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On this week’s riveting installment of Autoline After Hours, McElroy and the gang delve into a topic worthy of a Shakespearean tragedy – they try to dig-up the root cause of Detroit’s painful decline. Of course John is joined in the studio by Peter De Lorenzo, but the other third of the regular After Hours gang, Jason Vines, is out of town so he joins the fray via telephone. Standing in, or rather sitting in for Vines and getting his baptism by fire in the conversation crucible is Csaba Csere, long-time industry expert and former editor-in-chief of Car and Driver. This week, the group discusses and a diversity of topics ranging from horses and Fudge to cheddar cheese oh and, by the way, some of the colossal blunders that backed GM into the corner it’s in today. As always, your participation in the discussion is paramount. We take more of your questions and comments in the edgy “Rapid-Fire” segment in the latter half of the broadcast. You do not want to miss this installment of Autoline After Hours, the most candid car-themed discussion around.

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Planning Perspectives came out with its annual supplier survey and for the first time since the study started in 1990, Toyota is not at the top of the list. Honda is now ranked by automotive suppliers as the best car company to work with. But Honda’s scores are coming down, too. Ford is making huge improvements, suppliers say, and they like what GM and Nissan are doing as well. Click the link below to see the full results of the survey for yourself.

Supplier Survey (Adobe PDF)
Supplier Survey (Word DOC)

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Count your lucky stars, McElroy made it back to the lower 48 safe and sound following his “business” trip to King Kamehameha’s realm. Joining John and regulars Peter De Lorenzo and Jason Vines are two After Hours newbies. Making their big debuts on the program are famous race reporter Robin Miller, and Sam Abuelsamid, a cornerstone of the Autoblog franchise. This week, the quintet discusses and debates a diversity of topics ranging from whether GM will build the Volt to climate change to the Indy 500 and a host of other hot news items impacting the industry. Of course you can participate in the discussion as well. We take more of your questions and comments in the edgy “Rapid-Fire” segment in the latter half of the broadcast. As always, you do not want to miss this installment of “Autoline After Hours,” the most candid car-themed discussion around.

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Runtime 3:58

CHRYSLER’S DEALER DOWNSIZING

It may seem counter intuitive, but there are a lot of reasons why Chrysler – and GM – need to reduce the number of dealerships they have.  In the following video provided by Chrysler, Steve Landry, the company’s Executive Vice President of North American Sales, Marketing, and Parts helps explain the reasons for the drastic dealership reductions.

Runtime 8:37

MANO-A-MANO

The following video is a collection of sound bites from our recent one-on-one interview with Ed Peper, the General Manager of Chevrolet.  In our chat, we talk about the future of the brand, how it’s targeting the competition and what it needs to do moving forward.

Twenty one years ago Elmer Johnson was GM’s general counsel and an executive vice president. He was an outsider who did not spend much of his career in the auto industry, but that gave him a fresh perspective. He wrote the following memo, giving his ideas on what the company should be doing, and it is impressively prescient of what would happen to GM. Elmer Johnson left GM out of frustration not long after he wrote this memo. He died last year.

Elmer Johnson’s Memo (Adobe PDF)

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With McElroy AWOL in the Aloha State, Mr. Autoextremist Peter De Lorenzo takes the helm to guide “Autoline After Hours” through stormy seas. Joining tonight’s provisional skipper is PR veteran, Jason Vines. Also, putting their two-cents in are first-time AAH guests David Welch of BusinessWeek and Car and Driver’s freshly-minted editor-in-chief, Eddie Alterman. This quartet of industry experts discusses everything from Chrysler’s earth-shattering dealership cuts and rumors that GM is abandoning its Detroit headquarters, to other hot news topics impacting the industry. Of course later in the broadcast they answer your questions in the popular “Rapid-Fire” segment. You don’t want to miss this installment of “Autoline After Hours,” the most candid car-themed discussion around. John will be back in the captain’s chair next week.
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You’ve got to check this one out. McElroy and his “After Hours” cohorts Mr. AutoExtremist Peter De Lorenzo and PR master Jason Vines are joined in the studio by Mark Phelan, car critic from the Detroit Free Press to discuss the hottest automotive topics from the past week – and beyond. On the docket and up for discussion, a variety of subjects ranging from Chrysler’s survival to when the car market will bounce back. Also, it seems everyone from the Chinese to Roger Penske is eyeing Saturn now that the General is done with it. And did Toyota get greedy? Plus, we put you in the driver’s seat again with another rousing edition of “Rapid-Fire.” You don’t want to miss this installment of Autoline After Hours, the most candid car-themed discussion around.

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Autoline After Hours is up to episode number six! How do like it so far? What would you change? Give us your feedback in this survey.

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