Autoline This Week - Audio

It’s almost like the film classic Godzilla versus Mothra only this time car shows are the antagonists. On one hand is CES, the largest convention in the city of conventions, Las Vegas, Nevada; on the other there’s the long-running champ from Detroit, the North American International Auto Show. With CES fast becoming a destination for car companies to show their latest, and NAIAS – the first auto show of the year -- only days afterward, something has to give. This week a debate on what should happen with the 2017 Chairman of NAIAS, and three attendees with different views.

It used to be that the CES convention in Las Vegas was a big electronics show. But since the automakers started coming a few years back it’s looking more and more like a car and technology show. Join host John McElroy from the floor of CES 2017 with his guests from the cutting edge software firm Mobileye, luxury electric carmaker Lucid Motors as well as the futurist from Mercedes-Benz.

It may be hard to believe but the historic Willys Jeep wasn’t created by an automaker but rather an independent manufacturer, that today goes by the name of AM General. As the only full-scale contract assembly facility in the U.S., the company currently produces everything from the military’s HUMVEE to the Mercedes-Benz R Class Crossover. Joining host John McElroy and his panel in studio to discuss his company and what it creates today is Chief Executive Officer Andy Hove.

Recently, the massive automotive supplier Johnson Controls decided to get out of seating so it created an independent, publically traded company called Adient. On this week’s show, its new CEO Bruce McDonald joins John McElroy and his panel to talk about where he will take the leader in automotive seating.

The old days of buying a car are quickly fading. Times are changing for dealerships and manufacturers alike, driven partly by Gen X but mostly by Millennials. On this week’s show John McElroy talks to two different automakers about how they are changing their approach to servicing your car in hopes of attracting new customers. In addition, he’s also joined by the head of a new website that, if you can believe it, allows you to buy your car online without ever having to go to the dealer.

There’s a new administration taking over in Washington in January that has many wondering about what happens to the economy. And obviously the automakers are wondering as well. Join the chief economists from General Motors and Ford as well as the senior economist from the Original Equipment Manufacturers Association as they try to read the economic and business tea leaves for 2017.

At the end of 2016 the WardsAuto.com editors took their analysis of the more than 60 new vehicles released during the year and determined which had the 10 Best Engines. Join host John McElroy as three of those editors, Drew Winter, Tom Murphy and Bob Gritzinger, reveal their winners for 2017.

Three North American Car and Truck of the Year jurors join host John McElroy to analyze the three finalists for Truck of the Year as well as their predictions for Car and Utility of the Year.

Three North American Car and Truck of the Year jurors join host John McElroy to analyze the three finalists for Car of the Year as well as their predictions for Truck and Utility of the Year.

As we sit on the edge of the electronic transformation of the car, into the fray steps Jay Rogers, a man who is pioneering a new way to make cars. As the founder of Local Motors, his vision is to print cars, yes, that’s p-r-i-n-t cars, with the help of today’s technology. And, in fact, he’s already doing it! Mr. Rogers joins, John McElroy and Gary Vasilash from Automotive Design and Production from the site of the LA Auto Show to talk about Local Motors.

Some only think of Continental as a tire company, but it’s so much more. From interior to safety, to even what it calls Clean Power, Continental is a huge company supplying so much of today’s car. Joining us to talk about the Automotive Group and what it’s doing to prepare for the future is Samir Salman, CEO NAFTA Region of Continental Corporation.

As one of the largest suppliers of automotive seating, Lear Corporation actually makes seats for every manufacturer in the world. On this edition of Autoline THIS WEEK its CEO and Director, Matt Simoncini, discusses the company’s global reach and how he sees things changing in the auto industry in the next few years.

As the auto industry changes, so must everything that it touches, including dealerships. On this edition of Autoline THIS WEEK, NADA Chairman Jeff Carlson joins John McElroy and his panel – Mike Colias of the Wall Street Journal and Gary Vasilash of Automotive Design and Production – to discuss where car dealers are today and how they will adapt to a changing auto industry.

Is Ford still a car company or has it morphed into something else? Mark Fields, its CEO has been saying that today Ford is a mobility company. On this week’s Autoline, John and his panel talk with Mr. Fields about the future of Ford as well as the entire transportation industry.

Enthusiasm, Passion, Innovative and Commitment are the four key words that describe the people that Honda wants in its workforce. So many of today’s youth ignore manufacturing jobs that companies like Honda have reached out to local communities to create programs like the one in central Ohio called EPIC. John McElroy takes his show on the road to Honda’s Development Center in Marysville, Ohio to talk with a variety of educators, students and workers on how to develop an interest in today’s high-tech manufacturing jobs.