The Auto Writer

The first of the two press days for the L.A. Auto Show are now a wrap with a somewhat lighter schedule planned for the second day. That imbalance can be largely attributed to General Motors and Chrysler canceling press conferences, otherwise the second day’s activities would have extended to 5 p.m. instead of 3:30.

Of the fifteen press conferences held today, I attended six of them, choosing to hear the keynote address from Carlos Ghosn, followed by conferences sponsored by Nissan, BMW/MINI, Ford, Mazda, and Mercedes. I realized that attending every press conference would take away from my chance to talk one-to-one with representatives from the car companies. So, in the afternoon I spent several hours going from display to display, obtaining press materials, and chatting it up.

Some of my recorded material I’ll go through and use that information at a later date, but I can also share some of my other notes of interest:

• Nissan/Renault CEO and President, Carlos Ghosn, addressed the global economic crisis head on in his talk. He said that the crisis started in the US and is gradually spreading around the world and can be particularly felt in most western countries where car sales are in decline.  He believes that president-elect Obama has a terrific opportunity to show leadership in the way that he addresses the problem, suggesting that some sort of government incentive plan to American citizens should be considered.

• Nissan’s press conference featured two cars at polar opposites. The 370Z is fast and muscular while the Nissan Cube is, well, funny looking and youth oriented. That latter vehicle likely will have an all-electric version available. Ghosn says that the first electric car from Nissan will be sold in the US and Japan in 2010 and worldwide in 2012. He also mentioned that the company would share that technology with other automakers.

• One in three Mazdas sold is a Mazda3, underscoring the importance of this model to the Japanese automaker. The newest design is bold and edgy, but I was disappointed by the highway fuel mileage — just 33 mpg. Larger cars, such as the Ford Fusion and Chevy Malibu achieve that number too. Why is it that so many small cars just can’t seem to hit a high mpg despite a smaller footprint?

• Mercedes rolled out the new GLK, its small sport/utility vehicle. Priced from $33,900 for the two wheel drive model and $35,900 for the four wheel drive SUV, the GLK comes in lower than expected. Perhaps Mercedes understands that selling in a challenging market means slashing prices at the front, not the back.

• The Ford Fusion Hybrid is expected to get 39 miles to the gallon city which means that the car could travel as many as 700 miles between fill ups.  For city drivers, that could mean visiting the gas station just once per month,  a satisfying thought even as gas prices continue their free fall.

• Surprise, surprise! That is what Chrysler LLC had for the show when it decided to bring its three electric vehicle (EV) concepts to the auto show: The Chrysler Town & Country EV, Jeep Wrangler EV, and the Dodge EV — a sportscar that looks a lot like a Lotus will be on display for the duration of the show.

• Confirmed: the truck version of the Pontiac G8 sedan will be called the Pontiac G8ST (ST for sport truck). Even as I was looking at it, another blogger stopped by and mentioned that he would always refer to the car as the El Camino, a name rejected by General Motors for the G8ST, but one favored by a lot of folks to this day.

• Though this bit of news did not get mentioned at the show, Kelley Blue Book released a report saying that cars bought by U.S. manufacturers do not hold their value well at all. In fact, only foreign makes made their Top Ten list which was led by Honda.

I’m heading off to bed early as I’m still on east coast time and wanting to be fresh for the second and last day of this show. If all goes as planned, I’ll actually be able to test drive a number of the green vehicles on display, one of which will be the winner of the Green Car of the Year award. That announcement will be made precisely at 9 a.m. Thursday.