Autoline This Week

Back in 2011 when the original Fisker Karma was released, seeing it on the road was breathtaking. The vehicle turned heads with its beautiful designs so there was never a problem with looks. The issues for this electric/hybrid car were technical. From breaking down during a Consumer Reports drive to actual customer cars catching fire, it proved too much for the startup automaker and it filed for bankruptcy in November 2013. However, its new Chinese owners believe they have worked out all the problems and are ready to re-commence production of the car. And the man chosen to run Karma Automotive is no stranger to Detroit. Jim Taylor, who formerly ran Cadillac, will now be responsible for selling the Karma 2.0 to the world. Joining John McElroy to talk to Jim about Karma, Cadillac and more will be Joe White for Reuters and Dave Guilford from Automotive News.

Driving has always mattered at Mazda. From its iconic “Zoom-Zoom” tagline to classic cars like the Miata to its involvement with motorsports, this small Japanese company remains a favorite of automotive enthusiasts around the world. Joining John McElroy on this special edition of Autoline is the Senior Vice President of Mazda’s North American Operations, Robert Davis. Rounding out the panel are Todd Lassa from Automobile and Dutch Mandel of Autoweek.

Back in the day, General Motors was so big there was a famous quote that went: if GM sneezes, America catches cold. Even though its stranglehold on the economy is not as great as it once was, GM and the rest of today’s auto manufacturers still play a significant economic role. That’s why it’s important to see how the car companies make their internal predictions. Joining John McElroy on this week’s Autoline to talk economy is Mustafa Mohatarem, the chief economist for GM, Emily Koliniski Morris, Ford’s chief economist as well as Charles Chesbrough, the Senior Principal Economist for IHS Automotive.

Automakers are mammoth organizations with campuses, plants and offices across the globe. So you can imagine with so many divisions and employees, it’s tough to speak with one voice. And for the most part that voice is Corporate Communications. Whether it’s talking to the automotive press, crafting a vehicle campaign or dealing with a crisis, this is the company voice. Joining John McElroy on this very special edition of Autoline to discuss OEM Communications, where it is today and how it’s changed over the last few decades are: Tony Cervone, the SVP of Global Communications for GM, Chris Hosford, the Director of Corporate Communications for Hyundai Motor America and Stuart Schorr, the VP of Communications and Public Affairs for Jaguar Land Rover North America.

If you’re one of those car folks who just can’t get enough of numbers like horsepower, pound feet of torque and zero to 60 times, then this is the show for you. It’s our annual Autoline where some of the Ward’s Auto editors join John McElroy to discuss the winners of its Best Engines competition. Tune in to see who made the cut for 2016.

The competition is as tough as some of the trucks themselves. The vehicles up for North American Truck of the Year include: the Nissan Titan XD, the Volvo XC90 and the Honda Pilot. On this edition of Autoline THIS WEEK, John McElroy is joined by fellow NACTOY jurors Mike Austin of Autoblog.com, Jeff Gilbert from CBS Detroit and Ron Sessions of AutoWeb.com.

Will it be the Honda Civic? Maybe the Chevrolet Malibu? Or possibly the Mazda MX-5 Miata? Yes, it’s that time of year again to highlight the possible winner of the North American Car of the Year. Joining John McElroy to discuss these cars and more are fellow NACTOY jurors Kirk Bell from Motor Authority, Mark Phelan from the Detroit Free Press and Mike Austin from Autoblog.

The Consumer Electronic Show, now known simply as CES, has become the Disney World for technology. Last year more than 170,000 from around the world came to Las Vegas for what used to be a small trade show. It has now blossomed into an event that even the car companies can’t ignore anymore. The man in charge of not only this enormous trade show, but also the Consumer Electronic Association who puts it on is Gary Shapiro. Today he joins John McElroy and his panel to discuss technology, the auto industry and CES 2016.

Freightliner Trucks is the largest heavy-duty truck manufacturer in North America. It was founded in 1942 and bought by Mercedes-Benz in the 1980s. From its headquarters in Portland, Oregon the company has recently been producing some groundbreaking technologies including the DTNA “Super Truck” which improved freight efficiency, and the Inspiration which is the first licensed autonomous commercial truck. On this week’s Autoline, John McElroy is joined by its North America president and CEO Martin Daum along with Jeff Allen who leads the company’s Detroit Diesel operation. And joining John to help question the Freightliner executives is Neil Abt from Transport Topics.

The automotive world is changing faster than at any time in its history. More and more game changing innovations are popping up with seemingly each new vehicle. John McElroy and his blue ribbon panel of auto analysts Maryann Keller, David Cole, the Chairman Emeritus of C.A.R. and Edward Lapham the Chief Editorial Officer at the Normington Group, roundup their top choices of automotive innovations for the year in Autoline’s Game Changers for 2015.