"American Auto is about corporate America being really bad at being good."
American Auto is an NBC Work Com centered around the employees of the fictional Detroit-based Payne Motors. The show was created by Justin Spitzer.
Former pharmaceutical executive Katherine Hastings (Ana Gasteyer) is hired as the new CEO of Payne Motors after the last member of the Payne family retires.
The show premiered on December 13, 2021 with two "sneak peek" episodes, before settling into its Tuesday time slot starting January 4, 2022. The 10-episode season concluded with the season finale airing on March 8, 2022.
In May 2022, NBC renewed the show for a second season consisting of 13 episodes. The second season premiered on January 24, 2023. NBC cancelled the show in June 2023.
Contains examples of:
- The Alleged Car: The Payne Pika is not a pretty car inside or out, only gets about eighteen miles to the gallon (despite being a compact), runs pretty loud when driven, and has brakes that take at least twenty seconds to work. Justified in that the car was designed to cost ten thousand dollars (in 2022) and a lot of corners were cut.
- Automated Automobiles: The first episode shows Payne creating their first self-driving car, the Ponderosa. The car seems to run well at first, then they discover that the pedestrian sensor doesn't recognize people with darker skin tones.
- Better than Sex: In the first season finale, Katherine's is exhilarated after driving for the first time and makes the comparison.
- Bittersweet Ending: In the first season finale, Katherine's job is in jeopardy and the team is in crisis mode when Katherine is confronted by a reporter about a coverup of defective pawls in the Hydra. However, facing a scandal invigorates Katherine and the episode ends as she confidently prepares to lead her team through the crisis.Katherine: Look, guys, things are gonna get rough. And I know you're scared. I know you feel lost. But if you follow my lead, I will get us through it. You think Whitney Houston is a star? Just wait. This is where I shine.
- Call-Back:
- The ad that has to be reshot in "Commercial" is part of a rebranding campaign for the Magellan, which Sadie says was necessary after the events of the episode "White Van."
- Jack's date to the annual Payne Foundation Fundraising Gala in "Charity Dinner" is the actress he met several episodes back in "Commercial."
- In the season finale, Katherine is blindsided by the supposedly puff-piece reporter, who questions her about her knowledge of the allegedly faulty pawls in the Hydra from "Recall."
- Cliffhanger: The first season ends with Katherine's future at Payne still up in the air and the executive team in crisis mode.
- Could Say It, But...: Under Katherine's orders in "White Van", Cyrus refuses to show his laptop to the FBI agents searching for the serial killer after he uses it to find the killer's Magellan minivan. However, he does make vague allusions to the mirror behind him and point out that the image would be reversed.
- Does Not Drive: Katherine has never driven before by the time she becomes CEO of a car company. She finally gets a chance to drive in the finale and apparently enjoys the experience.
- Fauxrrari:
- The Ponderosa and Palerma are based on the Chrysler 300.
- The Magellan is based on the Dodge Grand Caravan.
- The Pika is based on the Honda Fit.
- The unreleased test vehicle Katherine drives in the finale is based on the Tesla Model S.
- The Hydra is based on the Nissan Murano.
- Fish out of Water: Jack, the Payne employee accidentally hit by the self-driving Ponderosa, is promoted off the factory floor into the corporate office. He spends the first episodes unsure of what his new office role is and awkwardly tries to blend in.
- Innocent Bigot: Payne's first self-driving car is thought to be this when it's discovered that it doesn't recognize, and therefore avoid hitting, dark-skinned people.
- Introduction by Hookup: Factory worker Jack and communications chief Sadie have a one-night stand prior to "Pilot." His promotion to corporate management suddenly means that they are working together in the same office.
- Irony: The first episode ends with the revelation that not only does Katherine, the CEO of a car company, not know much about cars, she doesn't even drive.
- It Began with a Twist of Fate:
- The massive reshooting of the Magellan ad in "Commercial" all starts from Sadie suggesting that Payne post a rainbow square on social media.
- Because of the faulty pawls installed on some of the cars, one of them runs downhill and scrapes into a metal railing, causing sparks that ignite a forest fire. The fire soon gets out of control, causing an even more massive PR nightmare for Payne Motors than the pawl coverup.
- The Load: Wesley really contributes nothing, and isn't even technically an employee, only being allowed to loiter around the office because he's the grandson of the former CEO.
- Movie-Making Mess: The company has to reshoot a commercial at the last minute to make it more inclusive for the LGBT community. Unfortunately, Katherine and her staff keep second guessing their decisions and keep switching actors, resulting in numerous delays that result in them shooting without the child actors and with only a few minutes left of daylight.
- Overly-Nervous Flop Sweat: In the Season 2 premiere, Sadie experiences this when she's drilled by reporters in a press conference.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: Most episodes have the main crew with egg on their faces at the end of the episode after a major PR backlash. However, with each season finale, they tend to give the crew a temporary feeling of relief.
- Troubled Production: Development of the Pika is an In-Universe example.
- First, Katherine lowers the selling price from twelve thousand to ten thousand dollars without consulting with anyone else, not realizing making the car profitable would require cutting more features. Doing so renders the car low-quality.
- Second, the plan to open a new factory for the car in Iowa is hit with a counter offer to build the car in a country with a history of human rights violations. The executives actually give in to the suggestion before a coup breaks out in the country, forcing them to build the car in Iowa.
- The unveiling at a dealer event has most of the dealers admitting they won't be selling the car as it doesn't fit the demographics of their areas. They later come upon the solution to sell the car directly to consumers online.
