Open Line: Car Talk that Talks Back - OL #4 - Turning Oil Into Salt

OL #4 - Turning Oil Into Salt

09/19/11 • 47 min

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.

Previous Episode

OL #3 - Bring Back the El Camino

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.

Next Episode

OL #5 - Kids in the Pits

We’ve said it over and over here at Autoline: kids just aren’t into cars the way they used to be. They’d rather play with their iPhones than polish a muscle car. So if you can’t get teenagers interested in driving cars, how can you ever hope to get a new generation of kids to be mechanics? That challenge is what this month’s special Open Line guest aims to solve. Pete Raskovic is a 25+ year master technician, race mechanic and automotive educator, and we’ll be asking him what advantages there are to pursuing a career in automotive education.