free lunch. "" 10 p.m. eastern, political scientist barbara walter with her book how civil wars start and how to stop them. it examines the warning signs that often precede civil wars and ask the question put another one happen in the u.s.? she's interviewed by stephen heideman. watch book tv every sunday on c-span2. find her. on your program guide or watch online anytime. >> us washington, lawmakers and other public policy officials will gather at the walter washington convention center to talk about issues looking at automobiles. it is a public policy at the auto show.

joining us to start serious conversations is john o'donnell. he's the president and ceo of the washington area new -- new automobile association. host: i suspect part of the fun of the auto show is looking at the new product, but because you have public-policy days specifically inciting legislators, what is the importance of that? guest: we're very fortunate to be located here in our nations capital because a lot of the industry has to interact with the regulators, the policymakers, we are the beneficiary. especially during covid. driverless car's, connected cars, electric vehicles, they have all been developed and continued to be developed to bring it to market.

they are showcased here in the nations capital so that the policymakers and regulators can review them and speak with product specialists. ask questions, learn about technology, and then our citizens or our attendees, i the beneficiary. they are seen the same product reviewed by people who decide whether or not that product can be sold in the united states of america. we are very happy to be able to do this. host: somebody who represents new car dealers, what you think is important for washington to consider when it comes to those you represent? guest: that is a broad question. there is awful lot that happens right here when we have some of the senators and congressmen, cabinet members, we have had the president and vice president, but when they are coming through , they are looking for what is

going to have the right balance for the general public. our climate goals,, portability issues, are you bringing this to the market in a safe way. there are automation that might be a little more aggressive, but we have always protected our consumers here in the united states. with dealers, they want to be able to sell the latest and greatest as quickly as they can. lately, that has been a major problem because of the supply chain and semiconductor shortage. dealers currently do not have a lot of market on the ground. not a lot of inventory. consumers are certainly driving demand. we don't know when that will level out, but we are thinking perhaps in six months, maybe even a year for some manufacturers. host: some of the discussions on

capitol hill include direct investment into the semiconductor industry, is that something that your association is keeping track of and what do you think about this idea of helping that industry and specifically. ? guest: we support that wholeheartedly. we think there should be more chip manufacturing here on u.s. soil where we can control the flow of product. we have some now, but we certainly need more. a great number of members of congress are discussing this right now. my understanding is that it takes roughly three years to build a brand-new chip manufacturing plant and several billion dollars. we better get moving. host: because we talk about this program all of the time, we talk about the topic of inflation on a lot of difference. what does inflation mean to those selling cars? guest: that is an interesting

question because it is broad-based inflation. in the united states right now. within the automotive sector, inflation is occurring that are related for -- the semiconductors used in automobiles these days have grown financially. a lot of that has to do with the safety measures that a been enacted. a lot of the safety measures are going to be building blocks and steppingstones towards connecting and driverless car's. as we get closer and closer to level five of autonomous car's, we will need more and more chips. which is why we really think we should have more chip manufacturing here in the united states. host: you talked about electric

vehicles. president biden himself has called for a sale of electric vehicles and 50% of those sales 2030. what you think of that timetable and was a mean for dealers? guest: dealers are excited about selling electric vehicles. we are embracing that wholeheartedly and if you look behind me and drop this entire convention center here in d.c., it is chocked full electric vehicles. outside you can take a ride in any number of electric vehicles that are ride and drive. indoors on a lower level, we have electric vehicle pavilion. it is showing a whole multitude of electric vehicles in different modalities. they might be an electric bus. it might be ellicott motorcycle. it might be eight personal mobility device. it could be a car. there is a lot of different

electric vehicle types coming out. on road, off-road ev's, the future of this is going to be av's and ev's merging together. autonomous and electric vehicles are predicted to become one and the same several years down the road. bidens goal of 50% of the electoral vehicles by the year 2030, i would describe as aggressive, not unachievable, but it would have to be an amount of infrastructure built nationwide. right now you can go to any corner and find a gas station. that is just not true for charging stations for ev's. you will hear from electrify america shortly and they are on it. they are expanding, they are helping the nations with charging and for structure. it is one of the elements of

describing that the goal is aggressive. i don't know that it will be 50% , but it will serve may be higher than it was yesterday. host: with supply chain and other issues, soaring used prices, do you see that use -- happening in the used car market, what is it mean for people who do the business that you engage in? guest: car dealers have seen this dynamic before. when new cars rise, those who could not afford the new price will gravitate toward used vehicles. they do typically run in tandem so there is a correlation and it is strictly price. everybody would love to have a new vehicle, who wouldn't, but if you cannot afford one, there

is a great number of high-quality used units on the market today. we expect that that will level out. dealers are watching this literally every day and as new cars become more available, that will ease pricing pressures on used car. host: he's the president and ceo of the washington area. they put on the auto show here in d.c.. thank you for your time today. guest: thank you very much, i appreciate you have me on today. >> take c-span on the go. watch the biggest political vents live or on-demand at any time on a new local video app, c-span now. access top highlights, listen to c-span radio, discover new podcasts, all for free.