Autoline After Hours

Another After Hours is here and what a week it’s been! John McElroy is joined in studio this week by Peter De Lorenzo the Autoextremist, David Welch from BusinessWeek and guest panelist Michael Robinet who heads up vehicle forecasting for CSM Worldwide. Chrysler produces an unexpected management shake-up. Meanwhile, General Motors’ Mark LaNeve–our guest on AAH #12–gets an expected change of careers. Saturn may not be dead yet, and Peter wonders what Hyundai could do with its dealer network. All that plus we get to your questions in Rapid Fire!

It’s another edition of After Hours and the crew’s all back to mourn the loss of a “different kind of car company.” Peter De Lorenzo the Autoextremist is in the house once again, and he joins David Welch from BusinessWeek and John McElroy. The gang also welcomes guest panelist Erich Merkle, the President of Autoconomy, who comes bearing his automotive analysis. September sales fall through the floor. The Tokyo Motor Show gets boycotted by all non-Japanese automakers. The Toyota floor mat debacle calls into question the issues of personal responsibility and driver education. All that plus we get to your Saturn memories in Rapid Fire!

This week we partake in the wisdom of an experienced automotive veteran, Tim Leuliette, the Chairman, President and CEO of DURA Automotive Systems. Joining John McElroy in the studio as usual is David Welch of BusinessWeek, in addition to Gary Vasilash of Automotive Design and Production. Now that the supplier Magna owns Opel, it finds itself in the awkward position of competing with its OEM customers. Fisker gets half of a billion dollars to get the Karma into production. Meanwhile, Tesla loses its head of manufacturing and engineering just as the Model S is going into production. All that plus we get to your questions in Rapid Fire!

The boss is back, and it’s time to talk about all the news to come out of Frankfurt over the past week. In the studio, as usual, are Peter De Lorenzo from Autoextremist.com and David Welch of BusinessWeek, both ready and raring to discuss the hot topics. Sergio Marchionne from Fiat says Chrysler is in more of a mess than anyone thought. Nissan’s Carlos Ghosn says EVs can be profitable at $70-a-barrel oil. From the look of the show, EVs are trumping diesels all around, but is it for real or just posturing? All that plus the guys pick their favorite vehicles to come out of Frankfurt, and we get to your questions in Rapid Fire!

The inmates take over the asylum this week as McElroy finds himself out of town on business. Peter De Lorenzo, the Autoextremist, takes up the hosting gauntlet flanked by friends of the show, Jim Hall of 2953 Analytics and David Welch of BusinessWeek. Jeff Green from Bloomberg News also joins the ranks this week as our special guest panelist. Opel and Magna make a deal. GM’s Big Ed Whitacre decides to follow in Iaccoca’s footsteps as he steps in front of the camera. McLaren may have just created the supercar to end all supercars. All that and much more, plus we get to your questions in Rapid Fire!

This week the venerable David E. Davis, Jr. brings his wit and expertise to the After Hours studio. Joining Mr. E is host John McElroy along with the regulars, David Welch from BusinessWeek and Peter De Lorenzo the AutoExtremist. Shareholders want their money back from Cerberus, Johanne DeNysschen calls the Volt “a car for idiots,” Cash for Clunkers still will not die. All that and more, plus we get to your questions in Rapid Fire.

This week on After Hours it’s all about the numbers as we dig into Cash for Clunkers. But before we get to all that, we’ve got to review the week’s news including the departure of Jim Press from Chrysler and Ed Whitacre sending Fritz Henderson back to the drawing boards. In the studio to talk about everything is John McElroy along with the regulars, David Welch from BusinessWeek and Peter De Lorenzo the AutoExtremist. And, Skyping in from Santa Monica is guest panelist Jessica Caldwell from Edmunds.com, who has uncovered some great disparities in the numbers being reported by the government in the Clunkers program. All that, and we get to your questions in Rapid Fire.

Another week, another After Hours and it’s time to talk electric. First, we talk about GM canceling the Saturn Vue-based plug-in Buick and what impact social media had on the decision. Our guest, Joel Feder, Skypes in from Minneapolis to tell us how things went down in the Twitterverse. Then we get into Ford’s EV plans when we invite Nancy Gioia, the company’s Director of Sustainable Mobility Technologies and Hybrid Programs, into the studio. All that, and we get to your pressing questions in Rapid Fire.

It’s a very special After Hours this week as we come to you live from the Woodward Avenue Dream Cruise. Yes, yes, we know. The Dream Cruise doesn’t start until Saturday, but you sure wouldn’t know it from the look of our parking lot at the Auto Zone and the classic cars rolling down M-1. We’re joined by some of the regulars–Peter De Lorenzo, David Welch, Jim Hall–as well as some surprise guests. Ed Welburn, VP of GM Global Design, stops by with his treasured ‘69 Camaro. Robert Gelardi, designer of the 2010 Mustang, pays us a visit bringing his very own classic Ford. Jim Wangers, famous for his intimate relationship with the original Pontiac GTO, stops by with a prime specimen. All that, and we get some live entertainment courtesy of the Exhaust Tones.

This week on another After Hours we get an inside look at the high-stakes world of automotive advertising with the originator of the iconic Like a Rock Chevy campaign, and more recently, the 2010 Prius spots. Along with John McElroy and the regulars, Peter De Lorenzo of AutoExtremist.com and BusinessWeek Detroit Bureau Chief David Welch, Kurt Ritter of Saatchi LA Skypes in from his offices in Torrance, California. David Kiley, also from BusinessWeek, visits the studio as well, eager to join the gang in grilling Kurt on such things as the controversial marketing announcements coming out of Toyota, pricing of the new Lexus LF-A supercar, and what Kurt thinks of his former employer’s (GM’s) marketing efforts. And, as always, we get to your incisive phone calls and e-mails in this week’s installment of Rapid Fire.