Autoline This Week

The big question these days in the auto world is, when are things going to finally pick back up again. On this edition of Autoline EXTRA, John McElroy talks with Don Esmond, the Senior Vice President at Toyota Motor Sales. Mr. Esmond gives his opinion on what sales will be like this year, when the market will recover and what needs to happen for it to recover.

On this edition of Autoline EXTRA, John McElroy talks with BMW’s North American President, Jim O’Donnell. Mr. O’Donnell talks about BMW’s successful certified pre-owned vehicle program and also the success MINI had in 2008.

There hasn’t been a whole lot of good news coming out of Chrysler recently but the company did make some noise at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this year when it unveiled the 200C EV Concept. On this edition of Autoline EXTRA, John McElroy sits down with Frank Klegon, the executive Vice President of Product Development at Chrysler. They discuss that vehicle and how it fits into their plans going forward.

GM must make and has already made tough decisions to prove to Congress that it can be a viable business. On this edition of Autoline EXTRA, John McElroy sits down with GM’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Mark LaNeve. They discuss the Pontiac Solstice Coupe, Chevy Cruze, Cadillac CTS Wagon, and the Buick LaCrosse and how those vehicles fit into GM’s plans moving forward.

Hanging In

With all its problems these days, the picture that best seems to symbolize the auto industry is a famous inspirational poster from the '70s. You know, the one of the kitten with its young claws buried into a branch with the caption "Hang In There, Baby!" That's because with such a dim economic outlook for the next year, and so many positive changes and great product due in 2010, if the industry can survive the next twelve months many believe it'll be purring once again. And there was no better evidence of that than the mixture of reality, optimism and product on display at this year's North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Joining John McElroy from the floor of the show to discuss those topics and more are four OEM executives who all took double digit hits to their North American sales last year. Looking to rebound as best they can in 2009, they just may want to adopt "Hang In There, Baby" as an industry-wide mantra to get them through the next few months.

The Big Three bridge loan is the topic of discussion on this edition of Autoline EXTRA. John McElroy and his colleagues discuss, among other topics, why there was so much animosity directed toward the Big Three, Detroit and the UAW during the debate in Congress and around the country on whether or not to give the companies the money they needed. Joining John in the discussion are John Neff of Autoblog.com, Chris Paukert from Autoblog.com and Mike Dushane from CarandDriver.com.

Point and Click

Just a few years ago if you wanted to know anything about the latest cars or trucks you essentially had two choices, magazines or newspapers. Then came the Internet and everything changed. Today you may find that hot product on the web in some cases before it's even left the design studio. Things happen fast and the competition can be fierce. In some respects it's this century's version of the Wild West! The manufacturers still try to control the process but there are eyes everywhere. Often the scoop comes from a bevy of blogs and websites that cover the auto industry -- some independent, others corporate -- but all pretty darn fast! Joining John to discuss this new automotive media are members of that very fraternity. John Neff is at Autoblog.com while Mike Dushane is from CarandDriver.com and Chris Paukert formerly of Windingroad.com is now at Autoblog.com as well.

The 2009 North American Car & Truck of the Year award is the topic on this edition of Autoline EXTRA. John McElroy and two of his fellow juror members discuss what vehicles they felt should have made the finalist list and they also predict what vehicles will take the awards home. Joining John in the discussion are Natalie Neff of AutoWeek and Paul Eisenstein from The Detroit Bureau.

Nuts & Bolts

It's that time of year again in the auto world when hardware takes on a special definition. Screwdrivers, sandpaper and galvanized nails are replaced, for a short time, with crystal trophies and plaques proclaiming "The Best of" for the most recently-produced cars or trucks. And for the 15th consecutive year, a group of veteran automotive reporters will be handing out the "hardware" for the 2009 North American Car & Truck of the Year. But before these awards are presented at this year's North American International Auto Show in Detroit, these fifty voters winnow each list down to the three top cars and the three top trucks. On this week's show, John McElroy is joined by two of his fellow NACTOY jurors to discuss the six vehicles which made the cut. In fact, both Natalie Neff from AutoWeek and Paul Eisenstein with the Detroit Bureau along with John, will not only talk about these half dozen candidates but also discuss some of the other cars and trucks that they thought may have deserved to make the list. And in the end you might even hear their predictions about which manufacturer will walk away with this year's North American Car & Truck of the Year.

GM and Chrysler got the loans they requested from Congress, so now what? On this edition of Autoline EXTRA, John McElroy sits down with Jeff Bennett of Dow Jones Newswire and David Welch of BusinessWeek, to discuss what will happen next for the American automakers. They discuss whether or not Congress will approve more money for them in the future and also if this is the perfect opportunity for Detroit to change its image and public perception.