Autoline After Hours

After Hours is back and well rested after its Labor Day break, and this week we welcome Neil De Koker the founding President and CEO of the Original Equipment Suppliers Association (OESA). The oft-ignored supplier side of the automotive business develops more technology, jobs and innovation than you probably realize. It will be interesting to see how OESA's members are coping during these economic conditions. As usual, you can count on us to take a deep dive into the latest automotive news as well. John McElroy's in studio with Peter De Lorenzo, the Autoextremist and Mark Phelan from the Detroit Free Press.

This week our guest is Lonnie Miller the VP of Marketing and Industry Analysis for Polk. One of the questions we'll be asking him: just how bad is the Detroit Three's addiction to fleet sales? Of course, we'll be exploring other hot subjects as well including John's recent drives in the Kia Optima and the 5.0 Mustang. Also, August sales numbers are out and Chrysler-Fiat has revealed its dealership plans. John McElroy's in studio with Peter De Lorenzo, the Autoextremist, and Rod Meloni from WDIV Channel 4 News in Detroit.

This week we invite Joe Serra on the AAH stage to talk dealerships. As a dealer principal, Joe has seen a lot in the past couple of years, and we'll be asking him how business is and what kinds of cars are moving out of the lots these days. As usual, we'll review some of the most interesting news of the week including the possibility of VW buying Alfa Romeo. Also, Chris Perry, formerly of Hyundai, is tapped to run Chevrolet marketing, and speaking of Hyundai, John recently got some seat time in the new Equus, so we'll see what he has to say about that. John McElroy's in studio with Peter De Lorenzo, the Autoextremist, and David Welch from Bloomberg BusinessWeek.

This week we bring you a very-special episode of Autoline After Hours from Woodward Avenue, home of the annual Dream Cruise, the biggest one-day automotive event in the world. Joining host John McElroy is the Autoextremist himself, Peter De Lorenzo. Together they check out some of the coolest classic cars on the street as well as some of the hottest performance machines available today . . . plus a whole lot more! Join us for this special two-hour installment of Autoline After Hours broadcasting from historic Woodward Avenue in Royal Oak, Michigan.

This week we invite Chris de Boer, head of Research and Development at Transonic Combustion to join us in the AAH studio. We'll be asking him if his technology is really the big breakthrough we've been waiting for, and how he can get 30% better fuel economy just by changing the fuel injection. As always we'll get into the big news of the week including GM's announcement that Big Ed Whitacre will be stepping down as CEO. Plus, Chrysler and GM both posted profits this week, and--can you believe it--the U.S. Department of Transportation found no electronic flaws in Toyotas. John McElroy's in studio with Peter De Lorenzo, the Autoextremist, and Jim Hall from 2953 Analytics.

This week we invite Tom Kowaleski into the AAH studio. Tom's the VP of Corporate Communications at BMW, and we'll be asking him what's up with this whole "Joy" thing anyway? And, what will it take for BMW to overtake Lexus in the luxury segment? As always we'll be tackling the latest news as well including Hyundai's goal of a 50 MPG fleet average by 2025, GM's investment into Bright Automotive and July sales numbers. John McElroy's in studio with Peter De Lorenzo, the Autoextremist, and Jeff Green from Bloomberg News.

This week the gang is all back together and they invite Amy Marentic, the marketing manager for the newly-revealed Ford Explorer, onto the show. We'll be asking Amy just how many people she thinks Ford can bring back to the SUV segment. Of course, the panel will also get into the news of the week like the positive earnings several companies have been seeing in the second quarter. We'll also discuss our recent trip to the VW research labs where we saw an amazing autonomous Audi TT, and we'll talk about their EV strategy which goes the laptop-battery route. John McElroy's in studio with Peter De Lorenzo, the Autoextremist, and David Welch from Bloomberg BusinessWeek.

This week our dear leader is on the road, so Peter De Lorenzo, the Autoextremist, grabs the wheel and takes over. We'll discuss the news of the week and other pressing topics: Is Ford running a risk having too many similar vehicles (Explorer, Edge, Flex) on the road? Can we ever realistically expect subsidy-free electric vehicles to be viable in the marketplace? Honda has lost its mojo -- can it go green to get it back? Peter's in studio with special guests Frank Markus from Motor Trend and Scott Burgess from The Detroit News.

This week we welcome Peter Hofbauer, a former diesel-engine designer at Volkswagen who’s now the Founder, Chairman and Chief Technical Officer of EcoMotors, the company developing a revolutionary new opposed-piston engine. Beyond that, host John McElroy, David Welch from Bloomberg BusinessWeek and Jim Hall of 2953 Analytics talk about some of the top news stories from the past week, like Ford's recent management shakeup and the latest on Toyota's unintended acceleration problem. Of course the panel also discusses the future of the ICE and what EcoMotors' new powerplant can offer the auto industry as it shoots to deliver better fuel economy.

This week we bring you a special all Q and A show. Our Rapid Fire segment has proven to be so popular that we never have enough time to make it through all our viewers' questions. In this episode we're going to do the best we can to rectify that. Our good friend Jason Vines is even coming in to help us get through all your mail and phone calls, so get ready for some answers to come your way! John McElroy's in studio with Peter De Lorenzo, the Autoextremist, and David Welch from Bloomberg BusinessWeek.