What happens when “60 Minutes” shows up at a corporation’s door or some crisis occurs that it wasn’t ready for? That’s when they turn to crisis communications experts like Jason Vines, the former automotive PR executive who has experienced more than his share of corporate trauma. So much so that he’s written a book, which brings him back to Autoline for the first time in a decade. Joining host John McElroy to discuss Jason’s book is Peter De Lorenzo from the Autoextremist.com and Detroit Free Press columnist Tom Walsh.

As the auto industry continues to explore new and different ways to power cars and trucks, engineers keep coming back to the good old battery. With the days of GM’s EV1 seeming like ancient history even though it’s only about 20 years old or so, today’s batteries are light years better. And on today’s panel John McElroy is joined by three experts: Ann Marie Sastry from Sakti3, LG’s Prabhakar Patil and Brett Smith from the Center for Automotive Research.

Where do you buy a car? These days you can do so on the Internet, a big box retailer and even certain OEM stores. But to this day, the tried and true model, and the place where most people still buy their cars, is the local car dealer. And the man currently in charge of America’s dealers is the NADA’s Forrest McConnell. This week he joins host John McElroy along with Steve Finlay from Wards and AutoTrader.com’s Michelle Krebs for a look at the latest in today’s retail world.

The aluminum onslaught has begun. It started years ago with Jaguar but now Ford is making its F-150 truck part of the lightweighting foray as it works to increase the MPGs of its best-seller. But it’s not just aluminum and it’s not just those two companies making vehicles lighter. It’s a long list of manufacturers as well as suppliers making all kinds of contributions to cars. Joining John McElroy on Autoline THIS WEEK to discuss all aspects of lightweighting are Chuck Evans from Henkel as well as Dura Automotive's Nizar Trigui and Richard Schultz from Ducker Worldwide.

By all accounts, the Greatest Generation may have won World War II with its blood, sweat and tears, but as author A.J. Baime writes in his new book “The Arsenal of Democracy,” Ford Motor Company had a little bit to do with it as well. Join host John McElroy, Henry Payne from The Detroit News and Mark Phelan from the Detroit Free Press as they talk about the great automotive contribution to the war effort with Mr. Baime on Autoline THIS WEEK.

From toys to sporting goods and even some replacements parts for cars, it looks like 3D Printers are tackling more in more in the world of manufacturing. For a look at how this industry is growing, especially within the automotive industry, join host John McElroy with his panel of 3D Printing experts including, David Darbyshire from DASI Solutions, Bruce Bradshaw from 3D manufacturer Stratasys and Brian Levy of Joe Gibbs Racing on Autoline THIS WEEK.

Auto sales in America have recently been on a tear. In fact, some suggest the SAAR might actually challenge those heady days of 18 million units. Enter AlixPartners whose newest study indicates that U.S. sales may have already peaked. Joining host John McElroy to discuss this topic and more are Mark Wakefield from AlixPartners, Charles Chesbrough from IHS as well as Jeff Schuster from LMC Automotive.

The front pages may be filled with news about Mexico, but the real story about our neighbor to the south can be found in the business section. The country is quickly becoming a second home to auto manufacturers from around the globe. On this week’s Autoline, join host John McElroy along with John Martin from Nissan North America, Norm Jacobs from SANLUIS Rassini and Ernst and Young’s Randy Miller for a look at Mexico: the new Mecca for manufacturing.

It wasn’t until the late 20th Century that the all-powerful auto industry started to realize it didn’t operate in an autonomous protected bubble; that forces around the world impacted everything it did. So many of the manufacturers started to pay closer attention to trends, not just in their backyard but around the world. On this week’s Autoline John McElroy is joined by three experts who make it their business to not only watch but sometimes affect global trends including: Marketing strategist John Gerzema, Sheryl Connelly from Ford and technology designer Gadi Amit.

Do you still go to your dealership and kick the tires? Or are you one of those that go online and buy your car? These days you can get a new car in a variety of ways including from Costco, yes, you read correctly Costco the warehouse retailer! This week on Autoline join host John McElroy along with TrueCar’s Larry Dominique, Jim Prueter from Costco and traditional Chevy dealer Scott LaRiche as they discuss options for today’s 2014 new car customer.