Autoline This Week - Audio

Automakers are rushing into a new business opportunity called mobility services. It involves ride hailing, ride sharing, electric scooters and e-bikes. It could even involve passenger drones. But so far no one is making any money on this. So the question is: is there a business case for mobility services?

Import tariffs, electric cars, and over-the-air updates are just some of the issues that could disrupt the automotive retail business. Yet transportation in the United States is still built around the automobile. On this week’s show, Charlie Gilchrist, the chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association, talks about how car dealers will adapt to a changing world.

Acura has been around for 30 years but it’s hard to define exactly what the brand stands for. Moreover, Acura only has four volume selling vehicles in its showrooms. This week’s show is all about how Acura is rebuilding itself to become a true performance brand and where it plans to expand its model lineup.

The USMCA, the trade agreement that was negotiated to replace NAFTA, was supposed to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. But will it? Right now, the trade pact is stuck in Congress and could be stuck there for some time. On Autoline This Week, three trade experts discuss how it will impact the auto industry if and when it’s enacted.

Government regulations around the world are mandating that automakers build electric vehicles. And they’re doing it. The only problem is, no one knows how to make a profit on EVs. Moreover, they don’t know how to recycle the batteries. On this week’s show, we get into all that and the issues that are hindering EV adoption.

Though most people don’t realize it, modern cars generate a tremendous amount of data. That data is very valuable from a variety of standpoints and it has to be protected from cyber thieves. On Autoline This Week, we discuss the current state of affairs and where its headed in the future.

Just a couple of years ago, automakers were talking as if autonomous cars were right around the corner. Today they all seem to be backing away from that. Why? What happened? And what’s it going to take to put autonomous vehicles on track? On Autoline This Week, two executives from tech companies dive into the issue.

The Management Briefing Seminars represent one of the most important conferences in the global automotive industry. On Autoline This Week, three panelists talk about the top issues that came out of this year’s conference: Trump tariffs, industry restructuring, road blocks to electrification, reinventing the work place and a world of new opportunities.

Flying cars have been part of science fiction fantasy for nearly a century but now fantasy is turning into reality. And the auto industry is starting to explore how it can play a role in what could be a brand-new market. Flying cars could be less than a decade away. That’s today’s topic on Autoline This Week.

The Ford Motor Company is completely changing the way it develops new cars and trucks. They call it EPLM or Enterprise Product Line Management. Ford is also using what it calls customer-centric-design. What does it all mean? On Autoline This Week, Jim Baumbick, the VP of Enterprise Product Line Management at Ford, explains what it’s all about and why it could transform the Ford Motor Company.

Automakers and suppliers are investing heavily in electric and autonomous cars as well as mobility services. But AlixPartners says the industry is entering a profit desert because nobody is making money with these technologies…at least not yet. On Autoline This Week, Mark Wakefield explains how the industry will have to handle this transition.

Continental was founded in 1871 and its corporate structure hasn’t changed a lot since then. Now its reinventing itself to deal with an industry that’s quickly moving into electrification, autonomy and connectivity. On Autoline This Week, Jeff Klei, President of North American operations for Continental, talks about how and why the company is changing. And he also discusses the challenge of getting consumers to accept this new technology.

Every year, Bank of America Merrill Lynch comes out with a study they call Car Wars. It looks at all aspects of the automotive industry, especially on the lookout for where problems could arise. John Murphy, the senior automotive analyst with Bank of America, is the main author of the report. And on Autoline This Week, he gives us his outlook for future sales, mergers and acquisitions, electric cars, autonomous cars, import tariffs and labor negotiations.

Silicon Valley is world renowned for its startup culture. That’s why so many electric car startups are located in the Bay Area…but not all of them. Now we’re seeing a startup migration to the Motor City. Have you heard of Bollinger Motors, Bordrin or Quadrobot? Learn why they decided to locate in Detroit on Autoline This Week.

Automakers are plunging headfirst into developing technology that automates certain driving functions. Ultimately, they want fully autonomous cars. But are human beings ready for this type of technology? And how will drivers make the transition from semi-automated to fully autonomous vehicles? That’s the topic of this week’s show.