IF THE Los Angeles auto show could be summed up in a single word, that word might be “tentative”. The economy is lurching, the industry’s sales are seesawing and prospects for stability are uncertain. So the attitude among automakers at the show’s press previews last week seemed to be one of wait and see, making it all but impossible to identify a definite trend or direction. Important new products were unveiled, but they were, for the most part, mass-production models.
Bold design studies, and even the whimsical concept cars that can make an auto show memorable were scarce.
Notably, the scales this year tilted in favor of exotic cars and high horsepower – 500 doesn’t even warrant a gasp – a decided shift from the times when LA was the showcase event for eco-friendly vehicles.
The timing of the event nearly coincides with the industry’s model-year change in the US, making it either one of the last major international shows of the season or, as others see it, the first of the coming year.
Organisers promised more than 50 new model introductions. That total represents a steady, if slow, improvement over the dark days of 2008-2009, when the shows existence was in question as the industry stumbled into recession and bankruptcy.
“It’s an indication of the improving strength, and underlying solid fundamentals, of the auto industry that there are more than enough new models in the pipeline to support this and other major auto shows throughout the year around the globe,” said John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda. Still, there were signs of erosion.
Floor space that was once packed with millionaires’ sports cars sat largely empty this year. Some California-based car firms, including electric-car companies such as Fisker and Tesla, skipped the show entirely, even though they have new models that could have drawn potential customers.
European brands such as Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Volkswagen and Volvo presented mostly warmed-over products that had been shown in September at the vast Frankfurt show.
Several Japanese manufacturers have held back on introducing new products, diverting them to their hometown to help prop up the ailing Tokyo Motor Show, which opens to the public on December 3rd.
Japanese manufacturers have had a particularly tough year, with the double blow of the earthquake and tsunami last March and the recent flooding in Thailand, which has shut down many of their suppliers and again interrupted production.
Even as the US government confirmed new fuel-economy standards last week that will require significant improvements by 2025, US manufacturers continued to offer shiny new idols to the gods of horsepower.
Chrysler stuffed a new 540-horsepower Hemi V-8, which it calls the 426S, into its 300 saloon; the powertrain was described as an “engineering exercise” that may or may not go into production. The smart money is on a production version sooner rather than later, as Chrysler can ill afford to design flights of fancy for which there is no business case.
Chevrolet, while feting owners of its Volt plug-in hybrid (which will arrive in European showrooms as the Opel Ampera next year), took the cover off a new 580-horsepower Camaro ZL1 convertible. And Ford, not ready to concede horsepower bragging rights to its crosstown rival, introduced a pumped-up Shelby GT500.
Besides new models, some new technologies were rolled out at the show, including a new fuel-saving cylinder-deactivation system on the Mercedes-Benz SLK55 and inflatable seat belts on the updated Ford Flex.