed seats or keep relaxed in the 4-way power front-passenger’s seat. Both front and back passengers can enjoy the optional power sliding moonroof with tilt while catching up on Nissan’s Historic Revival.
5. Although Ghosn has authorized more than $5billion towards electric cars, one can get in the 2016 Nissan Altima for an MSRP of just $28,570 and with a few of the options I mentioned $32,510. Just like there may be more than 100 reasons Ghosn was selected as the CEO of Nissan, the Altima must have more than 100 features that make it a viable choice on your car shopping list.
For more on the Nissan Altima and other Nissan products go to www.NissanUSA.com.
