Join John McElroy as he ventures to the City of Light for the 2014 Paris Mondial de L’Automobile, better known stateside as the Paris Motor Show! Autoline will be bringing you up-to-the-minute coverage of the latest reveals and biggest automotive newsmakers on Thursday, October 2nd!

Keep checking back throughout the day as we update Autoline.tv with the most recent interviews and vehicle previews hot off the show floor. Just a few of the personalities already scheduled to appear:

Seat Time is a chance for us to share our impressions of vehicles being tested in the Autoline Garage and at media previews from around the globe.

Reviewer: John McElroy
Manufacturer: General Motors
Make: Chevrolet, GMC
Model: Colorado, Canyon
Type: Mid-size pickup
Competitors: Toyota Tacoma, Nissan Frontier
Price: Colorado: Base $20,995, AWD Z71: $34,990; Canyon: Base $21,880, AWD SLT: $37,875
Made in: Wentzville, Missouri
Drivetrain: 2.5 L I-4; 3.6 L V-6; 6-speed manual or automatic
EPA Ratings: 2.5 L 2WD: 22 mpg combined; 3.6 V6: 21 mpg combined. AWD= -1 mpg

Final Impression:

GM’s new mid-size trucks could well revitalize the mid-size segment in the US market. Long abandoned by Ford, Ram, Mazda, VW and Mitsubishi, today only Toyota and Nissan continue to sell smaller pick-ups. But Toyota and Nissan have not updated the Tacoma or Frontier in nearly a decade, and that’s left them very vulnerable to GM’s brand spanking new models.

The Canyon and Colorado have little in common with the “global” pick-up that GM sells outside of the US and Canada. In fact, they have little in common with anything else. These are pretty much clean sheet designs, and it really shows. They are as up to date as can be, and demonstrate that GM didn’t try to break into this segment on a shoe string. In fact, they may be too good. They could easily end up cannibalizing some portion of GM’s full-size pickups. More on that later.

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SPECIAL GUESTS:
- Tony DiSalle, VP, GMC Marketing
- Jeff Perkins, Exterior Design Manager, General Motors
- Jeff Luke, Executive Chief Engineer, Full-size & Mid-size Trucks, General Motors
- Anita Burke, Chief Engineer, Mid-size Trucks, General Motors
- Tom Wilkinson, Chevrolet Truck Communications

All that and much more with John McElroy, Autoline.tv; Ken Gross, Playboy; Frank Aukofer, Freelance Automotive Columnist.

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

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

Seat Time is a chance for us to share our impressions of vehicles being tested in the Autoline Garage and at media previews from around the globe.

Reviewer: Chip Drake
Manufacturer: Toyota
Make: Lexus
Model: ES
Type: 4-door sedan
Competitors: Cadillac ATS, Acura TL
Price: MSRP: $36,470; AS TESTED: $42,195 + $910 D & H = $43,105
Made in: Toyota’s Miyata plant in Miyawaka, Fukuoka in Japan
Drivetrain: 3.5 Liter 268HP Four Cam 24-Valve V6
EPA Ratings: 21 City, 31 Highway, 24 Combined

Final Impression:

The Lexus ES is a “nice” car. Notice the quote marks because that’s the writer’s sotto voce way of saying BUTTTTTT…

Let’s start with what’s to like about the car. The design is good, not great, but good for a mid-range luxury car. And there’s certainly nothing wrong with that 3.5-Liter V6 engine. It delivers on performance both on the highway and driving around town along with the promised MPGs. Plus, the 4-wheel independent MacPherson strut-type suspension gives you the sweet ride that Lexus is known for.

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Seat Time is a chance for us to share our impressions of vehicles being tested in the Autoline Garage and at media previews from around the globe.

Reviewer: John McElroy
Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Make: Ford
Model: Mustang
Type: 2-door coupe, convertible
Competitors: Chevrolet Camaro, Dodge Challenger
Price: $24,425 (V6), $25,995 (Ecoboost), $32,925 (GT)
Made in: Flat Rock, Michigan
Drivetrain: 2.3 L I-4 EcoBoost, 3.7 L V-6, 5.0 L V-8; 6-ATX, 6-MTX
EPA Ratings: W/automatic trans: 2.3 L = 25 mpg, 3.7 L = 22 mpg, 5.0 L = 19 mpg

Final Impression:

Wow, has Ford got a hit on its hands with the new Mustang. This is more than just a pretty new face, it’s the real McCoy. From any standpoint you want to measure it, this is the best Mustang that’s ever been produced.

Let’s start with the styling. It’s a beautiful blend of heritage and modern. The instant you see it you know it’s got to be the new Mustang, and yet it looks far more modern than any Mustang currently on the road.

The rear end and rear ¾ view are particularly handsome. In a day when so many cars have a lot of mass and dead space in the rear end design, particularly below the bumper, the Mustang looks thin and lightweight. And yet it’s a wide car, giving it a well planted look. Ford designers integrated diffuser-like segments into the lower rear fascia and that effectively breaks up the visual mass and makes the car look lithe.

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UP FOR DISCUSSION:
- First impressions: 2015 Ford Mustang.
- Cadillac’s new leader won’t cut prices.
- ZF takes over TRW, becomes world’s 2nd largest supplier.

SPECIAL GUEST: Dave Cole, Autoharvest.org
- The untold story behind GM’s legendary Small Block V8

All that and much more with John McElroy, Autoline.tv; Todd Lassa, Automobile; Drew Winter, WardsAuto.

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

Subscribe to the free podcast version of Autoline After Hours:

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

Seat Time is a chance for us to share our impressions of vehicles being tested in the Autoline Garage and at media previews from around the globe.

Reviewer: Sean McElroy
Manufacturer: Volkswagen
Make: Volkswagen
Model: Jetta
Type: 4-door sedan
Competitors: Chevy Cruze, Ford Focus, Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla
Price: Base: $17,035; Top Line: $32,490
Made in: Puebla, Mexico
Drivetrain: 2.0TDI Diesel 4-cylinder; 6-speed manual
EPA Ratings: 31 city; 46 hwy

Final Impression:

The 2015 Volkswagen Jetta is a 4-door sedan that competes against the likes of the Chevy Cruze, Ford Focus, Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla. The price of the vehicle we tested came in just under $22,500, which was equipped with a 2.0L diesel engine mated to a 6-speed manual transmission. In that trim it’s capable of hitting 31 miles-per-gallon in the city and 46 on the freeway.

The Jetta is Volkswagen’s best selling vehicle in the U.S. and it just received a series of subtle updates for 2015. Up front the most noticeable change is to the lower portion of the bumper, while out back a new decklid and taillights give the rear of the car a less-frumpy look. As you can see from those side-by-side pictures not much has really changed and the same goes for the interior too. The biggest difference comes in the form of a new steering wheel and HVAC controls. But it gets a host of new safety and technology features as well. I like when interior spaces don’t look too busy, like this one, but even though I can’t put my finger on exactly why, there’s just something about the design on this one I don’t like. I also wish the display screen was a little bigger. There’s plenty of open space on that dash and the screen can be hard to read, especially with the navigation on.

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Seat Time is a chance for us to share our impressions of vehicles being tested in the Autoline Garage and at media previews from around the globe.

Reviewer: John McElroy
Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Make: Lincoln
Model: Navigator
Type: Full-size SUV
Competitors: Cadillac Escalade, Infiniti QX80, Lexus LX570
Price: Base: $62,475; Top line: $75,065
Made in: Louisville, KY
Drivetrain: 3.5 L EcoBoost V-6; 6-speed automatic
EPA Ratings: 4×2:16 city/22 hwy/18 combined mpg; 4×4: 15 city/20 hwy/17 combined mpg

Final Impression:

The “new” Lincoln Navigator is really just a refresh of a vehicle that badly needed it. The last time the Navigator was redesigned was in 2007, a shockingly long time to leave a vehicle unchanged in the marketplace—and a good indicator of why the Lincoln brand has been struggling. Happily, the refresh dramatically improves the driveability of the vehicle. But it also shows why the Navigator falls short of becoming a true luxury vehicle.

First, the good news. Lincoln dumped the 5.4 liter V-8 and replaced it with a tweaked version of its 3.5 liter EcoBoost V-6. Now rated at 380 horsepower and 460 lb-ft of torque, it’s the most powerful version of the 3.5 to hit the streets. BTW, the engine hits peak torque at only 2200 rpm, right smack dab in the middle of where you’re going to use it the most. And that transforms the way this big SUV drives.

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UP FOR DISCUSSION:
- First impressions: Mazda MX-5 Miata and Lexus RC.
- Remembering Jim Harbour.
- Sergio Marchionne fires Ferrari Chief, Luca di Montezemolo.

SPECIAL GUEST: Russ Ruedisueli, VLE & Head of Engineering at SRT.
- What’s the REAL horsepower rating on the Dodge Challenger Hellcat? Where else is this engine going?

All that and much more with John McElroy, Autoline.tv; Gary Vasilash, Automotive Design & Production; Chris Paukert, Autoblog.com.

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

Subscribe to the free podcast version of Autoline After Hours:

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

Audio-only version:

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UP FOR DISCUSSION:
- How come Nissan’s Carlos Ghosn’s direct reports are leaving left and right?
- Is the “The Hydrogen Transition” on the horizon?
- Are down-market luxury cars stealing sales from mass-market brands?

All that and much more with John McElroy, Autoline.tv; Gary Vasilash, Automotive Design & Production; Dave Sullivan, AutoPacific and Joe White, The Wall Street Journal.

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

Subscribe to the free podcast version of Autoline After Hours:

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