Brett Smith
Center for Automotive Research Mr. Smith talks about how the vehicle customization industry is shifting focus from trucks to smaller cars as gas prices climb and how diverse this segment of the auto industry is. He also discusses how automakers are developing vehicle-to-vehicle communication and how this new technology could shape the future of driving.

Jim Epolito
President and CEO, Michigan Economic Development Corporation Mr. Epolito discusses the country's recent economic downturn and how it's affected the state of Michigan. He discusses about how the MEDC brought $1.2 billion in business to the state of Michigan and how its working to get more companies and industries to locate in the state. He also talks about how Michigan recently came in second place to Tennessee in its bid to be the home of a new Volkswagen manufacturing plant.

Jay Baron
President and CEO, Center for Automotive Research Mr. Baron discusses some of the new fuel economy-boosting technologies that will soon come to market. Specifically he mentions technologies like turbocharging, small displacement engines and dual-clutch automatic transmissions. He talks about the emerging lithium-ion battery sector and how most of that industry is centered in Asia. He notes that the U.S. needs a push to develop more advanced lithium-ion technologies so the country doesn't trade its dependency on oil for dependency on lithium.

Kim Hill
Center for Automotive Research Mr. Hill discusses climate change, fuel efficiency and energy. He points out that the auto industry is the only one that's been targeted by environmentalists and government legislation to reduce CO2 emissions. He mentions that oil, gas and coal industries need to bear some of the burden of environmental legislation, not just the auto industry. He also talks about future light-weight materials and how they'll change the automobile as we know it.

Sanjay Rishi
Global Auto Industry Leader, IBM Mr. Rishi talks more about IBM's Automotive 2020 study. He mentions that vehicles in the future will be radically different from what they are today, particularly from a sustainability and environment standpoint. He also discusses the public's unrealistic expectations of future cars. He talks about how connected-vehicle communications will be available by then and how future cars will seamlessly integrate people's lifestyles between their vehicle, their home and their office.

Sanjay Rishi
Global Auto Industry Leader, IBM Mr. Rishi discusses how the auto industry will grow in the future. He says the industry is very optimistic that emerging markets will bring growth. He talks about how by 2020 people will buy vehicles based on their everyday needs and not on their maximum needs, such as buying a bigger vehicle on the expectation of taking a cross-country vacation some day. This buying model also supports an "expandable garage" where lessees can get different vehicles based on their needs, and change that every week. He predicts that by 2020 every vehicle will have a hybridized drive-train of some sort.