Show 1406
- Internet Premiere
- Friday, 2/5 @ 2:05pm ET
- Detroit Public TV
- Sunday, 2/7 @ 10:30am ET
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Dennis Pietrowski, RDA Group, Jeff Green, Bloomberg News, Mark Phelan, Detroit Free Press. Topic: Quality & reliability.
From the stub of a toe to the bite of a mosquito, our bodies rely on a complex network of neurons that tell our brain what's going on. And like our bodies, each car has a pseudo nervous system which controls everything from the steering to satellite radio. For all manufacturers the quality of their cars and the viability of their systems are extremely important. However, for the world's number one automaker Toyota, its been nothing short of the holy grail. Quality and reliability were once the keys to the design, production and selling of its products. But right now several of Toyota's top models are experiencing what could best be parenthetically described as a severe neurological disorder.
This week on Autoline John McElroy examines the latest reliability and quality woes facing Toyota and what some competitors like Ford have been doing to improve its numbers in those categories.
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Show 1405
- Internet Premiere
- Friday, 1/29 @ 3:30pm ET
- Detroit Public TV
- Sunday, 1/31 @ 10:30am ET
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Dan Weiss, Center for American Progress, Fred Smith, Competitive Enterprise Institute, Ron Cogan, Green Car Journal. Topic: U.S. Energy Policy.
Many know this classic 1939 film pitted an everyman Jimmy Stewart against the rich and powerful under the U.S Capitol Dome. And though more than 70 years have passed, even the writers of this academy-award work of fiction couldn't have imagined that Washington would be even more corpulent and confusing in 2010. And one of the best examples of this weighty indecision can be found in what passes, or doesn't pass, for the nation's energy policy. Solar, Wind and Shale are just a few power options that we've added to the mix over the years while natural gas, electric and hydrogen hint at what may be driving our cars and trucks down the road: yet today no one knows for sure what's best and where we're going.
So the question remains: what is our policy and who is driving it? And where better to try to get a handle on what's going on than "inside the beltway" as they say, than by paying a visit to our nation's capitol itself. This week Autoline presents its own version of "Mr. McElroy Goes to Washington" from the floor of the Washington Convention Center. There John is joined by two members of what are known as NGOs or Non-governmental organizations along with the publisher of a cutting-edge automotive periodical to discuss everything from off-shore drilling to the EPA.
Guests
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Show 1404
Bonus EXTRAs:
- Internet Premiere
- Friday, 1/22 @ 12:00pm ET
- Detroit Public TV
- Sunday, 1/24 @ 10:30am ET
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Jim Farley, Group Vice President Global Marketing, Ford Motor Company. Topic: Ford's marketing strategy.
After a decade of reporting everywhere from local streets to foreign wars, Ernest Hemingway wrote and published his first novel "The Sun Also Rises." And though you might think we chose this title to turn a clever phrase regarding this week's guest, it has more to do with what the book wasn't named...at least in the United States. With the novel focused partially on traveling in Europe in the 1920s, Hemingway originally titled the book "Fiesta." Of course it was changed here in America but used in several countries throughout the continent. And how appropriate for this week's guest who chose to make a splash here in the U.S. recently with a European car called, ironically enough, "Fiesta." Ford's Global Marketing guru Jim Farley has been turning the Blue Oval every which way trying to draw attention to the new crop of critically-acclaimed products it has been putting out and it's been working on. With a sweep of the 2010 North American Car and Truck of the Year awards earlier this month with Fusion & Transit Connect, and the Fiesta and Focus on the way, they might not be holding a party down in Dearborn quite yet, but clearly Ford is on the rise.
Guests
- Jim Farley, Group VP Global Marketing, Ford
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Show 1403
Bonus EXTRAs:
- Internet Premiere
- Friday, 1/15 @ 12:00pm ET
- Detroit Public TV
- Sunday, 1/17 @ 10:30am ET
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Mike Jackson, AutoNation, Susan Docherty, General Motors, John Casesa, Casesa Shapiro Group. Topic: Interviews from the 2010 Detroit Auto Show.
Throughout the sixties the "sweet and savory" song writing from the Lennon & McCartney partnership produced lines that emphasized the beautiful schizophrenia of life. That's why this week it didn't take much to imagine that the good folks at the Detroit Auto Dealers Association might've been recalling the 2009 NAIAS with the Beatles' chorus "I've got to admit it's getting better...it can't get no worse" echoing in their ears. Yet the good news is true to the song, this year's edition is indeed "getting better" thanks to more OEM booths, more journalists and a heck of a lot of more smiles even though they -- the smiles -- are probably still bordering on the "cautiously optimistic" type.
This week on Autoline Detroit John McElroy talks to three automotive professionals from disparate parts of the industry -- wholesale, retail and analytical -- to hear what they have to say about not only the 2010 North American International Auto Show, but where the next twelve months will take us.
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Show 1402
- Internet Premiere
- Friday, 1/8 @ 12:00pm ET
- Detroit Public TV
- Sunday, 1/10 @ 10:30am ET
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Guy Gordon, WDIV, Sarah Webster, Detroit Free Press, Jim Hall, 2953 Analytics. Topic: Detroit Auto Show preview.
Who would've predicated thirty years ago that a little known new wave song from England's Dave Edmunds would prove to be the perfect theme for the 2010 North American International Auto Show? Last January's edition of the world's most important auto show was less about cars, trucks and crossovers as it was about bailouts, Obama and bankruptcies. Add to that the strange Kabuki dance around the attempted restoration of Cobo Hall -- the show's longtime site -- and the '09 show had all the panache of sportscaster Howard Cosell's 1975 Variety show. But what a difference a year makes...
"Crawlin' from the wreckage, into a brand new car"
Just as the song's chorus suggests a rebirth, the 2010 NAIAS is likewise being resurrected. Manufacturers are again investing in their booths, prodigal sons have returned and the show is even recharging the career of '80s singer Eddy Grant with its "Electric Avenue" display. So watch this week's Autoline Detroit for an in-depth preview of all that is going on at this year's North American International Auto Show.
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Show 1401
- Internet Premiere
- Friday, 1/1 @ 12:00pm ET
- Detroit Public TV
- Sunday, 1/3 @ 10:30am ET
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Michelle Krebs, Edmunds.com, Mark Phelan, Detroit Free Press. Topic: Nominees for the North American Truck of the Year.
No matter the vocation it's a struggle to achieve quality or to be the best. Well, imagine trying to define it. Some write complex tomes containing various recipes which is fine for a Debate Team but hardly applicable to everyday life. Others like philosopher Robert Pirsig take a sleeker, more modern day approach. He believes the best or highest quality can be defined simply as producing whatever by "the result of care."
So if philosophers, lit experts and big thinkers battle over meanings, how do you come up with a standard that means "the best?" Well if you're the jurors of the North American Car and Truck of the Year Awards (NACTOY) you have a criteria you work from. Sure there are still disagreements, arguments and fights over who is "more right" but that's the beauty of the award: subjectivity to the max.
And on this week's Autoline John McElroy and his panel discuss those fantastic sparks inside, outside and around the vehicle that made them go WOW! Joining John to discuss the finalists for Truck of the Year are fellow jurors Michelle Krebs from Edmunds.com and Mark Phelan of the Detroit Free Press.
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