Detroit’s auto show likely to be a bit austere

Roland Jones • Profile • E-mail

The Detroit auto show is rarely a frugal affair. Costumed dancers, spectacular pyrotechnics and the hottest celebrities all have been used in years past by automakers hoping to make a splash launching their newest vehicles. The no-expense-spared spectacles on the many stages of the city's cavernous Cobo Center often have had the grandeur of full-scale Broadway productions.

Not this year. With the industry in financial dire straits, visitors can expect a new sense of austerity. Instead of business as usual, there will be a more businesslike atmosphere, according to Joe Serra, a senior co-chairman of the industry's premier North American event.

“Instead of all the glitz, glamour and pizzazz this year it’ll be all about getting down to business,” said Serra. “We’ll see less of the frills we’ve seen over the years and more of a business climate, a ‘rolling up our sleeves and going to work’ type attitude.”

Detroit’s newfound rigor is understandable. Any costly spectacles from General Motors and Chrysler could draw harsh criticism after the two automakers got $17.4 billion in emergency federal funding just before Christmas to keep them out of bankruptcy.

The trade show comes hard on the heels of evidence that the worst is far from over for the world's automakers. On Monday manufacturers reported U.S. sales plunged 36 percent in December from year-earlier levels, capping a truly dismal year.

And the Big Three U.S. automakers are hardly out of the woods, even after their hard-won federal bailout package. Chrysler in particular appears unlikely to survive as an independent entity despite $4 billion in federal aid, analysts say.

Even mighty Toyota is reeling, reporting its first operating loss in 70 years and ordering an unprecedented 11-day production halt in Japan.

But automakers — at least the ones who show up — will do their best to put a brave face on things as the century-old North American International Auto Show opens to the media Sunday.

The most significant no-show this year will be Japanese automaker Nissan, which pulled out of the show in November. Rival Honda has said it won’t hold any news conferences but does plan to relaunch its Insight hybrid, a competitor to the hugely popular Toyota Prius. Toyota will respond by showing a redesigned 2010 Prius.

The no-shows leave room for two Chinese automakers — BYD and Brilliance — to set up on the main show floor for the first time.

Much of the excitement at this year’s show will be hybrid gas-electric vehicles, which make up less than 10 percent of the current market. Aside from the established names in the space, China's BYD is expected to get into the game by showing off its plug-in hybrid F3 DM sedan.

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