Stuck In the Middle

Leave it to Quentin Tarantino to remind us what "the middle" is all about. It was Hollywood's whirling creative derbish who took a long forgotten early '70s song, "Stuck in the Middle With You," and burned it into today's consciousness. Whether it was nostalgia, shock or sympathy that helped, it's clear that "the middle" was not necessarily the place you want to be. And yet that's exactly where we find today's auto industry -- stuck in the middle -- according to John Hoffecker from the global turnaround company AlixPartners. In fact, that was even the title of his presentation earlier this month to a session at the Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City, Michigan.

On this week's Autoline, Mr. Hoffecker takes us inside his analysis of where we are and where we will be in the global auto industry. From the good news for the top 25% of North American suppliers to what he terms the "new normal" for sales going forward, Mr. Hoffecker analyzes the good, the bad and the ugly facing manufacturers, suppliers and customers alike. Joining John McElroy on the panel are Tom Walsh, the business columnist from the Detroit Free Press and Alex Ortolani with Bloomberg News.