Autoline This Week - Audio

As the price of petroleum and diesel keeps creeping higher, companies with fleet vehicles are looking for ways to save money. One way more and more of them are turning to is propane or as the Europeans call it autogas. Joining John McElroy’s panel to discuss converting their fleets to autogas is Abe Stephenson from the Dish Network, Denis Gallagher from Student Transportation of America and Edgar Benning of the Flint, Michigan Mass Transit Authority.

Why are men attracted to a certain style of car? Why do women buy the type of car they do? And what about teenagers? Are there circumstances that drive what you buy or is it something unique inside each individual person? The latter is what the personality gurus at Myers-Briggs think and the folks at Ford are ready to run an experiment to test this theory. On this week’s Autoline we examine if people buy cars based on their personalities. Joining John McElroy are Lori Costew from Ford Motor Company, personality expert Michael Segovia from Myers-Briggs and Prof. Christie Nordhielm, marketing professor from the University of Michigan.

The U.S. auto industry has had its share of characters and personalities over its first century, but you’d be hard pressed to find one bigger, at least in the last 40 years, than Bob Lutz. He’s been practically everywhere, seen everything and met nearly everybody in the industry. So when he decided to write his latest book on the men he has worked with along the way, everyone took notice. So this week he joins John McElroy, Peter De Lorenzo of the Autoextremist.com and former Car and Driver editor Csaba Csere on Autoline to discuss his new book, “Icons and Idiots.”

Each year automakers are releasing 50 to 60 new or refreshed vehicles. That means design teams are logging tons of hours trying to bring a fresh look to an old nameplate or break the mold with a brand new vehicle. Just how they’re doing it is the subject of this week’s Autoline. Joining John McElroy are three men steeped in design heritage. David Lyon worked at General Motors the last 20 years until he recently went out on his own, John Manoogian started at Ford in the ‘70s before spending the bulk of his career at GM. He now teaches design at Detroit’s College for Creative Studies. And rounding out the panel is Jim Hall, Autoline’s own resident design expert, and managing director of 2953 Analytics.

The exterior designs of today’s car may evolve from year to year, but for sheer amount of change, all you have to do is look inside any of the latest models. Not only are there softer materials, rounder surfaces and quality accents, but the cars are loaded with technology like we’ve never seen before. Joining John McElroy to discuss what’s going on inside today’s cars on Autoline This Week are: Chevrolet’s Interior Design Chief Crystal Windham, Han Hendriks from Tier One Supplier Johnson Controls and software designer Rick Comiskey from OPTIS.

These days when it comes to automobiles, technology is everywhere. And it doesn’t matter if it’s a 12,000 dollar Nissan Versa or a 190,000 dollar Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG…though auto experts might expect to find a little bit more in the Mercedes. But how does it get there and who decides what car gets what? Those are questions that this week’s Autoline guest deals with on a daily basis. Joining John McElroy for the entire show is Johann Jungwirth, the President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Research and Development in North America along with our panelists the former head of Car and Driver Csaba Csere and Mike Austin of Popular Mechanics.

Before the big recession, leasing was a hefty 25 to 28 percent of new car sales in the U.S. But then in 2009, like so many other businesses, it took a huge tumble to just single digits. However today – three years later – it’s back up to 24 percent and who knows where the ceiling will stop. On Autoline This Week John McElroy talks to three experts in the leasing community that will answer that question and more. Joining him on his panel are Scot Hall from the website Swapalease.com, Geoff Robinson, the VP of Marketing for Mercedes-Benz Financial Services in the United States along with car dealer Sam Slaughter from Sellers Buick GMC in Farmington Hills, MI.

As smart phones get smarter and more powerful, more and more people are relying on them to get through the day…in much the same way they have relied on the car. But now the trick is to integrate both. On Autoline This Week John McElroy explores what manufacturers are doing with today’s electronics both in and outside their cars and how they are coming together. Joining him on the panel are Danny Shapiro, from west coast-based chipmaker NVIDIA, the head of Chrysler’s Uconnect Systems, Marios Zenios and Thilo Koslowski, an electronics analyst from Gartner Research.

If you’ve ever walked into a retailer like Nordstrom – which is known for its outstanding customer service – and wondered why buying a car couldn’t provide the same type of experience, you’re not alone. In fact, some manufacturers have thought the same thing and are attempting to upgrade the buying experience. On this week’s Autoline, John McElroy is joined by Jeri Ward, Audi’s Director of Customer Experience, Audi dealer Chris Consiglio (of Rochester Hills, MI), along with Customer Service research analyst Megan Burns to discuss how the OEMs and dealers are attempting to upgrade the entire experience of buying a car.

More than ever before, engines across the world are becoming more efficient with better gas mileage while not sacrificing performance…and we’re not just talking about those small 1 or 2-cylinder jobs either. No we mean the 6-cylinders and even the big boy V-8s as well. But what magic are the manufacturers using to achieve such a hefty cocktail of efficiency and power? On today’s Autoline John McElroy is joined by three experts who drive the engine business at the Detroit Three. Jamie Strandring is in Powertrain Integration for Chrysler while Jordan Lee is the Chief Engineer of the Small Block at General Motors and Mazen Hammoud is from Ford’s Powertrain Electrification department.

Today’s hybrid and electric cars are famous for their double digit mpgs. They get those great numbers, in part, by a combination of products under the hood that start in the earth’s crust. That’s where 17 chemical elements in the periodic table are found which go into lasers, rare-earth magnets and batteries that help power our 21st century transportation. Joining John McElroy on our Autoline expert panel is Kevin Moore, a Rare-earth metals consultant, Dr. Edward Becker who was GM’s Rare-earth expert before retiring and Jack Lifton co-founder of the company Technology Metals Research.

Everybody in the auto industry is looking to lose weight these days. With CAFE requirements creeping ever closer, all manufacturers want to improve their miles per gallon average. And the best way to do that is by lightweighting – finding lighter materials that are just as safe to use in production. And since everyone is doing it, John McElroy has put together the perfect panel to touch on the topic. Joining him is Carla Bailo the head of R and D for Nissan Americas, the CEO of CSP Plastics Frank Macher and Rose Ryntz from International Automotive Components.

Though not as big as it once was, General Motors is still a formidable global corporation with offices and factories all over the world and the numbers and financials to match. And the man in charge of making sure all those add up correctly is John McElroy’s special guest on Autoline This Week. Joining GM CFO Dan Ammann is Jeff Bennett from the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg’s Tim Higgins.

The United Auto Workers is going through an identity crisis. From the bankruptcies to the VEBA to the loss of over a million members, the UAW is plotting its future path. Will it unionize transplant factories in right-to-work states? Maybe expand beyond automotive and bring in other industries or services? The man with the answers – UAW President Bob King -- makes his first official visit to the Autoline set on this week’s show. Joining John McElroy’s panel are Brent Snavely from the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News’ Bryce Hoffman.

Regular viewers of Autoline know that few topics get host John McElroy’s attention like autonomous cars. He can’t wait for a Star Wars world here on earth. To get the latest lowdown on what’s going on with the self-driving set, John is joined by three special guests on Autoline This Week. Christian Schumacher runs Continental’s Advanced Driver Assistance Systems while Annie Lien - a veteran of the DARPA Challenge - now works for VW’s Electronic Research Lab in California and Gary Silberg from KPMG wrote the definitive white paper on the topic.