Autoline After Hours

This week we're going to resist the temptation to polish up our Cockney accents, but we might just call our special guest "guv'nah" since he's Skyping in live from the UK. Karl Ludvigsen is an independent motor industry consultant and all-around car guy. He also wrote the well-known book "Porsche: Excellence was Expected." On the docket tonight, we'll discuss some European goings on. Who will Fiat merge with? How will GM save Opel? Also we'll talk about Audi's new Traffic Jam Assist technology -- a very real step toward automotive autonomy. All this and much more with John McElroy and Peter De Lorenzo the Autoextremist. Cheerio!

This week it's all auto show all the time as we talk about the best and the worst of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. On hand to help us spot the trends and discuss all the nitty-gritty no one should know is Jim Hall of 2953 Analytics. All this and more with John McElroy and Peter De Lorenzo the Autoextremist.

This week we're getting the inside dirt on the North American International Auto Show, or as we prefer to call it: the Detroit Auto Show. Our guests are Bill Perkins, the NAIAS Chairman and Rod Alberts, the Executive Director for NAIAS. We'll be asking them if things have really changed down at Cobo Center. Are unions still ripping everyone off? Can we expect any more fights with the Detroit City Council? Of course, with the big show only a few short days away, we'll be talking a lot about what we can expect to see at the show with major reveals from Cadillac, Lincoln, Dodge, Acura, Ford, and more. To discuss these stories and more, John McElroy is joined in studio by Peter De Lorenzo the Autoextremist.

This week Santa Welch is comin’ to town … and Santa De Lorenzo and Santa McElroy for that matter. And, like old Kris Kringle, all three of our panelists have taken a look back at the year and decided which automakers have been naughty and which have been nice. In this special episode — the last of 2011 already — our three esteemed panelists will dole out presents for some folks and dirty lumps of coal for others. John McElroy is joined by his cohort Peter De Lorenzo and David Welch of Bloomberg.

This week the Autoextremist gets behind the wheel while John McElroy is in Texas driving the new Chevy Malibu Eco. And, as we close in on 2012, we'll be taking a look back at some of the biggest automotive stories of 2011 with Scott Burgess of The Detroit News and Todd Lassa from Motor Trend. As usual we'll also get into the news of the week including China's import tariffs on U.S. cars, Acura's attempt to become relevant again, and the NTSB's recommendation to ban all cell phone use in cars. All this and more with the man himself, Peter De Lorenzo.

This week we plan to have a quality discussion, that is, a discussion about quality. As you know, we've taken exception to the way Consumer Reports evaluates cars for its quality ratings. Well, our guest on this show knows a thing about automotive evaluation since he runs the website, TrueDelta.com. We'll be asking Michael Karesh if he thinks Consumer Reports' methodology is sound. As always we'll be getting into the news of the week: the Chevrolet Volt issue is still burning hot, drama goes down between Nissan and the UAW and Aptera calls it quits. To discuss these stories and more, John McElroy is joined in studio by Peter De Lorenzo the Autoextremist.

This week we ask the question: does Detroit's culture nurture or choke off entrepreneurial thinking? We'll be getting into this discussion with our special guest, Michael Pickholz, an engineer and inventor. And, as always, we'll discuss the latest news coming out of the automotive world. Chevy Volts are catching on fire, but did NHTSA follow proper safety procedures? Laura Soave is out as head of Fiat after sales of the 500 fail to meet goals set forth by Sergio Marchionne. Plus, we'll touch on some of the announcements coming out of the Tokyo Motor Show. To discuss these stories and more, John McElroy is joined in studio by Peter De Lorenzo the Autoextremist.

This week we're in a very different time zone. Since John McElroy and the crew are in Los Angeles for the LA Auto Show, they've decided to pay a visit to the famous Petersen Automotive Museum and meet the collection's curator, Leslie Kendall. They'll also talk to John Clinard, formerly of Ford West Coast Communications, but perhaps more well known for the event he helped create in California: Cars and Coffee. We'll learn a whole lot about that, find out what's new at the Petersen and much more on this week's show.

First he accused GM of “Kill(ing) the Electric Car.” Then he took “Revenge” and got buddy-buddy with the giant company that created the Chevrolet Volt. But Chris Paine, director of the new documentary, “Revenge of the Electric Car,” hasn’t faced off against our resident EV skeptics. This week John McElroy and Peter De Lorenzo will attempt to navigate the EV hype and get down to the heart of the matter: are electric cars really here to stay? Of course we’ll get into the top news of the week as well: GM earnings disappoint, experts are sounding the overcapacity alarm in China and Lexus is calling it quits on the HS 250h. All that and much more on this week’s show.

This week we're wondering if the iPhone has met its automotive match. Designed by our guest, Stuart Norris, Cadillac CUE is the infotainment system that promises to simplify a user's experience while offering the smart phone features people have come to expect. It will begin arriving in 2012, and we'll be asking Stuart what he thinks puts CUE ahead of the competition and how it will avoid the quality problems plaguing MyFord Touch. To discuss this and more, John McElroy is joined in studio by Peter De Lorenzo the Autoextremist.

This week we’re calling Consumer Reports to the mat. As far as we’re concerned, their automotive testing is second to none, but when it comes to quality ratings: bogus. Much has been made of Ford’s plummeting status in the latest survey, but we’ll talk about whether the folks in Dearborn have to start worrying or not. We’ll also get into the news of the week including the third quarter financial results. Plus we want to talk about what we, including one of our viewers, think the next generation of Mustang could look like. To discuss this and more, John McElroy is joined in studio by Peter De Lorenzo the Autoextremist and Charlie Vogelheim from ResponseLogix.

This week we're thinking small. Micro actually. Our special guest for this episode is Jack Hollis, the Vice President of Scion. We'll be talking about the pint-sized iQ and whether it could be the car that gets the brand's mojo back. We'll also get into the news of the week including the Indy race that never should have been run. To discuss this and more, John McElroy is joined in studio by Peter De Lorenzo the Autoextremist and Michelle Krebs from Edmunds.com.

This week we talk UAW and all the other top automotive news of the week. Joe Szczesny from The Oakland Press, joins John McElroy and Autoextremist Peter De Lorenzo for a discussion about where negotiations will go with Ford and Chrysler. Watch this week's show for your weekly dose of unscripted, unapproved, unusually frank discussion on Autoline After Hours!

This week we talk UAW and all the other top automotive news of the week. Joe Szczesny from The Oakland Press, joins John McElroy and Autoextremist Peter De Lorenzo for a discussion about where negotiations will go with Ford and Chrysler. Watch this week's show for your weekly dose of unscripted, unapproved, unusually frank discussion on Autoline After Hours!

This week the topic is wood. Sorta kinda. Actually, we'll be touching on the very special wood that went into the new Cadillac Ciel concept, and we'll be talking with none other than Clay Dean, the Director of North America Advanced Design for GM. We'll be asking him where the future of Cadillac and other GM design is going in the next few years, and we'll see if we can talk him into letting us test drive Cadillac's new über-sedan -- but somehow we doubt it. To discuss this and more, John McElroy is joined in studio by Peter De Lorenzo, the Autoextremist, and Scott Burgess from The Detroit News.

This week the Autoextremist hijacks the Autoline airwaves while John is in Frankfurt for the big auto show. Speaking of the Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung, we’ll be getting into a Frankfurt post-mortem including the invasion of tiny slo-mo EVs from VW, Opel and Audi and the Jeep Grand Cherokee-based Maserati Kubang. We’ll also discuss the NADA’s lobbying effort against upcoming fuel regulations, and we’ll talk about whether we’ll see watered down rules if Obama loses the White House. Also, Coda’s EV will be the first (almost) Chinese vehicle to enter the American market. And, Chevrolet will be aiming the next-generation Corvette at younger buyers — will it work? To discuss this and more, Peter De Lorenzo is joined in studio by Sharon Terlep of the Wall Street Journal and Gary Vasilash from Automotive Design and Production.

This week we're coming in with our shoes shined and ready for inspection because we've invited the man in charge of quality for Volkswagen, Bentley, Lamborghini and Audi. Marc Trahan is the Executive Vice President, Group Quality, VW of America and if you want to know how the company is going to maintain its commitment to quality while growing to become the largest automaker in the world, this is the man to ask. To discuss this and more, John McElroy is joined in studio by Peter De Lorenzo of Autoextremist.com and Todd Lassa from Motor Trend.

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!