Amid the fervor surrounding the Big Three bailout and the excitement of the LA Auto Show, it seems as though January’s North American International Auto Show is shaping up to be a more low-key event than in past years.
Several foreign automakers have already announced that they will not be attending the upcoming Detroit auto show. These brands include Suzuki, Land Rover, Rolls Royce, and Ferrari, Porsche, and most recently Mitsubishi. With economic woes plaguing the global economy, many automakers seem to think that keeping far away from Detroit may be a good idea.
But this isn’t the only scaling back happening this auto show season. GM and Chrysler have already cut press conferences and new model debuts at this week’s LA Auto Show. It seems as though the domestics are saving their efforts for the NAIAS, which is easily located in their back yard.
Import automakers are also flocking to the LA show perhaps due the show’s new time slot, which has been moved up from January. Automakers are also hurt by the downturn, needless to say, and affluent buyers in Southern California may be what brands such as Land Rover and others are hoping to win over in this turbulent auto show season.
Update: Nissan has become the latest automaker to snub Detroit this year. Although Nissan initially announced that is will not be present at either Detroit or Chicago, the automaker chose to attend the Chicago Auto Show after all but still has no plans to return to Detroit this year for the NAIAS, despite having popular model debuts in Los Angeles.
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