LA Auto Show Gets Underway

The auto industry has a lot riding on this week's big Los Angeles Auto Show.  It begins an important auto show season, and comes as analysts see consumers slowly returning to showrooms.

"I'm looking forward to it more than I have in the last couple of years, simply because there's going to be an abundance of products," says Jesse Toprak, vice president at truecar.com.  "Again, more of a positive mode getting into the next year."

Two days of press previews will see around fifty new products unveiled.  Major automakers are trying to get a piece of the nation's largest car market, California.  It's been a market where imports have ruled for years.  But, Detroit three brands are starting to make inroads.

"It's a very tough product for us, and we need to do a better job here," says Chevrolet marketing manager Chris Perry.  "We have some products coming that we think can lift our image here in Southern California."

Perry talking about the electric Chevrolet Volt, recently named Motor Trend Car of The Year.  He also feels the new Chevy Cruze will do well, as will the replacement for the subcompact Aveo, which comes out later this year.

Then there's the new convertible version of the Chevrolet Camaro, unveiled by GM's new Vice President of Marketing, Joel Ewanick, at a breakfast the day before the press previews.

"It'll be part of re-energizing Chevrolet in California, particularly here in Southern California," said Ewanick.  "We're pretty excited about it."

GM's Cadillac brand showing what it called an "Urban Luxury Concept," which shows what a Cadillac small SUV may look like.

"While small in size, this concept is an exploration of what Cadillac could be in the future, as the brand continues to focus on redefining industry standards for advanced vehicle design and integrated technology," said Don Butler, vice president for Cadillac marketing, in a statement released by the company.

The LA show will also feature a number of electric vehicles, including an electric RAV 4, that's a partnership between Toyota and Tesla.

Ford, however, was busy promoting its Ecoboost engine, which puts more power in a smaller package.

"You can still get an awful lot out of an internal combustion engine," said Ford powertrain vice president Barb Samardzich.   "The team's creativity, I would call endless.  They are continually coming up with evolutionary changes to our gasoline and diesel engines that keep pushing that envelope of fuel economy delivery."

When fuel economy was top of mind in the 70's and 80's, the cars weren't very good, according to Jeremy Anwyl, who's CEO of Edmunds.com.  But, today's fuel efficient cars are a different story.

"I think what's interesting about this is that most of these technologies don't ask consumers to make any compromises," said Anwyl.

Chrysler, which had a dramatically scaled back exhibit at the LA Auto Show two years ago, is now back, in a big way.  They'll show off several new vehicles, including the Chrysler 200 mid size car, which replaces the much maligned Sebring.

Fiat—which is Chrysler's parent firm—is back with it's first North American product in more than two decades, the small Fiat 500.

"I think Fiat is going to do better than most of us expected, at least in the first year," said Truecar.com's Jesse Toprak.  "There's a lot of buzz around the product.  It's coming at a right time."

Chrysler showing off a dealership, near downtown Los Angeles, which gives a feel for what future Chrysler group dealerships might look like.

"The Los Angeles Motor Village goes above and beyond the traditional Chrysler Group dealership," said Peter Grady, Chrysler Group's Vice President of Network Development and Fleet, in a statement. "This dealership creates a presence both inside and out. Our customers will experience our brands in unique salons that reflect each brand's identity and character."

Overriding all the talk about product is the talk of GM's Initial Public Offering of stock.  GM execs are noticeable by their absence.   Marketing VP Ewanick not commenting either, but admitting, the faster GM can put bankruptcy behind it, the better.

"There has been some negative backlash, because of all the issues we went through," Ewancik said.  "I'm not going to lie about that.  It is what it is.  Certainly, anything we can do to mitigate that is going to be a big deal for us."

WWJ LA Auto Show coverage sponsored by Faurecia.

Follow Jeff Gilbert on Twitter @jefferygilbert