I’m sure most of you could guess that, in most cases, the bigger the tire, the more money it will cost. But what you may not know is how much more those tires can cost by stepping up to that next trim level with those bigger shinny wheels.

More and more cars these days are coming equipped with bigger wheels than ever before, and that can be an expensive proposition. But, if we’re talking looks, you can’t beat a car with whopping big rims. Just look at any teaser sketch released before an auto show; now THAT’S the car the designer wishes he could build! Big wheels are one of the “Secrets of Proportion” in the Design Handbook.

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Despite increasingly aggressive fuel economy regulations and a trend toward more desirable small cars, make no mistake: the truck business is big money and Toyota wants a piece of the action. That’s why we’ve invited Mike Sweers, the Chief Engineer of the Toyota Tundra, to join us with pickup in tow (so to speak). We’ll be asking him if, with this updated truck, he thinks Toyota has cracked the code on how to sell full-size pickups. Of course, we’ll be getting into some hot topics including John McElroy’s visit to China, where he observed a smog problem that just might cripple the auto industry. Also, could car ownership as we know it end within ten years? Plus, we’ll talk about Ford’s latest conundrum: balancing the cost of complexity with the value of variation. Joining John in studio is co-host Peter De Lorenzo, the Autoextremist, and Gary Vasilash from Automotive Design & Production.

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When you consider character lines on a car, you may be thinking of creased sheet metal — the sort of line you might draw with the single stroke of a pen when sketching on paper. But, as Jim Hall explains in the latest edition of Design Handbook, a vehicle’s “bone line” is more substantial than that. Click Play for a lesson that’s sure to stick to your ribs.

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So far Tesla has been the electric brand that could do no wrong. But that may all be about to change. BMW reports that early orders of its i3 model are exceeding expectations and the company will be increasing production to meet demand. The power of brand is quite a force to be reckoned with, indeed. Meanwhile, Cadillac’s electrified ELR coupe now has a price tag and it exceeds $75,000 — another sensitive numbers game for a luxury brand still clawing its way up from the brink. We’ll talk all about this greenified chess game and its greater implications as we round up the week’s news, discuss our latest test drives and more. Host Peter De Lorenzo is joined by Scott Burgess from Motor Trend, Todd Lassa of Automobile and Jim Hall from Design Handbook and 2953 Analytics.

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The kids haven’t even stepped out on the sidewalk draped in their ghoulish finery, and Aunt Mildred has yet to buy a fat turkey for the family feast. Nevertheless, here in the auto world, the time has come to start deliberating on the best cars and trucks of the year. Among the accolades in the automotive community, one of the most prestigious honors is the North American Car and Truck of the Year award. On this week’s special edition of Autoline After Hours, John McElroy welcomes three fellow jurors to join him in reviewing the nominees on the “short lists.” See which cars, trucks and utility vehicles have risen above the rest as John is joined by Michelle Krebs from Edmunds.com, Chris Paukert of Autoblog.com and freelance auto journalist Jim McCraw.

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Oil companies are much better at getting their way in Washington DC than the car companies, because they do a better job of lobbying. John McElroy explains why this is hurting the auto industry.

As many of you know, Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top was in our studio last month and we talked about a lot of different things. Here’s a clip we wanted to share with you of Billy talking about the cars in his collection.

Although they’re often used interchangeably, Style and Design are not the same thing. As Jim Hall explains, there is a subtle, but important, difference between a car that has been styled, and one that has been designed. Learn more as we get into the Fundamentals section of the Handbook.