What a way to kick off the new year. If there was ever an Autoline After Hours you wanted–nay–needed to catch LIVE and uncensored, this one is it. That’s because our guest is the one, the original, the top gun of automotive executives, Bob Lutz. This man has never been one to mince words, but now he’s ready to rip American business practices to shreds. This is going to be one very good conversation. John McElroy is joined in studio by the incomparable AutoExtremist, Peter De Lorenzo.
Tonight we welcome Chantel Lenard, Ford’s Group Marketing Manager for Global Small and Midsize Cars. We’ll be asking her about the challenges ahead as the Ford Fiesta launches this summer. For instance, what will the company be doing to train its dealers, and how can it prevent the Focus from cannibalizing Fiesta sales? Also, how do cars have to be marketed differently around the globe? Of course we’ll also get into the news of the week including the ousting of Susan Docherty as GM’s head of marketing. Plus, we’ll find out what Mr. De Lorenzo thinks about Chevy’s new tagline. And, our analysis of April sales indicates Chrysler could be on the way back up, but not everyone agrees. John McElroy‘s in studio with Peter De Lorenzo, the Autoextremist, as well as David Welch from BusinessWeek and Bloomberg News.