L.A. Auto Show sees reluctant, worried consumers

Ford has the most impressive spread — indeed, it is the only one with enough cash and credit to survive through next year. The Dearborn, Michigan, company showed off redesigned Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan sedans unveiled Wednesday, including hybrid models that can go up to 700 miles (1,125 kilometers) on one tank of gas. It also sported a giant Mustang display and a miniature Fusion race car track.

The mood was more subdued at GM. Two weeks ago, the automaker canceled the unveilings it had planned for the show, but its Chevrolet Volt — the extended-range electric vehicle that holds many of the company’s hopes for a turnaround — attracted a modest crowd.

Chrysler’s area, however, was almost funereal. Chrysler also abstained from any vehicle debuts, though it did showcase the three electric prototypes — a Dodge, a Jeep and a Town & Country minivan — that it unveiled in September.

But the crowds were thin. In contrast to the concert-like lighting and sound at Nissan Motor Co.’s adjacent space, the convention center’s dim fluorescent lights were all that lit Chrysler’s vehicles. On Friday afternoon, retirees Greg and Pinkie Stanley were the only ones paying attention to a Chrysler rep’s sales pitch for the Town & Country EV.

“I was just being polite,” said Gene Stanley, 71, as the couple walked to the next exhibit.

“You can see how much money is being spent on this,” said Pinkie Stanley, 65. “Those folks that have a good budget are spending a lot more money here than these guys, who are just sort of marking time.”

Some visitors, like Ron Myers, 65, were more sympathetic to the Detroit Three’s troubles. Myers, a longtime truck owner, said he was in the market for a GMC Sierra 1500 pickup. He has a long history of owning Ford and GM trucks, and he and his wife like having a pickup for the occasions they need to haul things around.

“They never made better cars,” the retired firefighter said of GM’s lineup.

Ask him about the bailout, though, and like many at the show, his opinions get complicated. Myers said he remains impressed with GM’s products but blames the company’s current predicament on its costly union obligations.

He said he’d like to see GM get assistance, but it has to find a way to reduce its high labor costs.

“I’m union, but they have to be competitive,” he said. “It’s a global market.”

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