Autoline After Hours

This week Santa Welch is comin’ to town … and Santa De Lorenzo and Santa McElroy for that matter. And, like old Kris Kringle, all three of our panelists have taken a look back at the year and decided which automakers have been naughty and which have been nice. In this special episode — the last of 2011 already — our three esteemed panelists will dole out presents for some folks and dirty lumps of coal for others. John McElroy is joined by his cohort Peter De Lorenzo and David Welch of Bloomberg.

This week the Autoextremist gets behind the wheel while John McElroy is in Texas driving the new Chevy Malibu Eco. And, as we close in on 2012, we'll be taking a look back at some of the biggest automotive stories of 2011 with Scott Burgess of The Detroit News and Todd Lassa from Motor Trend. As usual we'll also get into the news of the week including China's import tariffs on U.S. cars, Acura's attempt to become relevant again, and the NTSB's recommendation to ban all cell phone use in cars. All this and more with the man himself, Peter De Lorenzo.

This week we plan to have a quality discussion, that is, a discussion about quality. As you know, we've taken exception to the way Consumer Reports evaluates cars for its quality ratings. Well, our guest on this show knows a thing about automotive evaluation since he runs the website, TrueDelta.com. We'll be asking Michael Karesh if he thinks Consumer Reports' methodology is sound. As always we'll be getting into the news of the week: the Chevrolet Volt issue is still burning hot, drama goes down between Nissan and the UAW and Aptera calls it quits. To discuss these stories and more, John McElroy is joined in studio by Peter De Lorenzo the Autoextremist.

This week we ask the question: does Detroit's culture nurture or choke off entrepreneurial thinking? We'll be getting into this discussion with our special guest, Michael Pickholz, an engineer and inventor. And, as always, we'll discuss the latest news coming out of the automotive world. Chevy Volts are catching on fire, but did NHTSA follow proper safety procedures? Laura Soave is out as head of Fiat after sales of the 500 fail to meet goals set forth by Sergio Marchionne. Plus, we'll touch on some of the announcements coming out of the Tokyo Motor Show. To discuss these stories and more, John McElroy is joined in studio by Peter De Lorenzo the Autoextremist.

This week we're in a very different time zone. Since John McElroy and the crew are in Los Angeles for the LA Auto Show, they've decided to pay a visit to the famous Petersen Automotive Museum and meet the collection's curator, Leslie Kendall. They'll also talk to John Clinard, formerly of Ford West Coast Communications, but perhaps more well known for the event he helped create in California: Cars and Coffee. We'll learn a whole lot about that, find out what's new at the Petersen and much more on this week's show.

First he accused GM of “Kill(ing) the Electric Car.” Then he took “Revenge” and got buddy-buddy with the giant company that created the Chevrolet Volt. But Chris Paine, director of the new documentary, “Revenge of the Electric Car,” hasn’t faced off against our resident EV skeptics. This week John McElroy and Peter De Lorenzo will attempt to navigate the EV hype and get down to the heart of the matter: are electric cars really here to stay? Of course we’ll get into the top news of the week as well: GM earnings disappoint, experts are sounding the overcapacity alarm in China and Lexus is calling it quits on the HS 250h. All that and much more on this week’s show.

This week we're wondering if the iPhone has met its automotive match. Designed by our guest, Stuart Norris, Cadillac CUE is the infotainment system that promises to simplify a user's experience while offering the smart phone features people have come to expect. It will begin arriving in 2012, and we'll be asking Stuart what he thinks puts CUE ahead of the competition and how it will avoid the quality problems plaguing MyFord Touch. To discuss this and more, John McElroy is joined in studio by Peter De Lorenzo the Autoextremist.

This week we’re calling Consumer Reports to the mat. As far as we’re concerned, their automotive testing is second to none, but when it comes to quality ratings: bogus. Much has been made of Ford’s plummeting status in the latest survey, but we’ll talk about whether the folks in Dearborn have to start worrying or not. We’ll also get into the news of the week including the third quarter financial results. Plus we want to talk about what we, including one of our viewers, think the next generation of Mustang could look like. To discuss this and more, John McElroy is joined in studio by Peter De Lorenzo the Autoextremist and Charlie Vogelheim from ResponseLogix.

This week we're thinking small. Micro actually. Our special guest for this episode is Jack Hollis, the Vice President of Scion. We'll be talking about the pint-sized iQ and whether it could be the car that gets the brand's mojo back. We'll also get into the news of the week including the Indy race that never should have been run. To discuss this and more, John McElroy is joined in studio by Peter De Lorenzo the Autoextremist and Michelle Krebs from Edmunds.com.

This week we talk UAW and all the other top automotive news of the week. Joe Szczesny from The Oakland Press, joins John McElroy and Autoextremist Peter De Lorenzo for a discussion about where negotiations will go with Ford and Chrysler. Watch this week's show for your weekly dose of unscripted, unapproved, unusually frank discussion on Autoline After Hours!