Automobile shows are usually about introducing new models. The script is changing for this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show in that some brands — Chrysler, Dodge and Lotus among them — are wiping the slate clean and introducing new lineups.
“Chrysler Brand Replacing Entire Model Lineup in ‘11,” the company announced Monday, in a news release detailing the new vehicles it would present at the show, which runs Friday through Nov. 28 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
The company said the makeover would be so complete, it will even change its logo. While Chrysler’s lineup is not large — comprising, really, only three models — the announcement does mark a turning point for the brand. Meanwhile, Chrysler’s stablemate, Dodge, is making changes that involve even more models — six — although the redesigns are not as dramatic.
Nissan will introduce three new vehicles at Los Angeles: a minivan, a sedan concept and a crossover convertible. Nissan will also heavily promote its Leaf electric car, which goes on sale next month. Its luxury marque, Infiniti, will also introduce a hybrid.
Such a strong presence for Nissan, Infiniti, Chrysler, Dodge and Fiat — returning here for the first time in 27 years — at the Los Angeles show is seen as especially significant. A year ago, those automakers essentially shunned this stop on the worldwide circuit of auto shows. Over all, it is seen as a hopeful sign of a recovery in the industry. These new introductions, plus dozens of others, will help breathe life into a show that was in danger the last two years, during the depths of the industry’s depression, of becoming moribund.
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