Autoline After Hours

While the rest of the Autoline crew is hard at work in Paris, we lucky stiffs get to observe from afar. With the Autoextremist leading the charge, we'll take a look at the most important reveals from the 2012 Paris Motor Show so far. The Maserati Levante, Porsche's new Panamera wagon concept, the Opel Adam, Jaguar F-Type and VW Golf are all on the docket. Plus, we'll discuss the rough week had by EV makers like Fisker and Tesla. Joining Peter De Lorenzo to talk about all these topics and much more are Gary Vasilash from Automotive Design and Production and Jim Hall, majordomo of 2953 Analytics.

The buck stops here, or at least the truck on this week’s episode of Autoline After Hours. Host John McElroy’s special guest is Mike Cairns from Ram. They’ll dive to the deepest depths of Chrysler’s recently refreshed pickup, talking about design, engineering and more. Joining the discussion is Peter De Lorenzo, the Autoextremist, as well as Mark Phelan, ace reporter from the Detroit Free Press. Aside from the new Ram 1500, the troupe will also discuss John’s impressions of the all-electric CODA sedan, Peter’s take on Ford’s brand-new Fusion and an advertising masterpiece, the latest Volkswagen commercial. All that and much, much more.

Cadillac calls itself “The New Standard of the World” while BMW claims to be “The Ultimate Driving Machine.” That’s all marketing. When it comes down to building the vehicles that can live up to the hype, these top dogs turn to their engineers. This week’s guest, David Leone, the Chief Engineer for Cadillac, has the not-insignificant task of meeting and exceeding the “Standard.” We’ll be asking him how Cadillac plans to knock BMW off the top perch. As usual, you can expect us to take a dive into the biggest news of the week as well. It looks like Mark Fields may just be the executive to succeed Alan Mulally at Ford, and John has some impressions of the powerful Porsche 911 he’s been testing. Joining John McElroy in studio is his After Hours co-host Peter De Lorenzo, the Autoextremist, and Gary Vasilash of Automotive Design and Production!

Like it has everything else, you would think the Information Age would have by now worked its magic on the car buying experience. Depending who you ask, it has … maybe. But there is still a lot of confusion over how to negotiate the best deal. How do you know whether you’re getting a fair price or whether you’re being taken for a ride? This week’s guest has been an auto broker for more than 20 years. Now Isaac Bouchard has authored the new ebook, “Car Buying Tips Guide.” We’ll ask him how the average person can improve his or her buying experience. And, whether they should skip the showroom altogether and go through a broker like Isaac. Of course you can expect us to delve into the hot topics of the week as well. Joining John McElroy in studio is his After Hours partner in crime Peter De Lorenzo, the Autoextremist, and Steve Finlay of WardsAuto Dealer Business!

Toyotas are bland, right? That's the wrap. And for a long time it's been hard to disagree, but the new Toyota Avalon shows that this company really can turn out compelling cars. So, we asked the Chief Engineer of the Avalon, Randy Stephens, to park one in our studio while we talked to him about this, the first Toyota passenger car to be designed, engineered and manufactured in the U.S. In addition, you know that we'll get into the biggest news of the week including the continued "brain drain" at GM. John McElroy will also have some driving impressions to share of the Cadillac XTS. Joining John in studio is his After Hours cohort Peter De Lorenzo, the Autoextremist!

On this week's episode of Autoline After Hours we welcome Al Oppenheiser, Chief Engineer of the Chevrolet Camaro. He has a shiny new ZL1 convertible to pull into the studio and we have a lot to ask him about that hot new car. Plus, we get into Peter De Lorenzo's latest rants and John offers his styling critique on the 2013 Honda Accord. All that and much, much more!

This week Autoline After Hours goes retro from the site of the world's largest one-day automotive event, The Woodward Dream Cruise. Crowds and cars will be populating the sidewalks and parking lots as many of the 40,000 classics get Woodward Avenue warmed up for the big day. And, we'll give you a much-coveted curbside position, plus we'll even go for a cruise down Woodward! John McElroy and Peter De Lorenzo are joined by a host of special guests such as: "the man who knows too much," Jim Hall, Ken Lingenfelter from Lingenfelter Performance Engineering and Mark Phelan from the Detroit Free Press, as well as executives from our friends at MOPAR along with their most tricked-out rides.

Each summer, nearly every major automaker makes its way to northern Michigan for a conference called the Management Briefing Seminars (MBS) and organized by the Center for Automotive Research. John McElroy and Michelle Krebs from Edmunds were both in Traverse City for the event and they'll be in studio to explain some of the news that broke and why it's such a well-attended conference. They, along with Peter De Lorenzo, the Autoextremist, will also be discussing some of the big news coming out of the industry this week including Dodge ditching NASCAR and the National Governors Auto Caucus announced at MBS. Plus, we'll welcome Karl Brauer from TotalCarScore.com who will join the discussion via Skype from Camarillo, California.

This week our webcast goes where no webcast has gone before as our camera gets into the highly guarded, super-secretive GM Design Center. We’ll give you a walking tour of the facilities guided by none other than the man himself, Ed Welburn, GM Vice President of Global Design. John McElroy and Peter De Lorenzo will get an inside look at the creative heart of GM including the Color and Trim Studio, the company’s high-tech Virtual Reality room as well as Bill Mitchell’s historic garage populated with iconic cars like the Mako Shark concept. Join us for an intimate look into the design rock stars’ playground and a discussion about how GM’s past is informing the cars of the future.

How do you find the proper title for a man like Bob Lutz? In the end, there’s really only one choice: Automotive Icon. He’s been everywhere from BMW to Ford to GM to Lotus, and he hasn’t quit yet. This week, he gives Autoline After Hours the unique honor to visit his farm where we’ll get to tour his extensive collection of automobiles and motorcycles. For the man who could own just about anything, what does he choose to keep in his garage? We’ll find out. But, we won’t let him go without asking what he thinks of the state of GM now that he’s no longer the much-vaunted vice chairman. And, is Lotus going to survive? On hand to do the hard work of hanging out with the ultimate car guy is John McElroy and Peter De Lorenzo, the Autoextremist.