Autoline After Hours

This week we invite a former After Hours regular to join us for our automotive bull session. David Welch from Bloomberg Businessweek will be stopping by to talk about all the latest controversies in the auto industry. One thing we want to know: why are Ford and Cadillac tipping their hands in future design direction? The Cadillac Ciel and, most recently, the Ford Evos are beautiful concepts that signal where these brands are headed, but doesn't that give the competition an edge? We'll be getting into other news of the week as well including a surprising sales story from GM and the ongoing UAW negotiations. To discuss all of this and more, John McElroy is joined in studio by His Extremeness, Peter De Lorenzo of Autoextremist.com.

This week we're asking: why did Jack Roush hire a chief designer? And, we think we've got the perfect man to answer that question: Roush's new head of design, D. Mark Trostle, a man with an impressive performance car pedigree. He's designed such cars as the Buick GNX and Chevy SSR as well as the renowned Speed33 Roadster -- so what's going down at Roush? In addition, we'll be discussing the news as usual. Is Toyota playing it too safe with the Camry's new styling? Is the Cadillac Ciel concept a hint at the brand's upcoming flagship sedan? Why are Ford and Toyota teaming up on hybrid development? To discuss all of this and more, John McElroy is joined in studio by the one and only Autoextremist, Peter De Lorenzo.

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.Join John McElroy and Peter De Lorenzo along with special guests such as:-Detroit News Auto Critic Scott Burgess-The "men who know too much" Jim Hall and his twin brother Bob Hall-Executives from Mopar and BoschSee the some fabulous classics and new customs like:-1953 Clean Diesel Corvette-Fatchance 2.0 Chrysler 300-Mopar Challenger Drag Pak-JK8 Independence Jeep-Plus, all the Woodward cruisers!

This week we peer into the future of automotive design with the Vice President of Global Design for GM, Ed Welburn. We’ll be finding out more about the upcoming Cadillac XTS and ATS cars. And as the push for massive CAFE increases looms, we’ll get Ed’s take: does aero-optimization destroy expressive styling? We’ll also find out how GM studios around the globe compete to design vehicles the company has in the pipeline. We’ll also discuss John’s sneak peek at future Lincoln product and get into details of the brand’s turnaround plan. John McElroy is joined in studio by the one and only Autoextremist, Peter De Lorenzo.

This week it's time to don your beret and painting smock because our guest is an artist with a penchant for classic cars. David Snyder specializes in recreating automotive tableaus -- dealerships, car shows, parking lots -- in such meticulous detail that he even matches the original car paint exactly. We'll be learning what he does to make his paintings so realistic. Of course you can also count on a heated discussion of the news of the week including all the latest from the MBS conference in Traverse City, Michigan. Sergio Marchionne is warning about China; Bob King is aiming to organize suppliers; John DeCicco says battery electric vehicles are barely better than turbo diesels in reducing emissions. But, perhaps the biggest news: Wall Street is melting down today. Could the auto companies feel the brunt of the decline? John McElroy is joined in studio by the one and only Autoextremist, Peter De Lorenzo.

This week get ready to be "electrified" and you'll be "shocked" at how much it's going to cost the industry. Our two guests will both be talking about the future CAFE standards that automakers are going to have to meet in the U.S. Jay Baron is the Chairman, President and CEO of the Center for Automotive Research (CAR). According to CAR's findings, in order to meet future fuel economy requirements, prices of cars are going to skyrocket. We'll be asking what cost the regulations will have on jobs. We'll also be asking what technologies will enable us to meet those requirements, and clearly our next guest has part of that answer. Mark Perry is the Director of Product Planning and Strategy for Nissan, and he is intimately familiar with the all-electric Nissan LEAF. The company can't seem to get enough of these electric cars out the door, and we want to find out what's going on. John McElroy is joined in studio by the one and only Autoextremist, Peter De Lorenzo.

This week can you say "Double Feature"? Join us for not one but two visionary guests. One of our guests wants to do away with the assembly line as we know it. Tom Crumm, the author of "What is Good for General Motors?", believes the future of manufacturing lies in the past when small teams built each car from start to finish. Crumm thinks this is a surefire way to rekindle the passion workers once had for their products. Speaking of passion, our other guest has plenty of it. Duncan Dayton is the owner of Highcroft Racing, which is involved in bringing the DeltaWing concept to race at Le Mans in 2012. He says this could be "one of the most significant developments in motor racing in 50 years." John McElroy is joined in studio by the one and only Autoextremist, Peter De Lorenzo.

Who would make the perfect automotive CEO? What if Alan Mulally was already taken? How about a chief designer -- would you try and lure Ed Welburn away from GM? That's the game we're playing this week as we perform the first-annual Autoline After Hours Automotive Draft. Just as in fantasy football, we're assembling our top executive teams, and once a coveted executive has been picked, he or she is out of the running. Our team owners for the 2011 Draft are John McElroy from Dymaxion Motors, Peter De Lorenzo from Renzo Motors, Ed Lapham from DeWard Auto Group and Jim Hall from Automobiles Bistango. On site in our War Room will be Scott Burgess from The Detroit News and Mark Phelan from the Detroit Free Press with their play-by-play analysis of the draft picks. Our master of ceremonies will be none other than Frank Markus from Motor Trend. So tune in and get ready for the battle to begin; this is gonna be good!

Who would make the perfect automotive CEO? What if Alan Mulally was already taken? How about a chief designer -- would you try and lure Ed Welburn away from GM? That's the game we're playing this week as we perform the first-annual Autoline After Hours Automotive Draft. Just as in fantasy football, we're assembling our top executive teams, and once a coveted executive has been picked, he or she is out of the running. Our team owners for the 2011 Draft are John McElroy from Dymaxion Motors, Peter De Lorenzo from Renzo Motors, Ed Lapham from DeWard Auto Group and Jim Hall from Automobiles Bistango. On site in our War Room will be Scott Burgess from The Detroit News and Mark Phelan from the Detroit Free Press with their play-by-play analysis of the draft picks. Our master of ceremonies will be none other than Frank Markus from Motor Trend. So tune in and get ready for the battle to begin; this is gonna be good!

This week we take an up-close peek at the next phase of transportation with our guest, Chris Borroni-Bird, the Director of Advanced Technology Vehicle Concepts for GM. We'll be getting into the details of the EN-V program and even take a ride in one of the futuristic concepts. GM's President of North America, Mark Reuss, suggested that an EN-V trial program could happen in Detroit, but what would it take to make that happen? As usual, we'll be getting into some of the hottest topics of the week. John McElroy is joined in studio by the one and only Autoextremist Peter De Lorenzo as well as Charlie Vogelheim from Intellichoice.com.