that's again to repeat, zero. >> how many people are employed by coda in the u.s.? >> we have actually -- we are the fastest growing company in los angeles. our employment has tripled over the last year. we now have over 300 employees. all of our r&d comes out of los angeles for our product technology. our battery technology and battery management technology. >> and when will people be able to look at a coda product and purchase one if they're -- if they want to? >> our sales start in califor a california. we -- last september, september 2011, we opened a first coda experience center at the west field mall in century city. we have a coda on display there. we have cars available for test drive there, so los angeles residents can come and see a coda any time. which will expand across the

u.s. throughout 2012. we actually start delivering products to consumers in late february. >> are you working with a dealership system? >> we have a somewhat hybrid distribution system. we will have our own coda experience centers that i just talked about in major cities. but we will support that with dealers in those cities who we will funnel sales through. the dealers will deliver vehicles to consumers and the dealers will provide service to the consumers. >> codaautomotive.com is the website. we have a few minutes left with the guest. chesapeake, virginia, go ahead, samuel. >> caller: oh, [ inaudible ]. >> samuel, very quickly, could

you repeat that? >> i've got that. the charging time. the charmigechargeing time, we fastest. it would give -- with a completely depleted battery, a six-hour charge would get you 150 mile range. we can deliver 100-mile range in -- with a four-hour charge. >> well, jim tweets in to you, is there technology available that can recharge the battery while operating? >> that technology is available. it's unfortunately way too expensive to be able to put on a car and sell it. the different technologies, you can put solar panels on the car. solar panels you'd have to drive a semi probably large enough to charge at a rate enough to keep

the car running. there are induction technologies that you can put induction charging on the car, and then you would have to -- on every road in the u.s. you would have to put induction chargers to mate with it. so yes, the technologies exists, but they're just not affordable at this last point in time. >> last call comes from titusville, florida. go ahead, larry. larry is gone. sorry about this. phil murtaugh is ceo of coda automotive. he joins us from the convention center where the washington auto show is kicking off today. it's policy day, it opens to the public and open all weekend here in washington, d.c. coda automotive is the website. mr. murtaugh, thank you for your time. >> peter, thank you. more auto executives still ahead here on c-span 3. in a couple of minutes hyundai u.s. executive vice president

david zuchowski. then mark reuss, president of gm north america. after that, we go to the state department for a town hall meeting with secretary of state hillary clinton. and later, a discussion on unemployment among veterans from the wars in iraq and afghanistan. >> one of the folks here at the d.c. auto show is the diesel technology forum to talk about the world of diesel and alan schaffer is their executive director. you're in a bunch of cars that run on gasoline. why the discussion with diesel? >> well, diesel is great story today. it's a technology now that's widely available. more than half of all service stations have diesel at the pump. and the new generation of clean diesel cars are incredible. these vehicles get 20% better mile than gasoline. they have incredible range. this volkswagen passat can go over 800 miles on a tank of

fuel. you can haul a lot of stuff. you're not worried about plugging in or where to find the next fuelling system. diesels typically have a higher resale value. so if you're looking at a sound investment in an advanced technology, super clean and super efficient diesel you can't go wrong with the diesel. >> are people buying diesels? >> they are buying diesels. diesel sales are up 27% over last year. an incredible testament to what's available. consumers are voting for diesel. they're going into dealerships, doing the analysis saying, hey, diesel looks a lot different today than 15 years ago. looks like great value. great fuel economy. it can do everything i want it to do. hey, these things are fun to drive. when you get behind the wheel, lots of zip. >> we here on policy day. is it centered on the gasoline

engine? >> well, lots is centered on the gasoline engine. president obama's state of the union address a few nights ago highlighted what we're talking about, an all of the above strategy. that's why here you'll see a wide array of vehicles. clean diesel cars, natural gas, electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids. at the end of the day, really we need all of these solutions because not one is going to be right for everyone. the diesels have great range, they have great fuel economy whether driving in the city or the highway. very great driving performance. you can have small vehicles and very large vehicles with a diesel engine. so consumers look to fit in their lifestyle, diesel works very well for them. >> maintenance issue wise, is there a difference between having a diesel engine than a gasoline engine? >> typically lower cost, because of the durability and the reliability of the engine. these cars are built to last. not unusual to find diesels with

several hundred miles on an engine, on a vehicle. so they're a great value for the consumers. nothing special other to make sure you're putting diesel fuel in it. it's more valuable today than ever before. >> alan schaffer, thank you for your time. >> thanks very much. have a great day. april 15, 2010, i had arrived in paris, walked into the hotel room -- the hotel lobby. met general mcchrystal for first time and he looked at me and he said you're the rolling stone guy. i don't care about the article. i want to be on the cover. >> michael hastings wrote about the commander of u.s. and nato forces in afghanistan. in the june 2010 issue of "rolling stone." >> i said, well, sir, i think it's between you and layidy gag. i was making a joke. general mcchrystal replied, just put me and lady gaga in a heart-shaped tub. i thought like, this is -- this is a different kind of general. this is going to be a different kind of story. >> but several months later as a

result of the article, general mcchrystal had been fired. michael hastings continues the story and talks about his new book "the operators" on c-span's q&a. we're talking with dave zuchowski, executive vice president of hyundai usa. mr. zuchowski, how many hyundais are made in the u.s.? how many people are employed by hyundai in the u.s.? >> we represent 94,000 jobs in the private sector. we have two assembly plants and produce about 420,000 vehicles. so we sell -- we sold about 645,000 vehicles in 2011. and about 420 of them were built in the united states. >> where are your plants? >> we have a plant in montgomery, alabama, and a plant in west point, georgia. >> where are you based as executive vice president? >> orange county, california. >> and how long has hyundai been in business? give us a brief history of the

hyundai company? >> came to the market in 1986. so just last year we celebrated our 25th birthday. >> but as a company, how long has it been in business? >> closer to 50. shortly following the korean war. >> and how -- what's your growth rate here in the u.s.? >> it's been fairly quick the last couple of years. exponential. this year, the industry was up about 10%. we're up about 20%. that's about our third consecutive year of overperforming the industry. we have been in a growth mode since -- really since 2008, crash of the industry and the overall economy. being a value brand that really provided a great opportunity for us for growth. >> what do you do at hyundai? >> i'm the executive vice president of sales. so i'm responsible, we've got 815 dealers across the united states. we have got five regional offices. remotely located across the u.s. they all report in to me. i handle distribution.

i handle market representation, incentives, certified pre-owned vehicles, the whole gamut of the sales-related activities. >> today is policy day and lawmakers will be coming out to the auto show there at the convention center. you're giving a speech. what's your message to them? >> it's really about the convergence of technology and the auto business and governance. you know, things are changing. the automakers and the regulators can't afford to fight anymore. we have some pretty steep fuel economy standards that we're looking at on the immediate horizon. we have to work together to get there and really that's what i'm talking about is the type of things that hyundai is doing to deliver upon our commitments to improve fuel economy. >> 202 is the area code. 737-0002 for republicans. and we're going to begin with this call from darren in green bay, tennessee.

darren, we're talking with the executive vice president of hyundai. >> caller: yes, good morning. i just kind of got a simple question. i use a lot of air tools and use an air compressor. i was wondering if anybody has ever looked into using compressed air for the -- to drive a vehicle or even with the technology changing of actually looking backwards in time of steam powered. >> it's -- i will tell you this, and it's a great question. we're looking at everything. for hyundai, we have taken the lead in terms of first focusing on our traditional gasoline powered engines and trying to do everything we can to improve fuel economy there. gas direct technology, turbo charging, eight-speed transmissions. lighter composite fuels. materials. things like that. we're also developing, you know, emerging technologies. we came here with our hybrid.

we're looking at fuel cell technology. obviously electric. compressed -- everything is being considered, because nobody is quite sure how this shakes out going forward. the transportation industry in the future may not look a whole lot like now. we're looking at everything and it's changing daily as we work on these new technologies. >> macon, georgia, good morning. please go ahead, you're on the air. >> caller: yes, sir. >> edward? go. question or comment? >> caller: my question is, why couldn't they put an alternator on the power train to alternate current through the batteries? say if a car would run on half of the batteries for certain miles, they could charge the other part of the batteries and switch back and forth. >> i'm sorry, i'm not an

engineer, i can't answer that specific question. but we have -- we have developed the most efficient system in our hybrid certainly. we were later to the market with our hybrid. we've got the latest technology in it. and we have looked at every possible scenario and what we've got now is provides greatest fuel economy with the fewest compromises to performance. >> dave zuchowski, when did you begin your auto yeerm. >> i started in the 1980s? i had 23 years with ford. i spent some time with mazda. next month will be my fifth year with hyundai. >> somerset, pennsylvania, go ahead, ron. >> caller: yeah, i'd like to know why we can't promote natural gas and also a lot of trucking outfits running on propane and natural gas. and in fact, i worked in a fact four where they had their own

forklifts with propane because it was more efficient. i wonder why they can't transfer them over to propane or natural gas. >> yeah, again, we have looked at it. i'm not sure of the exact reason, but it's -- it's probably due to the tradeoffs or maybe the -- maybe the risk in it. i'm not sure. but propane is one of the things i'm sure we have looked at. >> dave zuchowski, during this recession that we have been in for the last couple of years, what were some of hyundai's strategies to survive and prosper? >> well, number one, it actually worked in our favor. when we started out, we always have been a value brand and recognized as a value brand. we have great quality. we have america's best warranty. we have beautiful styling. we have a great value story. great fuel economy. so the imposition like that going into a downturn was really important and in retrospect played right into our hands. put us on a lot of shopping

lists we weren't on before. what we did that was most impactful, when things got really difficult, we came out with the assurance program. that's when we guaranteed it's a loss of job guarantee that said we don't want you to worry about the economy. we know you need to drive the vehicle. if you come in and buy a car from hyundai, and you subsequently lose your job, we'll take your car back. it's something that really resonated with the consumer. it was when things were really, really dark. we're in this together. we'll get through this together. it was hugely impactful. we're developing big ideas that we think are very, very important to the consumer and we try to figure out what's bothering the consumer in the next 12 months, and how can we develop a program in purchasing our products and it's worked very well for us. >> there's a "wall street journal" article this morning, carmakers turning to u.s. plants because of the value of the dollar. does hyundai benefit from the current value of the dollar and

what about the free trade agreement with south korea, does that benefit hyundai? >> yeah, it's the -- the korean won has been stable over the last three or four years. it's a benefit to us relative to the dollar right now. two-thirds of our production is in the u.s. market anyway. so it hasn't had a huge impact on the operations. we're happy about anything that helps the american economy, that helps the american workers and we think that's what this does. from a timing standpoint, the initial benefits really are more in korea, in terms of immediate access in korea. our ability to utilize some of the terms of the free trade agreement are really three to five years out before we realize any immediate benefits. but we're very happy this is negotiated and worked out. we feel positive about the impact it's going to have on the u.s. economy and the u.s. workers. >> lake cutler, florida, phil, good morning. >> caller: good morning.

first, i want to take a couple of seconds here to recognize c-span. you're probably the most educational station on tv. thank you for being there. now, for your guest, i have a vision that i want him to comment on. i envision in the future having refuelling stations rather than gas stations where i drive my car in with either gas, diesel, hydrogen, fuel cell, battery, interchangeable battery. and my question is, does the auto industry see that same vision and do you think that there -- that there is anyone working on the infrastructure necessary to support all kinds of different kinds of fuels for automobiles? thank you. >> yeah, it's a great question. really insightful. that's really the key to where,

you know, transportation goes in the next 10, 15, 20 years. it's really all about infrastructure. but the current administration has been very focused on electric vehicles and electric infrastructure. and i think your approach is probably a very sound one in that everybody's developing all sorts of different technologies. nobody's quite sure where those technologies are going to shake out, and as we develop infrastructure i think the ability to develop very flexibility infrastructure that may be able to cater to several different technologies probably makes the most sense. but this game is all about infrastructure. and then in terms of government support and providing the impetus to develop the technologies in the infrastructure to have widespread application of these technologies. >> rick tweets in to you, mr. zuchowski, can american car builders start selling cars in korea? >> yes. actually, within the next several years, it takes immediate impact. it works -- the beauty of korean

free trade agreement is it works both ways. it benefits everyone and the benefit for the south koreans in the u.s. market is actually delayed relative to some of our other competitors into korea. so it works both ways, absolutely. that's why it was passed because it serves the needs of many different constituents. >> will hyundai build a pickup truck? that's a tweet from rio raider. >> it's a question we get all the time. it's not currently in our product plans. we like to say never say never. but it's a difficult business. i think we have a tremendous amount of respect for toyota and that full-sized pickup market is difficult. you're dealing with ford and chevrolet that have been there a long time, with amortized costs. it's a tough business to be in. we play at two-thirds of the industry. we don't have heavy trucks or

full-sized suvs. we don't have minivans right now. so we're not in the entire spectrum of the industry. and our plan right now is not to go into the heavy truck business. >> are hyundai plants in the u.s. unionized? >> no, they are not. >> silver spring, maryland, jim, please go ahead with your question for dave zuchowski of hyundai. >> caller: well, it's a comment. i want to congratulate hyundai on setting the bar for warranties. nobody was doing anything spectacular with warranties until hyundai came along. they put the ten-year, 100,000 mile on it. and it just really helps the industry again raise the bar and give us all better products. so congratulations to hyundai. >> thank you very much, i appreciate that. it was really important to us. i think last year was our tenth year anniversary of our 10/100, america's best warranty.

it was really important to us. it really changed the way we as a company operated. it was the late 1990s and we were struggling in this market. we were at a juncture where we said, you know, we're not sure if this makes sense. we went dramatically with the 10/100. it sent a shot across the entire industry. it resonated extremely well. it's worked for us, but the most important thing with the warranty it forced our manufacturing and engineering community to build better cars. if we didn't improve, our quality disciplines, then the company was at great risk. so it allowed us to put our money where our mouth was and to develop great quality in order to fulfill our commitments in the warranty. it's a tremendous part of our marketing platform. we have had it for more than ten years and i appreciate the comments. >> hayward, wisconsin, jim, please go ahead. >> caller: hi. i was just wondering if hyund

hyundai -- hyundai/kia perhaps had any plans for building an all-wheel drive or choose a two-wheel or four-wheel drive in your smaller more fuel efficient automobiles. because up here we get a lot of snow. and in order to have a four-wheel drive vehicle, we have to go with vehicles such as your large trucks, et cetera, that they get the rest of the year they get terrible mileage. do you have any plans for doing that? i think it would be a great market, especially for the northern parts of this entire country. >> yeah, a great question. subaru has carved out a niche for themselves for being an all-wheel drive manufacturer that goes into some of the lower segments. we certainly have a strategy in place for expanding all-wheel

drive. our first approach is more in our premium vehicles with genesis and equis. no immediate plans for our smaller vehicles like accent or elantra or even sonata. but it's something we study all the time. our first expansion -- we certainly have small crossover vehicles with all-wheel drive which fits that price category. but when we go, it will be in the upper end of the vehicle. >> kay wright writes in to you, how much does the average hyundai worker make, including benefits and pensions? >> it obviously varies in terms of overtime and things like that, but i think it runs in the $60,000 range on an annual base us including overtime. >> and if you could remind us again how many cars do you sell annually now in the u.s.? how many u.s. workers do you have? >> we just broke a record in

2011. we sold 645,000 cars, about 420 of those were produced in the u.s. we actually produce vehicles here and export them as well, which is great. we have about 2,500 workers in our plant in montgomery, alabama. and we've got about the same amount in our plant in west point, georgia. we're expanding both plants to try to keep up with production and demand. >> how large is your dealership system? >> we have about 815 dealerships across the country. that number has remained relatively flat for the last couple of years. our sales volumes have almost doubled over the last four years. so we look at it in terms of the health of the dealer organization in terms of the sales per outlet. we are right up there with toyota and honda as what we deliver through our xirsing network. >> linda in beckly, west virginia, good morning. >> caller: good morning.

first of all, i love my hyundai. it's a very reasonable car, it works well. but what i want to say more than anything else is you never get a number where you can call anybody. the republicans are greedy. and everything -- you hear them say about cutting the government, all they're talking about cutting everybody else, but themselves. it's really, really disgusting. it's been that way for decades, and now they have a president that comes along that wants to do something, change it a little bit, and they get up there and they act like clowns and little kids and all they're doing, take some of the waste, you could just clear out some of the waste and the perks from these people. >> all right, you know what? linda, we're going to leave your comments there, but dave zuchowski, he spoke about

investing in the american manufacturing at his state of the union address. is that important to your company? >> oh, for us, absolutely. it is -- we have a global strategy that is -- what we call blue drive. it is all about the ability for us to be a good corporate citizen, to deliver not only wonderful products, but to deliver products that deliver great fuel economy and are friendly to the environment. it's a key part to our global strategy and has been for quite some time. >> next call for dave zuchowski comes from -- let's see, we've got mcdonald county, missouri. tom on our independent line. >> caller: yes, good morning. i appreciate you taking my call. i watch c-span every day since i have been retired for nine years now. i was affiliated with the oil and natural gas industry since in the early '70s. our so-called oil shortage in

'73, you know, but we had a compressed natural gas system that would go right into any automobile, be it a car or a truck, and you see 35 years ago, and here we are still without. but natural gas, you -- your engine lasts a whole lot longer than gasoline. it's cleaner burning. you have less fuel emissions. fewer -- much longer time in between tune-ups. it's 80% of the american population has access to natural gas. and out in the country we have propane. so, you know, compressed -- but here we go again. the united states wants to put all of their eggs in the same basket. everybody is pushing electric. well, that's not the way to go. like the fella from florida said. let's diversify. >> mr. zuchowski? >> yeah, it really is a very fair point. we really don't have a hybrid

strategy. we don't really have an electric strategy. we have an alternative fuel strategy. and that includes looking at everything. some of those are new emerging technologies. some of those are technologies that have been around for a long, long time. and as we get a new advancements, things that were problematic in the past might work better now. so the technology advancements will take what might not have been widely available in the past and makes them more viable now. so i think everybody is looking at old technologies, at emerging technologies and trying to figure out what the best balance is. lots of different options out there and nobody is absolutely certain that there is a single answer. i think it's a combination of the above. >> and again, dave zuchowski, you're giving a speech today. it's policy day at the washington auto show. what's your message to lawmakers? >> our message to lawmakers

really what we just talked about is our strategy has been three-fold. number one, we want to look at improving our existing gasoline technology through gas direct engines and turbo charging and better transmissions. to improve performance on existing gasoline engines because at the end of the day there's still the bulk of the -- they're still the bulk of the autos sold in the united states. second, we have to look at emerging technologies, be they electric or fuel cell. we have to do that. thirdly, we're one of the very few companies that has a fully integrated strategy. we have our own steel plant. in korea that produces high-tensile steel and what that allows us to do is build really safe and stable vehicles, but we can take out a significant amount of weight which obviously drives improved fuel economy. so that's what's driving our fuel economy.