Autoline After Hours

The gang is back on home turf after a wild week in Los Angeles, and while the year is winding down, the news certainly is not. And, once again, GM is dominating the headlines as it continues to shuffle its management around with key figures leaving for “personal reasons.” Joining us as a guest panelist to share his years of auto industry expertise is Sandy Munro, a noted expert in design and the president of Munro and Associates. On board once again is Mr. Autoextremist, himself, Peter De Lorenzo and David Welch of BusinessWeek and Bloomberg News.

We've got our sunglasses ready for this episode as we come to you direct from the floor of the 2009 LA Auto Show, and it's the true After Hours experience as we start our webcast once the floor has been cleared of journalists and PR reps. For this special edition of AAH we bring you three unique personalities: Mark Vaughn of AutoWeek, Karl Brauer of Edmunds.com and Mark Rechtin from Automotive News.

Another After Hours and we've got two fresh faces in the Autoline studio: David Kiley of ICON Creative and Jean Halliday of Ad Age. They join John McElroy and Peter De Lorenzo this week to discuss the news of the week, especially as it relates to marketing. Brilliance Auto in China eyes abandoned Saturn stores. GM posts a huge loss while the other domestics are on the upswing. Chrysler looks for a new ad agency. All that and we answer your questions in Rapid Fire and have a special announcement about our next episode.

Well, here we are again with, frankly, a calmer news week behind us. And in this episode we bring you a very special guest: the great Hal Sperlich, certainly one of the most famous product planners in the auto industry. Hal was the former president of Chrysler, but beyond that he is the father of the Mustang, Fiesta, K-car and the Minivan. Clearly, the man has got some good stories to tell, and he does, but we also get him to lend his perspective on the latest automotive turmoil. On hand for the discussion are John McElroy, Peter De Lorenzo, the Autoextremist, and David Welch of BusinessWeek.

Could more news have been crammed into one week? Hardly. GM decides to keep Opel, Ford posts a billion-dollar profit and Toyota gets in trouble with NHTSA. All that, plus the After Hours guys are all whipped after a nine-hour marathon press conference at Chrysler. So what does Fiat’s wizkid have up his sleeve? Find out in today’s show as John McElroy is joined by regulars Peter De Lorenzo the Autoextremist and David Welch of BusinessWeek as well as guest panelist Paul Eisenstein from TheDetroitBureau.com.

After a week's vacation for the entire AAH gang, the guys are eager to get back into the swing of things. Helping them usher in Big Episode 30 is Mark Reuss, GM's new Vice President of Global Vehicle Engineering who is newly back from Australia where he was in charge of Holden's operations. Peter De Lorenzo the Autoextremist and David Welch from BusinessWeek return as the regulars and are eager to learn where Mark intends to take engineering as part of the new GM. Plus, we get his inside perspective on why the G8 isn't going to live on in consumers' hands--at least not yet.

It’s that time again, Mr. McElroy’s out and the inmates are here to run the asylum with the Autoextremist leading the charge. Tonight Peter De Lorenzo welcomes Rod Meloni from WDIV in Detroit, Frank Markus of Motor Trend, and the irrepressible Jim Hall from 2953 Analytics. Carlos Ghosn bets the farm on the success of EVs. Ray LaHood declares Detroit bailout money well-spent after a visit to the Motor City. The panelists debate the most significant cars in the first decade of the 21st century. All that plus we get to your questions in Rapid Fire!

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.

This week on another thrilling After Hours we’re running at redline as guest panelist Jim Hall of 2953 Analytics takes the discussion to a new level of intensity. Along with John McElroy and the regulars, Peter De Lorenzo of AutoExtremist.com and BusinessWeek Detroit Bureau Chief David Welch, Mr. Hall brings his expansive industry knowledge to bear as the discussion swings from the GM management shake-up to Ferrari to Mr. Welch’s little-known alter ego. Amid all the excitement, we even get some breaking news about the fate of Cash for Clunkers. And, as always, we get to your incisive questions in this week’s installment of Rapid Fire.

When it comes to cars and trucks, it’s not just the manufacturers who are researching what customers want. There are some independent voices out there that do focus groups, among other activities, on all makes and models of cars and trucks with some fascinating results. One of those experts joins the panel tonight to discuss what he and his team discover about the buying whims of the public. Art Spinella is the brain trust of CNW Marketing Research and he joins John, Peter and Jeff Gilbert from CBS Radio Detroit via Skype from his homebase in Bandon, Oregon. The guys have a chance to talk about not only Art’s automotive research but this week’s news as well, including the big changes in GM management, company profits (kind of) for Ford and (definitely) for Hyundai, CAFE Pay to Play and of course all your insightful questions during Rapid Fire.

This isn’t a reference to a classic Sam Cooke tune or even its Blues Brothers’ cover, but if you’ve watched an NBA game the last six months or cruised YouTube at all you know this title is talking about a couple of hip-hop hamsters in a blazing hot Kia ad featuring the all-new Soul. Joining John McElroy and our panel, David Welch from BusinessWeek and Scott Burgess from The Detroit News, is the guy who is responsible for that ad as well as all Kia America Motors marketing, Michael Sprague. Michael will be discussing not only the Soul but Kia’s other new compact cars the Forte and Forte Koup as well as its growing U.S. marketshare. In addition, John finally announces the winner of our GM Bankruptcy Bonanza.