The Auto Writer

The press days for the 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show are now over, which means that from today through Sunday, December 13th, Southern Californians will be visiting the L.A. Coliseum to see what all the media chatter over the past few days has been about. As auto shows go Los Angeles is one of the largest and most important ones in North America, an ideal place to feature new cars and concepts.

California Drama

On the eve of the auto show, the drama began and I’m not talking about the Ford Fiesta preview or other sneak peeks leading up the press days. Rather, the announcement that Fritz Henderson was stepping down (fired) shocked everyone. Bob Lutz was called upon to craft a keynote speech for the Motor Press Guild breakfast the following morning, something he handled quite well. I especially liked how Lutz suddenly went deaf when someone questioned the timing of Fritz’ leaving. Props to Maximum Bob!

Following any auto show from afar isn’t nearly as fun as being there, but that is what I was faced with this year. Still, thanks to quite a number of helpful people on Twitter, email updates from media folks, and several well put together media shows, I was able to follow what action I could and still get my work done. No, that doesn’t mean I won’t try to get to Detroit, Chicago, or New York this year, but the internet is a good place to fall back on when you simply can’t be there.

Notable Attractions

Naturally, I couldn’t tune into every media event as I also learned that not every event was broadcast. Some of the front and center as well as side stories of note were:

• The Audi A3 TDI was chosen as Green Car magazine’s 2010 Green Car of the Year pick. I had the Mercury Milan (Ford Fusion) as the winner, but congratulations goes to the Volkswagen Group for showing us two years in a row that a diesel powered car can be clean. With its 2.0L TDI engine, this Audi gets 42 mpg highway. Amazing!

• I’m not sure how well the Suzuki Kizashi will do once this attractive midsize sport sedan hits the US market in January, but the Japanese automaker desperately needs a hit otherwise they’ll be doing the Isuzu and leaving America. Suzuki’s US sales are down 54.7% year to date, the worst showing of any car manufacturer. Part of their Kizashi strategy is to woo Acura TSX and Audi A4 shoppers to the model, offering a $100 reward if these folks test drive the Kizashi first.

• The world’s largest automaker rolled out the third generation of is popular minivan, the 2011 Toyota Sienna. Powered by a 2.7L I4 or 3.L V6 engine, this latest version of the Toyota minivan will continue to offer front- and all-wheel-drive while incorporating improved handling, a dual view rear entertainment system, panoramic rear view camera, and seating for as many as eight passengers. The 2011 Toyota Sienna will go on sale in February 2010.

• Not curiously, but noticeably absent from this year’s press conferences was Chrysler. But that isn’t surprising given that the smallest of America’s big automakers is on life support, desperately in need of new models. If the automaker can hold on, about a year from now the first of many Fiat based models will arrive in Chrysler, Jeep, and Dodge showrooms. Until then, the Chrysler Group will have to hope that customers don’t forget that they’re still in business.

Were you at this year’s show in L.A.? If so, feel free to add your unique perspective or, if you weren’t able to attend, please share if you were able to keep up with everything from afar.