Autoline This Week - Video

It won nearly every serious automotive award and had a huge carbon-free footprint of positive reviews from critics and consumers alike. So if that’s the case, why is the Volt GM’s slowest selling product? More than that, why does there seem to be such a negative charge to the car? People across the country who have never even seen a Volt let alone driven this engineering marvel have nothing good to say about it, confounding both auto analysts and company executives. On Autoline This Week John McElroy and his panel look at the strange state of GM’s engineering masterpiece the Volt. Joining John on the panel are Joe White of the Wall Street Journal, Manny Lopez from the Michigan Capitol Confidential and Gary Witzenburg an auto journalist and former engineer on GM’s original electric project, the EV1.

Ford Motor Company was in trouble even before that breathless September four years ago that sent the world economy searching for financial oxygen. But armed with a bold strategy and solid leadership, Ford survived the crisis, steering clear of both bankruptcy and government loans. And then as it released some of the new products it had in the pipeline, suddenly the company started making money and the blue oval was back in the black in a big way. That’s the story of how Alan Mulally and his team brought Ford back from the brink as told in the new book “American Icon.” Bryce Hoffman of The Detroit News spent two years engrossed in the culture that Henry Ford built and Alan Mulally arguably saved. On Autoline This Week, John McElroy talks to Mr. Hoffman about “American Icon” and is joined in the discussion by Keith Naughton from Bloomberg News and Jim Hall from 2953 Analytics.

As more and more of those alternatively-powered vehicles hit the streets around America, the potential legal issues grow. We’ve already seen batteries burst into flames so who knows what lies ahead with hybrids, pure electrics, hydrogen or natural gas vehicles? Manufacturers are keeping a close eye on the situation within not only their research and development departments, but legal ones as well. Joining John McElroy to talk about these potentially explosive issues is an expert panel including, Fred Fresard from the suburban Detroit law firm Dykema, automotive consultant Thomas Livernois and Mike Ramsey from the Wall Street Journal.

Running a car company in Europe is decidedly different than in America. Especially if you’re on the Board which makes all the big decisions. Join John McElroy and his guest Dr. Walther Kiep, the longest serving member of Volkswagen’s Supervisory Board, for an inside look at his years helping run this mega-automaker as he promotes his recollections of a life in politics and business in his new book “Bridge Builder.” Joining John on his panel are Christina Rogers of Automotive News and Mike Ramsey from the Wall Street Journal.

Both boardrooms and government agencies are guiding design teams to create the vehicles of tomorrow. But how you achieve cost-savings and meet standards all in a slick package remains the (insert outrageous cost projection amount here) question. On Autoline This Week John McElroy brings together a cutting-edge panel of auto experts who are doing just that on the inside with interiors. Klaus Busse sees it from the OEM side as Head of Chrysler Group Interior Design. Meanwhile, representing the supplier community are Fiona Doskocz with Benecke-Kaliko and Gerald Winslow, VP of Sales and Marketing for InfiChem Polymers LLC.

Just a few short decades ago, the only way to get information on a new car was to go to a newsstand or go to a dealership. Since then, as consumers have learned how to use the maturing internet, the number of car-buying options have exploded. One of the newest on the web is TrueCar out of California. Joining John McElroy on Autoline This Week is Larry Dominique, former Vice President with Nissan, who signed on with TrueCar to help challenge the competition like Edmunds. Included on this week’s panel are Craig Trudell from Bloomberg News and Steve Finlay of WardsAuto Dealer Business.

How to break the ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) ceiling? Some manufacturers don’t think we need to and continue to upgrade their current crop of engines. But then there are companies like Nissan-Renault, whose leader Carlos Ghosn, gave the world the all-electric Leaf and is continuing down that path. As Senior VP in charge of Research and Development for Nissan Americas, Carla Bailo has to walk a delicate line -- continue to provide the company with ICE vehicles all while working with Japan to develop those ground-breaking high mileage electric cars. Joining host John McElroy and Ms. Bailo on this week’s Autoline are Brent Snavley from the Detroit Free Press and Lindsay Brooke with Automotive Engineering International.

We all know Manhattan for its Wall Street institutions, Broadway musicals and idyllic Central Park, however, let’s not forget about transportation. Even though the city has perhaps the best public subway and bus systems, cars are very important in New York’s daily routine. And we don’t mean just those yellow ones with the meters. Joining John McElroy from the shadow of Times Square to talk about the Big Apple and its unique relationship with the auto industry is Jamie Lincoln Kitman from GQ, Bank of America analyst John Murphy and Joe Phillipi with AutoTrends Consulting.

It won nearly every serious automotive award and had a huge carbon-free footprint of positive reviews from critics and consumers alike. So if that’s the case, why is the Volt GM’s slowest selling product? More than that, why does there seem to be such a negative charge to the car? People across the country who have never even seen a Volt let alone driven this engineering marvel have nothing good to say about it, confounding both auto analysts and company executives. On Autoline This Week John McElroy and his panel look at the strange state of GM’s engineering masterpiece the Volt. Joining John on the panel are Joe White of the Wall Street Journal, Manny Lopez from the Michigan Capitol Confidential and Gary Witzenburg an auto journalist and former engineer on GM’s original electric project, the EV1.

The word on the street is the economy is getting better. And we mean “on the street” literally with new car sales leading the way. But how is this happening in the middle of a slow recovery? Are the manufacturers doing something special to move metal or is it simply that the 2008 recession caused such a large pent up demand for new vehicles that consumers couldn’t wait any longer? The man with answers to these questions and more joins John McElroy on Autoline This Week. Jeremy Anwyl is the Vice Chairman of Edmunds.com, the automotive do-all website. He joins John and his panelists, Edward Lapham of Automotive News and Steve Finlay from WardsAuto.com to talk about the state of automotive retail and more.