Automotive Insight

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy reports the U.S. automakers started offshoring tool and die work to China decades ago and now realize that was a mistake. John says it's a matter of national security.

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy tells the story of a 1960s station wagon that did an amazing job of predicting the future technology in cars. (Photo: The 1964 Aurora station wagon was Ford's dream car of the future. Credit: Ford Motor Co.)

As auto sales plummet in China, industry analyst John McElroy says one car dealer group is trying to get more shoppers in the door by selling humanoid robots. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy reports some workers in South Korea want to work until they are 65 so they don't have to wait for their pension.

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy reports car companies, which are trying to make vehicles more affordable, can design their vehicles to be disassembled if they want to reduce repair costs.

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy reports drivers have plenty to complain about, but headlights top the list. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy reports General Motors and Lockheed Martin are developing an autonomous rover for a mission in 2030. Toyota is developing a lunar rover with a pressurized cabin. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Ever heard of remanufacturing? WWJ Auto Analyst John McElroy says it isn't exactly a secret, but automakers don't seem to want to talk about it.

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy reports Project Nightingale is a two seat car that is enormously long.

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy says aluminum wiring has many benefits and he anticipates more automakers will move to aluminum instead of copper in the future.

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy reports Henry Ford had a staggering pace of development and current executives should study the corporate structure from the 1920s.

You can't call for a robotaxi in the Detroit area just yet, but WWJ Auto Analyst Jon McElroy says we're seeing more and more of them on the roads around here. (Photo credit: WWJ's Rob Davidek)

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy reports new car sales are going to be lower in the next 10 years because households with two or three cars now may need only one in the future. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy reports while performance is top of mind for auto executives, in 1957 it was a completely different story.

WWJ auto analyst Jon McElroy says GM, Ford and Stellantis want to use more robots and automation, which could make cars more affordable. The UAW doesn't like it. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy reports an automotive technology is being politicized.

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy reports Ferrari keeps blue prints, assembly sheet and the tooling design for every car going back to 1947. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy reports the European auto industry is expected to lose 350,000 jobs by the end of the decade and automakers and suppliers are begging for help.

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy reports with gas prices higher than a year ago, people may be looking to an EV. Kelly Blue Book says 85,000 EV's were sold in May. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy reports one way to cut the cost of a car is to have automakers have the same specifications.

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy reports Magna's CEO says decisions have to be made faster to keep up with the ever changing industry.

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy reports China is worried about more manufacturing moving out of the country so it is pushing automation.

Another chip shortage on the horizon, this time linked to AI, could make the vehicle affordably crisis even worse, says WWJ automotive analyst John McElroy. (Photo: Getty Images)

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy reports Stellantis had been spending about $12 billion on capital expenditures each year, so the automaker will be saving billions under their new $70 billion investment proposal.

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy reports there is a problem with so many mid-sized pickups planned by automakers. He says the mid-sized segment won't grow enough to accommodate the new entries. (Photo: Getty Images)

The Big Three don't want China selling cars in the U.S., but WWJ auto analyst John McElroy says a move by the U.S. Commerce Department has opened the door to Chinese state-owned Geely, just a crack. (Photo: Getty Images)

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy reports Ferrari's first electric vehicle is designed to appeal to different buyers including women. He says it's a smart business plan.

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy reports Chinese automakers are turning out new car models faster any any other automakers, but the downside is the older cars lose their value much faster than other cars.

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy reports the Stellantis turnaround plan involves building all of its new vehicles from three platforms, including one developed with a Chinese automaker. (Photo: Getty Images)

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy reports car owners were in a tough spot when Fisker Automotive went out of business They didn't have critical functions because they needed to connect to Fisker's cloud services. Several car owners got together and hacked into the system. (Photo: Getty Images)

Generative AI is spreading into everything in our lives — and that includes cars, trucks and SUVs. WWJ auto analyst John McElroy says you'll soon be able to ask AI about buildings you are passing on the road.

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy reports much of the oil used in car engines comes from the Middle East, so prices for an oil change are expected to go up soon. (Photo By Tom Pennington/Getty Images for the Texas Motor Speedway)

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy says while generative AI is all the rage right now, the next big thing could be quantum computing. And a well-known auto supplier is investing.

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy reports cars are being repossessed at numbers we've never seen before. Repossessions have increased 43% since 2019. (Photo: Getty Images)

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy reports Ford's new core operating organization is getting rid of all of the silos in the company and employees will be more involved in collaboration. (Photo: Getty Images)

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy reports Uncle Sam is asking Detroit to ramp up the Arsenal of Democracy by having executives volunteer to help straighten out the procurement and supply chain mess in our military.

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy says General Motors and Ford should work together like they did years ago to develop a ten speed automatic transmission. He says both companies could cut billions in costs.

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy reports the cost of insuring cars has increased and designers can play their part in lowering costs by designing cars that don't cost so much to fix. (Photo: Getty Images)

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy reports the adjusted numbers that include many one time expenses are included in every quarterly report and is similar to what led up to bankruptcies in the past.

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy says a playbook from 30 years ago could be used by American car executives to compete with the Chinese.

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy reports the CEOs of the car companies are making millions, but the public is against it. Attitudes change a little when people learn that much of the compensation is in the form of stock payments, not cash.

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy reports automakers put a lot of work into making cars and trucks easy to assemble, but now they have to do the opposite.

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy reports while China's auto industry is booming overseas, there is a price war in the country. The government says the war could be described as involution.

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy reports giving up on passenger cars meant the Big 3 gave up 20% of the US market to the competition. (Photo: Ford Focus compact cars are offered for sale at a dealership on June 20, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. By Scott Olson/Getty Images)

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy reports there are 953 models in China and a wide majority lose money. Some analysts say there may be only seven automakers in China in the future.

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy reports automakers and EV startups spent $55 billion on costs related to warranties and recalls and there's no end in sight. (Photo credit: Getty Images)

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy reports Ceer is staffed by executives with global automotive experience including several from GM. The automaker will come out with an EV that will be sold throughout the Mideast. Foxconn, Hyundai and BMW are all involved.

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy reports software defined vehicles get better over time and a survey shows the Chinese are embracing these vehicles more than in other parts of the world.

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy says remanufacturing is big business for the automakers, but the companies don't want to release any information.

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy reports the resale values of used electric vehicles are expected to improve because of a lack of incentives and subsidies.