Carlos Ghosn, the French-Brazilian chief executive of Nissan, has been voted the most admired manager in post-bubble Japan, edging out home-grown business leaders including Toyota's Hiroshi Okuda and Canon's Fujio Mitarai. The poll of managers, economists and readers, conducted by the Nikkei business newspaper, covers the period of drastic adjustment for Japanese industry since 1989 as it dealt with plummeting asset prices at home and intensified competition from abroad.
Ghosn, credited with rescuing Nissan from near-bankruptcy by cutting costs and restoring the balance sheet and boosting sales, was not a universally popular choice. "It's a shame, a bit like voting for MacArthur," said one government official, referring to the US general who headed the US post-war occupation of Japan.
A slight aside to motoring, but after the bizarre recent success of flares and glam rock bands such as the Darkness mining the decade that style forgot, it was only a matter of time before Choppers, the must-have bicycles for 1970s children, made a comeback.
Raleigh, the British firm that sold the original model in 1969, has taken its cue from the success of the revived Mini Cooper and VW Beetle and will be retailing the revived models from April.
The bikes cost £250 for the limited edition in Britain and £200 for the main model.
That's a bargain considering that at present old models have been known to sell for anything between €700 and €2,000 here. The original model ceased production in 1981. Available only in the original Infra Red, the materials in the bike's production are taken from the original concept, and fans will recognise the Harley Davidson-style apehanger handlebars, elongated seat, back rest and chrome seat hoop that were key to the design.
With one of the silliest bike saddles ever, ludicrously mismatched wheels ill-suited to anything more than a brief turn up a suburban street, parents should prepare their arguments now for a more sensible, practical bike.