Autoline After Hours

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.