autoline

Children do it out of spite when they don't get their way. They may turn a different color for a bit but the good news is it usually doesn't last very long. However, when economists hold their collective breath that's a bit more mysterious. Being an inexact science, the answer is open for interpretation -- a conservative economist sees it one way while a liberal economist sees it another. There is no agreed avenue to prosperity which is unfortunate especially for those whose business it is to watch the auto industry. Unemployment spikes to near record levels and lo and behold auto sales rise. Huh? It's not supposed to happen that way. Maybe it's time to break out the emergency tea leaves. So as Autoline prepares to examine the automotive outlook in 2012, instead of those tea leaves, John McElroy turns to three top professionals in the auto industry to take a look at what they believe is going to happen around the globe. Joining his panel this week are the Chief Economists from Ford, Ellen Hughes-Cromwick, and her counterpart at General Motors Mustafa Mohatarem along with Charles Chesbrough, IHS Automotive's Senior Principal Economist.

It was a masterwork in the making that suddenly became the Rip Van Winkle of records. That project was Beach Boy Brian Wilson's 1967 composition "Smile" which was finally released just a few years ago. Given the global economy of late, It's not surprising that car shows have endeared a similar soporific stage. With the auto industry riding a strong wave of creativity and sales throughout the decade, suddenly the 2008 economic meltdown shook the industry to the core -- something that not even auto shows could avoid. Iconic showcases like the North American International Auto Show became mere shadows of what they were just a few years earlier. While some manufacturers offered striped down exhibits, others didn't show up at all. But fast forward three years to the 2012 show where the NAIAS is once again at the top of its game and "Smile" is what manufacturers and the world press were doing as they viewed all the new product. Joining John McElroy on Autoline This Week from the floor of the 2012 Detroit Auto Show are five auto executives who are all smiles indeed. John Maloney is the CEO of Volvo of North America, Klaus Busse the Head of Interior Design at Chrysler, Fred Diaz is the president and CEO of RAM Brand, Ludwig Willisch is the new president of BMW North America, and Max Wolff the Director of Design at Lincoln.

Cadillac has long been known as the Standard of the World when it comes to luxury, but especially cars. However, no matter how good the product, even standards can hit on hard times which is what happened to the brand when it nearly closed its doors in the 1930s. Luckily it was saved by a group of men who, at that time, couldn’t even officially buy the car. On Autoline This Week join host John McElroy, Economic Historian John Steele Gordon, Photographer Bill Gaskins and Blues musician Johnnie Basset for a provocative discussion on how African-American men saved the Cadillac brand.

In the middle of some of our bleakest economic times, the Blue Oval has strung together a few impressive years. Not only with sales and solid product, but with stability. Something that hasn't been seen in the auto industry for quite a while. And much of the credit has gone to the leadership of its CEO Alan Mulally. But as Mr. Mulally nears retirement people are beginning to ask who will take his place at the helm of the Ford Motor Company. Experts point to the extraordinary bench strength in its boardroom and believe the next leader will come from there, with one the top candidates the company's Executive Vice President and President of the Americas, Mark Fields. And this week Mr. Fields joins John McElroy on Autoline to talk about Ford, its future and the health of the auto industry as a whole. Joining John on his panel are Jean Jennings of Automobile and Jason Stein from Automotive News.

Car Spy

They seemed cut from the same cloth. Single syllable names engaged in undercover work that was linked to exotic cars. The difference is one man, James Bond, is of course a fictional character while Jim Dunne, the original Car Spy, is a real photo journalist with stories that could have been crafted by Ian Fleming himself. But Dunne’s exploits are factual and his pictures were ground breaking as he revealed prototype after prototype much to the chagrin of the OEMs. Long since retired, he now shares these juicy stories in a new book on his career called "Car Spy." And this week he joins John McElroy on Autoline to discuss those great "gets" from his career. Michelle Krebs from Edmunds.com and Jim Hall from 2953 Analytics join in on the discussion.

Every two years the massive Messa in Frankfurt, Germany plays host to one of the largest, if not the largest auto show in the world. Twelve huge buildings with another constructed just for that event alone, it’s the center of the automotive universe for those days in September. This backyard advantage provides the hometown German automakers with the opportunity to impress the auto world with displays the size of zeppelins filled with cutting edge concepts. John McElroy anchors Autoline this week from the site of this biennial show getting the latest from executives for three important German brands, including Jonathan Browning of Volkswagen of America, Ian Robertson from BMW AG and Johan de Nysschen of Audi America.

The Pill box hat, the Mini skirt and the Little Black Dress along with hood ornaments, mood lighting and tail fins. What all six of these obviously different elements have in common are fashion. They just happen to be from two divergent universes: Women’s clothing and automobile design. However, there are times that they cross paths and have done so for 50, 60 some 70 years. And that place is the auto show. The same environment that author Margery Krevsky captures in her book “Sirens of Chrome.” On this week’s Autoline John McElroy talks to Ms. Krevsky and fashion consultant Karen Buscemi about the intersection of automotive and fashion. And don’t miss Autoline’s own Fashion Show where four professional product specialists, as they’re called, model some of the great historic dresses from auto shows past.

Eyes of Silva

About the time that the Doobie Brothers burst onto the ‘70s music scene with songs like "China Grove" and "Eyes of Silver," the design eyes of Walter de’Silva were just coming into focus across the Atlantic at FIAT. Over the next 40 years his influence could be seen on not only European cars but eventually in global brands like Audi, Bentley and Bugatti as well. And now in 2011, as the current head of Volkswagen Group Design he is responsible for the look of every model that is created by the eight brands in the group. This week in a very special edition of Autoline, Walter de’Silva joins John McElroy, Todd Lassa from Motor Trend and Jim Hall of 2953 Analytics for a look inside the fascinating world of automotive design.

The New Guard

Ad agencies tend to have a long shelf life at GM. Buick signed McCann-Erickson in 1958 while Chevy and Campbell-Ewald went all the way back to 1919. That was until the 2009 bankruptcy. And that was until Joel Ewanick.

Ewanick was the Hyundai marketing guru who made actor Jeff Bridges the voice of the Korean automaker and subsequently improved sales. He joined GM in 2010 as VP of U.S. marketing and was quickly named the automaker's global chief marketing officer in only 6 months. Ewanick moves decisively and has a "take no prisoners" mentality. Just ask any of GM's old ad agencies. He changed each one in less than a year which was pretty historic at Chevy; that's something the brand hadn't done in nearly a century.

This week John McElroy welcomes special guest Joel Ewanick for his first visit to Autoline. He is joined by Chrissie Thompson of the Detroit Free Press and Peter De Lorenzo of Autoextremist.com.

The New Guard

Ad agencies tend to have a long shelf life at GM. Buick signed McCann-Erickson in 1958 while Chevy and Campbell-Ewald went all the way back to 1919. That was until the 2009 bankruptcy. And that was until Joel Ewanick.

Ewanick was the Hyundai marketing guru who made actor Jeff Bridges the voice of the Korean automaker and subsequently improved sales. He joined GM in 2010 as VP of U.S. marketing and was quickly named the automaker's global chief marketing officer in only 6 months. Ewanick moves decisively and has a "take no prisoners" mentality. Just ask any of GM's old ad agencies. He changed each one in less than a year which was pretty historic at Chevy; that's something the brand hadn't done in nearly a century.

This week John McElroy welcomes special guest Joel Ewanick for his first visit to Autoline. He is joined by Chrissie Thompson of the Detroit Free Press and Peter De Lorenzo of Autoextremist.com.

Two Triple Cheese

What would prompt you to pull off the road while driving? Well, for Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen -- you know, the "Hot Rod Lincoln" guys -- it was the mere thought of their favorite food which they sang about in the '70s culinary classic, "Two Triple Cheese Side Order of Fries."

But 30 years later no one seems to be pulling off the road for much of anything. Certainly not for eating evidenced by the galaxy of restaurant drive-up windows; not for phone calls thanks to cell towers & electronics; and now not for the latest eye-averting activity -- texting.

These days distracted driving appears to be running rampant. It used to be that your biggest distraction was lunging for the radio whenever that "Titanic" song came on. Instead, today drivers of all ages are multi-tasking behind the wheel leaving one to ask just when did piloting 3,000 pounds of metal at 70 miles per hour become a second or third thought, and is there anything we can do about it?

For answers to those questions and more tune into this week's Autoline where John McElroy and his panel tackles the issue that's confronting everyone on the road today, distracted driving. He's joined by three experts who have had an impact on the issue in different arenas. Louis Tijerina is a safety engineer with Ford while Paul Green is with the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. John's third guest, Buzz Thomas, is a former Michigan State Senator who had a hand in crafting an anti-texting law in his state.

Here Comes the Sun

This January, 2011 Detroit seemed to be channeling 1969 London for a time. That's when Beatle George Harrison, to escape the burdens of the business world, took some time off to commune with nature and stroll around the home gardens of friend Eric Clapton. With a clear head, he emerged with his epic song "Here Comes the Sun;" a tune that 42-years later you could almost hear walking around the floor of this year's North American International Auto Show.

Gone was the financial gloom of the 2009 NAIAS as well as the shrunken floor space from 12 months ago. This year Detroit welcomed back big aisles, bigger reveals and even some big names -- like Porsche -- who had been staying away. Here comes the sun, indeed.

This week Autoline captures a little bit of these sunnier climes with four interviews from the floor of Cobo Hall. Joining John McElroy from Detroit, in order of appearance, are: Adrian Hallmark, the Global Brand Director for Jaguar; the President and Co-CEO of IAC Group North America and Asia, James Kamsickas; Scott Strong, the Director of Interior Design for Ford Americas; and the COO and CFO of Subaru of America, Tom Doll.

Travels with Farley

The headline might look vaguely familiar. Think early 1960s where it borrows everything but the "Ch" from author John Steinbeck's famous travelogue "Travels with Charley." But where that work involved a camper, dog and the continental United States, "Travels with Farley" features a camera crew, a cutting-edge crossover and the hillsides of southern France. Oh, and not to mention a conversation with Ford's Global Marketing Chief.

This week on Autoline join John McElroy as he and Ford's Jim Farley roam the French countryside, in a brand new C-Max crossover, and talk marketing, comebacks and cars, cars, cars. Some of the topics Jim covers during their conversation include his early days in the business, Ford's refound success and the company's plans and hopes for its new-to-the-USA crossover, the C-Max.

**Special thanks to FremantleMedia North America for its assistance with the production of this week's Autoline.

And don't forget, Autoline is now available on public television across the country. Consult your local listings. And if you can't find it in your city contact your local public station and ask for Autoline.

NACTOY's New Day?

Since 1994, the first awarding of the North American Car of the Year, there has been a parade each year of three finalists with one winner. Amid the 48 contenders and 16 eventual winners with their sleek designs and top-notch engineering there's been only one car that many observers considered a gateway to the 21st Century, and that was the Toyota Prius Hybrid. Well, it may be 11 years later but welcome to the 21st Century.

This year the more than 50 jurors of the North American Car of the Year chose not just one but two ground-breaking finalists by adding both the Chevy Volt plug-in and Nissan's Electric LEAF to its final three. But let's not forget the third member of the COY finalists, Hyundai's hot-selling Sonata, with its more standard internal combustion engine which received review after glowing review throughout 2010.

On this week's Autoline, NACTOY founding member John McElroy is joined by two of his fellow jurors, Eddie Alterman from Car & Driver and Marty Padgett from High Gear Media, as they discuss all three finalists, what they mean to the auto industry and who they each believe will be the 2011 North American Car of the Year.

Champagne Wishes

Celebrity and luxury have been part of our culture since the beginning. But that potent combination didn't truly take off until about twenty-five years ago when television host Robin Leach made "champagne wishes and caviar dreams" our daily mantra. Suddenly greed was good, TV cops became Armani models and we all worshiped the people and products consumed nightly on the juggernaut "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous."

That was the springboard that brought us to today's luxury-satiated society where even ten year olds discuss the merits of Louis Vuitton's latest. We're now undeniably smack dab in the middle of a pop culture that's in love with luxury; and don't think any of this has been lost on certain companies that make cars.

The American luxury car market used to be just a few select players that came from Italy, Germany and the UK with a couple of homegrowns thrown in for good measure. Today the list of both cars and countries have exploded. But how has the market grown, who are today's players and which customer is buying what?

Joining John McElroy for a look at today's luxury car market is an all dealer panel who pretty much have all the brands covered. Ken Meade of Meade Lexus is one of the brand's original dealers whose stores continue to be among the brand's top-sellers in the Midwest while Chris Consiglio is the Group General Manger of the Eitel Dahm Motor Group who handles three different high-end brands from Germany. And rounding out the panel is a man with a multitude of luxury brands to look after. Rob Kurnick is the president of Penske Automotive Group which operates 325 dealerships which nearly half could be considered luxury -- everything from Bugatti to Rolls Royce to Cadillac and more.

Containment

It may be a noun with three different meanings, but the word containment has filtered into our daily lives. From news stories spotlighting the Gulf of Mexico to military strategies on the Asian continent, we think of it in big picture terms, but it effects us much differently. Containment is more personal, especially as it relates to transportation. Whether it's your own vehicle or public transportation, the driving force underneath the hood of both modes are fluids; oil, water and gasoline to name three. Delivering those fluids throughout the vehicle is complicated to say the least. And that's where containment comes in.

One of the top companies in the automotive "containment" field if you will, is TI Automotive. It's been building fluid delivery systems since the days of the Model T. Joining John McElroy to discuss today's complicated world of fluid storage, carrying and delivery technology is TIA President & CEO Bill Kozyra. And joining in on the conversation is Dave VanderWerp of Car and Driver.

Hands Down

Without a doubt, some of the reasons are simple. Old line factories have closed, there's more automation in those that remain and foreign companies are building in right-to-work states. With all that working against them, it's understandable why membership in the United Auto Workers has fallen the last thirty years. Like the constant drip from a faulty faucet, the pool of workers from this once dominant union has been slipping away losing more than a million since its peak in the '70s.

But don't cry for Bob King, the new UAW president. Elected merely a month ago, he knows the job in front of him and it's no easy task. Not only does he have to retain his current members, but reach out and recruit new ones. Just how he does that is one of the biggest challenges he'll face. But wait, don't forget about the questions surrounding The Detroit Three. How will the UAW deal with not only the success of Ford, but also the rebuilding at GM & Chrysler?

These are just a few of the tough questions that our all-star panel tackles on this week's Autoline Detroit. Joining John McElroy to discuss the future of the UAW are Sean McAlinden from CAR, Joe Szczesny from the Oakland Press and Robert Chiaravalli of Strategic Labor & Human Resources.

Detroit Drift

Even though it may sound like the next installment in "The Fast & Furious" franchise, this drift refers to what's going on right now in the auto industry in not only Detroit but across the globe. Fresh leaders, closed brands and new marketing plans are just a few of the topics that go into evaluating today's automotive landscape by R.L. Polk, the 140-year-old analytical firm with long-time Detroit roots.

So if anyone knows what's going on with sales trends, market position and brand loyalty -- to name a few -- it's Stephen Polk, Chairman, President and CEO of the company. On this week's special July 4th edition of Autoline Detroit, Mr. Polk joins John McElroy to discuss the latest news on everything from sagging spring sales to the potential plug-in revolution. And joining John on this week's journalist panel are Jeff Green from Bloomberg News and Tom Walsh of the Detroit Free Press.

Elbow Room

Like it or not, we're all fast becoming neighbors. As the world's population continues to boom and more and more people congregate in urban areas we've created a phenomenon known as megacities. These are metropolitan areas around the globe with populations that exceed 10 million. New York and Los Angeles are the U.S. flagbearers in this urban Olympics which includes places like Tokyo, Mumbai, Shanghai and 20 others (so far). The development of these small population nations has a unique set of challenges in which 'movement' is perhaps the most vital. No matter how you cut it whether it comes to work, food, education or entertainment, transportation or 'movement' within the megacity is the key. How does it take place now? How will it take place in the future as these megacities continue to grow? What will move people around the area and, finally, what are automotive companies designing for that eventual future?

These are just some of the provocative questions that were tackled at the 7th Annual Michelin Auto Design Panel recently held at the Detroit Athletic Club and the subject of this week's Autoline Detroit. John McElroy served as the Master of Ceremonies for this Automobile Press Association sponsored event. Joining John on the panel were: Clay Dean, director of GM Advanced Design, Scott Strong, Ford's Global Interior Design Director, Phil Zak, Chief Designer at Hyundai North America and Larry Erickson, the Transportation Design Department Chair at the College of Creative Studies.

Watch John's full interview with Mike Jackson, Chairman and CEO of AutoNation from the 2010 Detroit Auto Show.