Autoline This Week

An Incredible Ride

It started last year with a simple e-mail between two 'car guys.' That's when Victor Muller the creator of the small exotic luxury brand Spyker petitioned Bob Lutz, the then Vice Chairman of General Motors. Mr. Muller was interested in the corporation's plans for his childhood dream car SAAB. GM, as you'll recall, was staggering out of bankruptcy and in the middle of jettisoning brands like a Golden Retriever sheds its winter coat. Pontiac was closing while Hummer, Saturn and SAAB were all up for sale but in danger of winding down as well. That one November e-mail sparked a heart-pounding 'live-or- die' three months for this iconic Swedish brand. The "incredible ride" as Victor Muller himself describes it finally ended earlier this year with ownership firmly in the hands of this Dutch entrepreneur.

On this week's show John McElroy welcomes the new owner of SAAB Victor Muller to Autoline Detroit where he'll discuss not only his suspense-filled acquisition of the car company, but more importantly, how he intends to do what GM couldn't do with the brand and that is sell cars and make money. Joining John on the panel are Todd Lassa from Motor Trend and David Welch from Bloomberg Businessweek.

Platforms

Like many other areas of 21st century life, the publishing world is in an upheaval. Newspapers are consolidating and closing while books are turning into digital devices and music virtually floats around the Internet for free. Yet perhaps the sector with the most on the line is the magazine; those recurrent glossy periodicals that cater to our every interest, taste and whim. The problem is that the magazine audience is getting a little long in the tooth -- to put it mildly -- yielding decreasing sales across the board. And no place is that more evident than with the automotive enthusiast magazine crowd. From Automobile to Car and Driver to Motor Trend to Road & Track, no matter the name, no matter the content, everyone is losing out to the Internet. So the multi-million dollar question is how can these grand old dames of the enthusiast set transfer the magazine experience to a new generation -- one that doesn't so much read information as it does devour it. Well, one answer may be platforms. Creating unique content specifically for a digital device. Of course that's easier said that done because then you still have to have an audience who buys it.

Joining John McElroy to discuss the short and long term future of the automotive enthusiast magazines is a panel who knows the issues first hand. Csaba Csere worked for Car and Driver magazine for nearly three decades leaving as Editor-in-Chief in 2008. Eddie Alterman is charged with facing those challenges today as the current Editor-in- Chief of Car and Driver while John Neff and his popular website, Autoblog.com, is just one of the reasons that the enthusiast crowd is looking for new workable options like platforms.

The Perfect Marriage

It happened last century. Way back, nearly a hundred years ago; a union so sweet, so hand-in-glove that to this day many of us still take it for granted. The alliance was a smart, sublime coupling of west coast imagery and Midwest manufacturing yielding the perfect marriage: the mating of cars and movies.

That's right from Laurel and Hardy to Roger and Me, from the Love Bug to Bullitt, celluloid seemed made for our four-wheeled wonders. In fact, if anything its worked almost too well. From the early days of the silent films all the way up to today's 3D digital blockbusters, cars continue to be enormous stars. But with so many movies in the car film universe, whenever you start to pull together your favorites, it's a list that can careen out of control pretty "Fast and Furious." That's why here at Autoline we leave that sort of heavy lifting to the experts. Joining us for Round Two of our Autoline look at history's greatest car films are Jim Hall from 2953 Analytics, Todd Lassa from Motor Trend and Peter De Lorenzo of Autoextremist.com. From racing to comedy to Bond to cult, our panel critiques these great films and tells you why, if you have yet to see some of them, you need to put them on your own personal list.

Just Do It

For more than two decades those three words have branded Nike into the public consciousness helping make it the success that it continues to be. Of course having great product didn't hurt, but really, the Wieden and Kennedy advertising team who developed the famous tag line, and subsequent media campaigns, are as responsible as anyone for putting Nike into homes and locker rooms around the world. That's why behind seemingly every successful consumer goods business is an ethos of creative energy -- a team if you will -- that helps sell that product to all of us.

The auto industry is no different. Its storied advertising history is not only well-documented but ingrained in our memories. The problem with that is the "history" part. Some experts believe that automotive advertising sort of flies under the radar these days trying to attract but not offend leaving the pubic many times with nothing more than a milquetoast impression. The question becomes is that the result of an overall strategy or is there something else at work? Are brand issues, globalization or perhaps the financial tumult responsible for this change of style?

This week on Autoline Detroit John McElroy and his panel of experts tackle the ever-changing world of automobile advertising. Joining John to discuss what's been going on and where it all might be headed are advertising journalist Jean Halliday, former ad man turned commentator David Kiley with AOL Autos and an award-winning advertising veteran who is still on the front lines Gary Topolewski.

Soapbox

The next time you're in a store take a walk down the detergent aisle and check out the dozens of different products. Some of the packages that look so comfortable on the shelf may have actually started life as an avatar -- a virtual product in an equally digital grocery store. That may be news when it comes to consumer products but automakers have been engaged with 3-dimension computer design for some time now. In fact this virtual universe allows the manufacturers of these complex machines to take them from concept to clearance -- as it were -- through a process called PLM or Product Lifecycle Management. Not only is it a huge cost saver when it comes to time and materials, but it also gives designers, engineers and marketers alike, 21st Century advantages that their earlier counterparts could only imagine.

This week on Autoline the top executive at one of the world's pre- eminent PLM companies joins John to discuss the process and how it continues to revolutionize the auto industry. Bernard Charles, President and CEO of Dassault Systemes talks about the impact of PLM on all of us and how Dassault is out to bring the 3D experience to our daily lives. Joining John and Mr. Charles on the panel are Drew Winter from WardsAuto.com and Christopher Sawyer of Cars In Context.

Habits

They're defined as acquired behavior patterns that are uniquely involuntary. Known to most of the planet as habits, they come from two camps. Some can be bad if it's a personal glitch or foible while others might be good if it leads to a desired end product.

Especially if that product is quality. After all, it was the Greek philosopher Aristotle who was first to recognize some 2,300 years ago that "Quality is not an act, it is a habit." Unfortunately, during the late 20th century, American car makers weren't reading much Aristotle, or so it seemed.

Today we're not sure if the Greek Philosopher has become required auto industry reading or not, but we can say with certainty that U.S. quality numbers are up and up significantly. And on this week's Autoline, one of the executives in charge of that change joins John McElroy and his panel to tell us how they're doing it. Bennie Fowler has been on the front lines of this issue for more than three decades. From his days at General Motors in the '70s and '80s into his early years at Ford, he observed the mistakes, the lack of quality, the bad habits if you will, that the American OEMs had eased into. For the last four years he has been in charge of reversing that trend at Ford. And if you look at the numbers, he, and many others in the company, appear to be doing just that.

Joining John on this week's panel are Brent Snavely with Detroit Free Press and Bryce Hoffman of The Detroit News.

Knots Landing

When it comes to television dramas since the '70s, few have been more consistent than life within the California cul-de-sac called Seaview Circle. And when it comes to automotive drama over that same time frame who has been more compelling than Auburn Hills-based Chrysler?

On the precipice of bankruptcy one moment, onto salvation and success the next, then through a merger, a sale and then back to bankruptcy; if this had been a show on CBS it would have an armoire of EMMYs. Instead, today it has a mercurial Italian owner and a dubious future. And that's the GOOD NEWS!

Welcome to the "new, newer, newest" iteration of Chrysler, the smallest of the historic Big Three. The challenges of this company are too numerous to list here, but obviously one of the biggest is building quality cars and trucks. And these days you're not going to do that without good suppliers. But with the way that community has been treated by the last two regimes, you sometimes wonder who would still want to do business with Chrysler.

Enter Dan Knott, 20-year veteran of the Chrysler culture, and the new head of Purchasing. Mr. Knott joins John McElroy and his panel to discuss the new way of doing business with Chrysler. One that he hopes takes them back to the pre-Daimler days of strong vendor relationships and great Chrysler products.

Joining John on his panel are Eric Mayne from WardsAuto.com and Daniel Howes, columnist from The Detroit News.

Stop Your Sobbing

You may recognize the headline above as a famous '60s song written by the Kinks. However, when GM exited from bankruptcy last year it almost turned that hallowed tune on its head. With brands being jettisoned left and right, "Stop Your SAABBING" -- recorded by Big Ed & The Board -- seemed like the song Detroit was ready to export to Trollhattan, Sweden, home of the iconic motor company SAAB. And as word of its impending doom grew you could practically hear the cries from the Swedish automaker's loyal community for a white knight to save their favorite cars. But instead of resolution came the teeter- totering spectacle where one moment the the brand was saved by some international buyer, while the next the doors were being locked for good.

Yet in the end, Dutch businessman Victor Muller rode in to save the day on a white hand-built Spyker C8 Aileron Spyder and stopped all the potential sobbing with his purchase of SAAB. And now the resurrection begins. But how can a car company that sold less than 9,000 vehicles last year in America be reborn?

For those answers and details on the plan itself join John McElroy and his Autoline panel -- Todd Lassa of Motor Trend and Jeff Bennett from the Wall Street Journal -- as they talk SAAB with Mike Colleran the man in charge.

Reputation

In today's high-tech world, it may be hard to believe but there was once a time in America where the best place to enjoy a movie was in your car. This loose-knit community of film-goers would usually meet on a weekend night in a parking lot full of poles known as a Drive- In. Most are now gone, replaced by so many strip malls and condominiums. However, the yearning for that life lives on in many.

Well, Autoline may not be able to duplicate the experience in its entirety, but this week's show transforms itself into your own personal drive-in as we feature films "About, Starring and Containing" cars. Our panel of auto experts turned film critics reveal their cinematic interpretations of "The Good" (Bullitt), "The Bad" (Faster, Pussycat Kill Kill) and "The Ugly" (The Betsy), along with a fascinating list of films scattered in-between.

Join John McEloy as he goes to the movies with Jim Hall of 2953 Analytics, Todd Lassa from Motor Trend and Peter De Lorenzo Autoextremist.com for a look at Hollywood's love and obsession with cars.

Hollywood Drivin'

In today's high-tech world, it may be hard to believe but there was once a time in America where the best place to enjoy a movie was in your car. This loose-knit community of film-goers would usually meet on a weekend night in a parking lot full of poles known as a Drive- In. Most are now gone, replaced by so many strip malls and condominiums. However, the yearning for that life lives on in many.

Well, Autoline may not be able to duplicate the experience in its entirety, but this week's show transforms itself into your own personal drive-in as we feature films "About, Starring and Containing" cars. Our panel of auto experts turned film critics reveal their cinematic interpretations of "The Good" (Bullitt), "The Bad" (Faster, Pussycat Kill Kill) and "The Ugly" (The Betsy), along with a fascinating list of films scattered in-between.

Join John McEloy as he goes to the movies with Jim Hall of 2953 Analytics, Todd Lassa from Motor Trend and Peter De Lorenzo Autoextremist.com for a look at Hollywood's love and obsession with cars.