LA Auto Show : Luxury, Size and Power to Dominate

LOS ANGELES January 3, 2003; Gary Gentile writing for the AP reported that people at this year's Greater Los Angeles Auto Show may find it easy to forget about rising gas prices, international instability and smog while checking out the luxury SUVs, supercharged muscle cars and stylish roadsters.

The show, which opens Saturday, is the first major international show of the year and typically features production vehicles and concepts that appeal to California trendsetters.

The show traditionally serves as a showcase for automakers looking to tap into the consciousness and wallets of people concerned about greenhouse gases and dependence on foreign oil.

But this year, even as concern grows over the political crisis in Venezuela and possible war with Iraq, no new electric, hybrid or fuel-cell vehicle is scheduled to make a debut at the show.

Instead, the show -- which will cover an area equal to 17 football fields -- will see the North American debut of new SUVs from Porsche and Volkswagen, the return of Pontiac's classic muscle car, the GTO, and even a new Dodge concept car featuring a ferocious 430 horsepower Hemi engine.

New hybrid cars, which use both electric and gasoline power, are to be shown at the Detroit auto show, which opens the week after Los Angeles. Several automakers, including Ford and Honda, are expected to introduce production hybrids in 2003.

But the automakers are not doing enough, according to some activists, including a group of celebrities and hybrid car owners who plan to demonstrate outside the LA show Friday.

"Very few of the vehicles are putting available technology to work to improve fuel economy," said David Friedman, engineer and senior analyst with the Union of Concerned Scientists. "You can have that GTO, you can have that SUV and still have significantly higher fuel economy, and that's where automakers are letting consumers down."

Friedman's group will present a report Friday arguing that today's technology, including hybrid designs, can result in cars getting an average of 40 miles per gallon over the next 10 years. Waiting for fuel cell technology to become widely available may take up to 30 years, the group concludes.

While there may be a growing concern for the environment and fuel economy, consumers are demanding bigger, faster and swankier, according to recent sales trends and surveys.

In September, Ford reported increased sales of all its luxury lines -- Lincoln, Jaguar, Volvo and Land Rover. It was the first time all the luxury brands had improved year-over-year at once.

"What is popular are luxury vehicles and SUVs and a return to performance," said Jeff Schuster, director of North American forecasting at J.D. Power and Associates.

Automakers aren't showcasing as many fuel-efficient cars at shows this year in large part because there haven't been major advancements in technology over the past year, Schuster said.

He added that consumers are unlikely to display a real backlash against gas-guzzling SUVs unless war in Iraq or problems in Venezuela result in prolonged higher gas prices.

The broader national trends will certainly be mirrored at the LA show, which will see the introduction of new sports cars from Aston Martin, BMW, Ferrari and Mercedes.

One highly anticipated debut will be a new brand from Toyota aimed at young drivers.

Two models from the new Scion label will debut at the show. Details are scarce, but the cars will be sold first in California for eight months before being rolled out to the rest of the country.

The two models are expected to be marketed to an even younger audience than the Ford Focus and other youth-oriented brands that have been accepted by more-mainstream audiences.

"California is the right place to test market a product like that," Schuster said. "The reaction of the LA show goers will be an indication of how that brand will launch. It's a risky move for Toyota."

One problem the automaker may face is pronunciation.

"That's a fairly substantial problem -- no one knows how to say it," Schuster said.

For the record, it's pronounced sigh-on.