L A Auto Show

Daewoo Corp. has abruptly canceled next month's debut in Los Angeles of its new line of cars for the U.S. market, leading many observers to believe the company has become another overextended South Korean conglomerate. Daewoo announced that it was cancelling its appearance at the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show with no explanation just days after its international credit rating was slashed. The company last month acquired controlling interest in ailing Ssangyong Motor Co.

It could be the cutest little automotive cage match in recent memory. In one corner, you have the all-new Mitsubishi Mirage hatchback, introduced Thursday at the 2013 New York International Auto Show. In the other, the 1.0-liter Ford Fiesta, announced at the L.A. Auto Show in November. Each sub-compact has promised to be the most fuel-efficient non-hybrid car sold in the U.S. Only one can win. But which will it be? Only Mitsubishi has released gas mileage estimates. The Japanese automaker said its Mirage will get an estimated 37 mpg in the city, 44 mpg on the highway, and 40 mpg combined.

General Motors may get the spotlight and come in for the most curtain calls at the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show when it opens today at the L.A. Convention Center. Subject of the hoopla is the introduction of a prototype electric passenger car. The Impact, which can go 124 miles on a single charge and even out-accelerate some internal combustion cars, was unveiled to the press Wednesday.

Stroll over to Nissan's booth at the Los Angeles Auto Show and you'll see the usual collection of cars, trucks and SUVs, not unlike other automakers' displays around the convention center. And then you'll see Nissan's DeltaWing, a black rocket made from carbon composite. The long, narrow body on the open-top experimental race car measures just 2 and a half feet wide from the nose, over the front wheels, to the driver's elbows. From there, the car widens dramatically -- another 4.3 feet -- to cover the rear wheels.

Take Detroit, Tokyo and Frankfurt, in any order you wish, and you'll hit the three annual auto shows the world's car makers take most seriously. Those three rank highest in terms of the number of vehicle premieres they attract--and thus in terms of greatest ultimate influence on consumers in the mass market. Bracketed as it is by the big boys--in particular Tokyo in October and Detroit in mid-January--where does that place the 2000 Greater Los Angeles Auto Show?

The Chrysler Sidewinder, a truck-sports car combination, and the full-size Lincoln Sentinel Ghia, which utilizes Ford's "new edge design," are among the futuristic models that are sure to be popular attractions for attendees to the L.A. Auto Show. Other highlights of the show, at the L.A. Convention Center from Saturday through Jan. 12, include more than 1,000 new vehicles for 1997 and previews of 1998 autos, including the Kia Sportage two-door convertible and Mercedes-Benz SLK.

Ove r a century’s time, the Los Angeles Auto Show has moved from Hamburger’s Department Store to the Pan-Pacific Auditorium to the Los Angeles Convention Center, with myriad stops in between. It’s grown from a local curiosity to an international sensation. And it’s come full circle — from prominently displaying electric runabouts to gas-guzzling muscle cars and now, finally, back to electric vehicles. But amid all these changes, it’s perhaps been best at making memories.

There are captains of industry, and then there are commodores. For a few short hours at the start of the Los Angeles Auto Show, the flag-rank executives of the automotive business -- chief executives, head designers and other board-level types -- jetted in to field questions from reporters and brag on their latest lumps of road-going gorgeousnessness.

Ever step out of Dodger Stadium, or worse, Disneyland, and suffer parking lot panic? You wander the rows, thumb frantically pumping the button on your keyless remote, eyes desperately scanning for that flash of recognition from your otherwise anonymous compact sedan. The Jack in the Box ball on the antenna? Useless. This identity problem is, in part, simple physics: Automakers favor aerodynamic shapes that reduce wind noise and increase fuel economy.

Can going green help Chevrolet gain traction in California? That's General Motors Corp.'s thinking. The auto giant announced plans at the Los Angeles Auto Show this week to make its Chevy brand the flag bearer in GM's quest to be the world leader in fuel economy and alternative powertrain technologies. GM is counting on a Chevy lineup that includes the economy-class Aveo, the new Malibu hybrid and the Volt plug-in hybrid -- a mix seemingly tailor-made for eco-conscious California drivers.

The Los Angeles Auto Show usually ends up costing Eric Nolan a bit of money. The Bakersfield resident and self-described Mustang guy says he and his wife, Iris, come to the show every year. More than once, they've ended up buying a vehicle they've seen. "But we just bought a car a week ago for her, so she's not getting another one," Nolan said as the couple checked out an Audi A8 diesel. They were among thousands who showed up on Friday, the first public day of the L.A. Auto Show, which runs until Dec. 9. Last year, about 920,000 people attended, a 22% increase since 2009, said Brendan Flynn, the show's communications director.

Don't be surprised to see a decline in electric car prices over the next several months. When Chevrolet introduced its Spark EV at the Los Angeles Auto Show this week, it said the car will sell for less than $25,000 after a federal tax rebate. That would be lower than the prices of electric vehicles on the market now, although there are attractive lease deals. The Leaf starts at $28,550 after the federal tax credit. California buyers get an additional $2,500 state rebate. Nissan also offers the Leaf through a 36-month lease for $199 a month with a $1,999 down payment in some regions of the U.S. A week ago, Nissan disclosed that the version of the Leaf electric vehicle it sells in Japan will see a price drop and an increase in driving range per charge.

On one stage of the Los Angeles Auto Show, BMW shows off "the cars of tomorrow," concepts powered by electricity. On another, Audi touts four new diesels. Ford, meanwhile, displays a tiny gasoline motor with an unprecedented mix of power and economy. With consumers and the government demanding ever-higher fuel economy, automakers are tripping over one another at this year's auto show to trumpet technologies that squeeze more miles out of a fuel tank or an electric charge. Until recently, peak fuel efficiency demanded a trade-off.

British carmaker Aston Martin brought its sleek luxury sports car, the 2014 Vanquish, to the Los Angeles Auto Show. Featuring a 6.0 liter V-12 engine that cranks out 565 bhp at 6,750 rpm and a new carbon fiber body, the first customer-ready cars will be delivered to the Americas during the first quarter of 2013. Photos: 2014 Aston Martin Vanquish The new $280,000 Vanquish can go from 0 to 60 mph in four seconds flat and hit a top speed of 183 mph. “Vanquish is the ultimate expression of Aston Martin design ethos, engineering innovation and technical ability,” Ulrich Bez, Aston Martin chief executive, said in a statement.

Galpin Auto Sports President Beau Boeckmann revealed that his Van Nuys-based company is busy on a top-secret "supercar" project. Along with the announcement, made Thursday at the Los Angeles Auto Show, the company issued renderings of what the car is set to look like. As you can see in the photo above, it looks pretty slick. Photos: 2012 L.A. Auto Show Boeckman said the prototype is what the Ford GT would have looked like if Ford had continued production of the legendary car that was built from 2005 to 2006.

The L.A. Auto Show is as much a showcase of new cars as it is of new technology, and one of the standout new technologies at the convention is a system that will help you detect animals on the road while you drive at night. The system uses various algorithms and thermal imagery infrared cameras to see and detect animals on the road that are beyond vehicle headlights' field of vision. The system then uses an in-car display, audible notification and an alert on a heads-up display to warn drivers of animals that are on the road ahead.

The Los Angeles Auto Show, penalized for years by a late December run that put it in conflict with the bigger North American International Auto Show in Detroit, is about to get new life. Organizers have negotiated new dates with the Los Angeles Convention Center that will move the show forward to late November starting in 2006, creating a four-week gap between it and the Detroit show, which is held the first week of January.

Starting today and for the following nine days, more than a million people are expected to plunk down $10 each to attend the Los Angeles Auto Show. Little do they know, the show is already over.

The flurry of new models unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show on Wednesday underscored increasingly fierce industry competition on all fronts, from technology to efficiency to horsepower. The show's opening day featured major debuts including the long-awaited redesign of the Toyota RAV4 sport utility, the new Porsche Cayman and Acura's flagship RLX. Meanwhile, Audi unleashed new diesel versions of four models and Ford offered a Fiesta with a turbo three-cylinder engine small enough to fit in a suitcase.

The family sedan marketplace has become a brawl, with Honda'Â's Accord, Nissan'Â's Altima and Ford'Â's Fusion all newly redesigned and looking to unseat ToyotaÂ"s Camry as the best-selling car in the U.S. Mazda joined the fray Thursday with the introduction of the 2014 Mazda 6 sedan at Los Angeles Auto Show. The car will be available with one of two new engines, gas or diesel, both designed for efficiency and foreshadowing company plans for future models. Photos: 2014 Mazda 6 sedan "Â"Our Los Angeles announcements are only tips of the iceberg,"Â" said Jim O'Â'Sullivan, president and chief executive of Mazda North America.