OL #3 - Bring Back the El Camino

08/08/11 • 47 min

This week, Chelsea and Michelle are joined by a real GM insider. We ask him about the idea of a $25,000 luxury car and he explains the Buick brand's position on the eAssist technology and what that means for consumer education. We also ask about what GM knows about marketing fuel efficiency versus selling hybrids and if the buying public cares as much about what powers a car as the enthusiasts do. Questions from callers include everything from praise for Buick to category comparisons to pleas for the return of the El Camino. We also discuss what will be next for Buick. Nick Richards is the Buick Communications Group Manager and has previously been at PowerTrain, OnStar, Hummer and Volt. Michelle Naranjo, editor of Autobytel.com is live in studio in Detroit while Chelsea Sexton of chelseasexton.com holds down the fort in California.

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OL #2 - Green with Indy

July 5th proved to be a great Open Line as Chelsea and Michelle interviewed Mark Dill, VP of Marketing and PR for the Indianapolis Speedway and took calls and chatted about cars well into the night. We even had our first participant in China! Discussion ranged from new technologies in electric cars to the good ol’ traditional gas guzzler talk.

Next Episode

OL #4 - Turning Oil Into Salt

Shhh... keep this on the down-low, but this month’s Open Line guest is hush, hush. Jim Woolsey is, for all practical purposes, a “greenie,” but not necessarily for all the reasons you might think. You see, Jim served as the director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and so he knows a thing or two about national security and why we should curb our use of foreign oil. Jim’s committed to doing his part and he’s happy to rub it in Al Qaeda’s face. We’ll ask him what he thinks the threats are and learn how automotive can be part of the solution.