Politics as Unusual

Has the American public ever been so fickle? Two years ago the country went heavily Democratic. This year the pendulum swung strongly Republican. Who knows what next two years hold in store. But what we need to know is: what does this mean for the auto industry?

New fuel economy standards, stricter CO2 legislation, generous EV subsidies, the controversial cap and trade policy, our free trade policy, and the Employee Free Choice Act are all on the agenda. Or, at least they were. Thanks to the mid-term elections, committee chairmanships are switching from one party to the other. That means the legislation agenda is going to switch as well.

To learn about how the agenda will change, and to put a name to faces of who’s going to be running the show, this week’s Autoline is all about the abrupt about-face in the American political scene. Joining host John McElroy on the show are Nolan Finley, the Editorial Page Editor of the Detroit News, and co-host of the public television program "Am I Right?," as well as Edward Lapham, the Executive Editor of Automotive News.