John's Journal: John McElroy's multimedia blog about the automotive industry

Archive for the ‘Autoline After Hours’ Category

AAH #151 – Ding, Dong! The Buick Guy’s Here

May 25th, 2012 at 11:27am

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When the dust cleared from GM’s restructuring, many were surprised to see Buick and GMC left standing. The former had become known for its 50-and-older demographic while the latter appeared to exist for the sole purpose of rebadging Chevrolet trucks. This week’s guest is Craig Bierley, the Director of Buick and GMC Advertising and Promotions. We’ll be asking him what he’s doing to market two brands that are more important than they have been in a long time. In particular, is Buick making a mistake by targeting a younger demographic that wants fun-to-drive cars instead of sticking to its knitting (so to speak)? To discuss this and the news of the week, John McElroy is joined in studio by co-host Peter De Lorenzo, the Autoextremist, and Gary Vasilash from Automotive Design & Production.

Thanks to our sponsors who make Autoline After Hours possible: Bridgestone and Chevrolet.

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AAH #150 – Hitting 150 with Ralph Gilles

May 18th, 2012 at 11:25am

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There’s no doubt that one of the most hotly anticipated cars to rise from the ashes of the Detroit auto implosion is the 2013 SRT Viper. On this week’s show, we get down to brass tacks and talk to the man behind the two-seat beast. And, that man is none other than the President and CEO of the SRT Brand, Ralph Gilles. We’ll be getting all of the details about the fierce new snake, where the SRT brand is going, and we’ll ask what we can expect next from Chrysler’s rising star. To discuss this and more, John McElroy is joined in studio by co-host Peter De Lorenzo, the Autoextremist, and Chris Paukert from Autoblog. Plus, find out which five lucky people will win copies of the book Engines of Change.

Thanks to our sponsors who make Autoline After Hours possible: Bridgestone and Chevrolet.

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Thanks to our partners and friends DrivenMavens.com and WardsAuto.com for embedding AAH! Special thanks to AllPar.com this week.

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AAH #149 – Graceful Directional Stabilizers

May 11th, 2012 at 10:59am

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(Archived video after the jump below)

Engines of Change is the new book by Paul Ingrassia. In it he names the 15 cars he thinks have had the biggest impact on American society and culture. Paul is our guest this week in the AAH studio, and this conversation is could be a big debate! What 15 cars would you pick? Plus, you know we’ll be digging deep into the hot topics of the week including Dan Akerson blaming Detroit’s downfall on the car guys. To discuss this and way, way more, John McElroy is joined in studio by co-host Peter De Lorenzo, the one and only Autoextremist, and Todd Lassa from Motor Trend and Motor Trend Classic.

Thanks to our sponsors who make Autoline After Hours possible: Bridgestone and Chevrolet.

Subscribe to the free podcast version of Autoline After Hours:

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Thanks to our partners and friends DrivenMavens.com and WardsAuto.com for embedding AAH!

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AAH #148 – Inside Ford’s Technological Sandbox

May 4th, 2012 at 4:09pm

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TechShop is for doers. If you want to make something with your own two hands and you don’t have the thousands of dollars to spend on a top-of-the-line workshop, then this is the place for you. Think of it as a gym membership for the DIY crowd. Now, TechShop, in partnership with Ford, will become an incubation lab for new ideas that will fuel R&D. To get to the bottom of this, we’ll talk to the man who’s behind this new plan, Bill Coughlin, President and CEO of Ford Global Technologies. Plus, you can bet we’ll be getting to the news of the week including a rundown of what companies kicked ass in April sales and which companies got their asses kicked. Also, we’ll talk about which companies are doing a beautiful job building their brands and which ones don’t seem to have a clue. John McElroy is joined in studio by co-host Peter De Lorenzo, the Autoextremist, and Charlie Vogelheim from Digital Air Strike.

Thanks to our sponsors who make Autoline After Hours possible: Bridgestone and Chevrolet.

Subscribe to the free podcast version of Autoline After Hours:

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Thanks to our partners and friends DrivenMavens.com and WardsAuto.com for embedding AAH!

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AAH #147 – Beijing Boats

April 27th, 2012 at 11:12am

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Let’s take a moment to stop and think about who the auto industry really should be targeting. In an age when Facebook seems to be more important to 16-year-olds than cruising on a Saturday night, could Gen Y actually spell the death of the automobile as we know it? After all, how critical is car design to a generation that cares very little about automobile culture? Now, spin the globe and take a close look at China — the vehicle manufacturers sure are. There’s no mistaking the fact that this burgeoning market is critically important to every automaker. But, at what point do the car companies start to lose their focus as they work to cater to the every need of the Chinese consumer? We’ll tackle these issues and much more in this week’s edition of AAH. Peter De Lorenzo, the Autoextremist, is in the driver’s seat tonight, and he’s joined by Gary Vasilash from Automotive Design & Production and Frank Markus from Motor Trend.

Thanks to our sponsors who make Autoline After Hours possible: Bridgestone and Chevrolet.

Subscribe to the free podcast version of Autoline After Hours:

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Thanks to our partners and friends WardsAuto.com for embedding AAH!

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AAH #146 – Tin Whiskers? Ha!

April 20th, 2012 at 11:16am

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This week host John McElroy is joined in the AAH studio by his partner in crime, Peter De Lorenzo, the Autoextremist. Their special guest is Art Spinella from CNW Marketing Research. He always has fascinating insight about vehicles and what’s going on in the car market. Some of the topics up for discussion include the redesign of two American icons, the Chevrolet Corvette and the Ford Mustang and the real cause of unintended acceleration.

Thanks to our sponsors who make Autoline After Hours possible: Bridgestone and Chevrolet.

Subscribe to the free podcast version of Autoline After Hours:

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Thanks to our partners and friends WardsAuto.com for embedding AAH!

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AAH #145 – Mao More than Ever

April 13th, 2012 at 9:52am

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What good is design these days? If fuel efficiency is our master, shouldn’t the wind tunnel have final say over every car’s silhouette? We’d wager that this week’s special guest disagrees with that statement. David Rand was GM’s Executive Director of Global Advanced Design, and he’s most-recently back from a stint as Brand Director for Design at Changan Automobile Co. in China. We’ll ask him why design that stands out from the crowd is important. And, of course, we’ll have to take a moment to mark the passing of Ferdinand Porsche who designed the Porsche 901, which became the 911. To talk about all this and a whole lot more, John McElroy is joined in studio by Peter De Lorenzo the Autoextremist and analyst extraordinaire, Jim Hall of 2953 Analytics.

Thanks to our sponsors who make Autoline After Hours possible: Bridgestone and Chevrolet.

Subscribe to the free podcast version of Autoline After Hours:

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Thanks to our partners and friends WardsAuto.com for embedding AAH!

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AAH #144 – It’s Cool to be at Katz’s

April 6th, 2012 at 10:27am

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All of the biggest car news this week was in the city that doesn’t sleep and so were we! For the first time ever, Autoline After Hours comes to you from New York City, and it’s courtesy of our good friends and Katz’s famous delicatessen. We’re broadcasting from their historical eatery, and we’re ready to gab about all the latest automotive issues. John McElroy will be joined by AAH alum Jason Vines as well as naming expert Nina Beckhardt from, where else, The Naming Group.

Thanks to our sponsors who make Autoline After Hours possible: Bridgestone and Chevrolet.

Subscribe to the free podcast version of Autoline After Hours:

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Thanks to our partners and friends WardsAuto.com for embedding AAH!

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AAH #143 – I Am the Master Cylinder

March 30th, 2012 at 11:49am

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If you wanted to assemble your ideal car from existing components, what engine would you use? Who would craft the interior? How about the transmission? On tonight’s show, we’ll talk about the auto industry’s “magical ingredients,” and we’ll find out what guest host Peter De Lorenzo would put into his car, the Bandini. Plus, guest Mark Phelan just reviewed the Turbo and Hybrid versions of the Porsche Panamera in the Detroit Free Press, so we’ll talk about this misunderstood car and what it means for the company. Also in house to talk about all this and a whole lot more are Charlie Vogelheim from ResponseLogix and Gary Vasilash from Automotive Design and Production magazine.

Thanks to our sponsors who make Autoline After Hours possible: Bridgestone and Chevrolet.

Subscribe to the free podcast version of Autoline After Hours:

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Thanks to our partners and friends WardsAuto.com for embedding AAH!

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AAH LIVE from Katz’s of NYC

March 23rd, 2012 at 5:06pm

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On Thursday, April 5th at 6PM, everyone’s favorite tell-it-like-it-is automotive show will be broadcasting from the city that never sleeps! And we’ll be coming to you from one of New York’s most treasured landmarks, Katz’s Delicatessen. Best of all, you can be there in person to watch LIVE and meet the show’s hosts, John McElroy and Peter De Lorenzo.

If you will be in New York and plan to attend, please fill out a short RSVP form so we can know how many people to expect. Also find below the location of Katz’s and recommended parking or public transit routes.

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