Autoline After Hours

This week in the After Hours bunker is Larry Burns the now-retired Vice President of Research and Development for General Motors. During his time at GM, Burns was an unflagging proponent of hydrogen propulsion, and we're going to ask him if fuel cells will ever catch on. Will we ever see a hydrogen infrastructure in this country? We'll get into the news of the week too including GM's whopping big earnings and talk about why hybrid sales are stagnate while the price of gas shoots sky high. John McElroy is joined in studio by the Autoextremist, Peter De Lorenzo as well as Frank Markus from Motor Trend.

This week we welcome Chris Theodore, the namesake of Theodore and Associates. Chris played key roles in the development of the Ford GT and the Dodge Viper. Now he's showing off what he calls Uni-Chassis, which will be aimed at EVs. He also has a goal of creating a $500 car. You read that right $500. We'll be talking about those projects and getting into the big news of the past week including Ford and VW profits, the sinking ship that is Lexus and what we can infer from the fact that Chrysler and Fiat have all but dropped out of the EV game. By the way, we've got an update about the MKZ after last week's show; this info is very telling. John McElroy is joined in studio by the Autoextremist, Peter De Lorenzo.

This week's guest of honor is Ford's Barb Samardzich, the Vice President of Global Product Programs. We'll be asking her if there are new segments Ford needs to get into and what the future holds for the Lincoln brand. John McElroy will also talk about his trip to Taiwan and a brand new car company called Luxgen that is developing some very interesting technologies. We'll also touch on some of the most interesting reveals from the dueling New York and Shanghai auto shows this week. John is joined in studio by the Autoextremist, Peter De Lorenzo.

Our guest this week comes straight from one of the greatest museums in the world with a fantastic car collection of all makes. Bob Casey is the Curator of Transportation for The Henry Ford and an automobile historian. We'll be asking him what's on his wishlist for the museum and if there's ever been "one that got away." As always, we'll be sure to get into the news of the week including March sales results, whether Saab is on its last legs, and a new hope for Detroit called Tech Shop. John McElroy is also joined in studio by the Autoextremist, Peter De Lorenzo.

Behold the future of Ford! Well, we're sure our guest won't giveaway ALL the secrets, but if you want to know where Ford design is headed, tune in this week for Joel Piaskowski who is Ford's Director of Exterior Design for the Americas. As you may remember, Joel recently came from Hyundai where he was responsible for the fresh design language of the Sonata and other models out on the roads now. We can't wait to find out what he's got in store for the blue oval's product line. We'll also take some time to remember David E. Davis Jr., a former AAH guest and an outspoken automotive legend who died earlier this week. Does this mark the end of the enthusiast magazines as we know them? John McElroy is also joined in studio by the Autoextremist, Peter De Lorenzo, as well as Mark Phelan of the Detroit Free Press.

Does your IRA stink? Are they going to tax your pension? Maybe it's time to invest in classic cars ... or maybe not. That's one of the questions we'll put to our special guest this week. Ken Lingenfelter is the owner of Lingenfelter Performance Engineering as well as the Lingenfelter Collection, an assortment of Corvettes, muscle cars and exotics. Of course, you can be sure we'll get into the latest news including Bob King's accusation that Alan Mulally's raise is "morally wrong" and what the near future holds for automakers in crisis-stricken Japan. John McElroy is also joined in studio by the Autoextremist, Peter De Lorenzo, as well as auto journalist Jim McCraw.

This week it's time for that big, important talk about journalistic ethics. One of tonight's guests is Scott Burgess, former auto critic for The Detroit News. Scott decided he needed to resign this week when the newspaper asked him to soften his review of the Chrysler 200 at the request of an advertiser. We'll be asking Scott what happened and whether he might go back to the paper now that they have reversed their changes. There are a lot of sticky issues when it comes to reviewing cars and covering the industry as a journalist, and we'll be discussing them all. Should reporters accept free trips from automakers to cover their vehicles? How do you keep your criticism unbiased when the subject is also an advertiser? John is also joined in studio by the Autoextremist, Peter De Lorenzo, as well as fellow journalist Sharon Terlep who covers the auto industry for The Wall Street Journal.

This week the After Hours crew has stars in their eyes as they welcome Hollywood Car Designer and TV Host Fireball Tim Lawrence to Skype in from Malibu, California. He’s conceptualized vehicles, spaceships and other props for some of Hollywood’s biggest movies and television shows. As always, we’ll be getting into the news of the week including Alan Mulally’s big payday, Renault’s ever-stranger tale of EV espionage and the exit of GM CFO Chris Liddell. John McElroy is joined in studio by the Autoextremist, Peter De Lorenzo, as well as our pal Todd Lassa from Motor Trend.

This week we bring in a guest all the way from Tacoma, Washington where what will be the largest car museum in the world is currently under construction. David Madeira is the President and CEO of LeMay – America’s Car Museum, and we’ll be asking him what the museum will be like when it’s finished, why they chose Tacoma of all places, and why he thinks it will become a mecca for gear heads everywhere. We’ll also get into the news of the week, including February’s fantastic sales numbers. John McElroy is joined in studio as always by the Autoextremist, Peter De Lorenzo, as well as AAH first-timer Mark Gillies, a hardcore enthusiast, acerbic commentator and survivor of the buff book magazine wars. You’re not going to want to miss it.

This week Peter De Lorenzo, the Autoextremist, takes the AAH reins while John McElroy is out on the West Coast. Mr. Renzo has summoned up two of his favorite car guys for the occasion: Scott Burgess, the automotive critic and columnist for The Detroit News, and “the man who knew too much,” Jim Hall of 2953 Analytics. Together they’ll be diving into the deep issues of the week. With oil prices skyrocketing as a result of Middle East unrest, which of the small vehicles — Cruze, Focus or Elantra — will be poised to take advantage of the situation? Meanwhile, BMW will be giving all its alt fuel vehicles the “i” moniker. Also, Honda chopped down the size of its board of directors from 20 to 12. Just what is going on at that company? Join us as we get into all this and much more.