We are just a little more than a week away from a decisive moment in the race for the White House — Michigan’s Republican primary. As part of our election coverage, we’ll be broadcasting live from Michigan next week.

Today, we kick things off with the CEO of one of the state’s largest and oldest companies — Ford. CEO Alan Mulally discusses the auto industry’s comeback and whether Ford is hiring in a big way.

Listen to an extended conversation with Mulally, where he discusses whether consumers will want larger or smaller cars 20 years from now, the importance of emerging markets like China to the carmaker, and whether his company has been impacted by the European debt crisis. Click on the play button above to listen to the full interview.