Like most everyone in the automotive world, I have watched the Carlos Ghosn saga unfold over the last seven months with little or no resolution. The tides have rolled in and out.
Every time I am convinced that he is guilty as charged, further information surfaces to convince me that the man is innocent and we are watching a travesty of justice, and sooner or later, the truth will surface.
If that is not confusing enough, then we can add Fiat Chrysler's bid for a merger with Renault into this mess to mix up everyone's idea of right and wrong and good and bad.
And now that FCA has exited the stage — temporarily, perhaps — we still have to contend with whatever is going on with the main players at Renault and Nissan, two companies that have no shortage of intrigue.
With all this and a looming Ghosn trial, it is difficult for any observer or investor to arrive at some sort of fair conclusion.
I admit a certain prejudice in favor of Ghosn. I have known him longer than I would care to admit.
My first experience with him was when he led Michelin in North America in the 1990s, having recently arrived from Brazil.
It was only when Louis Schweitzer, head of Renault at the time, made him No. 2 at the company and sent him to Japan to rescue Nissan that he became a folk hero.
For quite a few years, he juggled the two companies — quite well, by all accounts — until Nissan decided that a revolution was in order.
We all know the trials (no pun) and tribulations of Ghosn since then. Whatever you think of the man, he has been abused severely by Nissan management as well as by the Japanese government.
I can only assume that we will see some resolution of the accusations of financial wrongdoing hurled at him by his captors.
After all these months, I am in no position to speculate about his fate or how he will be treated in the months ahead.
Whatever the outcome, I can only hope that the Japanese justice system treats him fairly and comes to a conclusion that the entire world will accept.
But we shall see.
The unfolding saga of Carlos Ghosn makes it difficult for any observer to arrive at a fair conclusion about his guilt or innocence.
