Pub. 1 Issue 1

T he 2011 L.A. Auto Show clearly demonstrated two things: timing is everything and location, location, location. Firstly, the November dates were invaluable in drawing significant debuts, motivating increased investment from the major automakers as well as fueling heightened interest from motivated car buyers. A key insight into this equation is the fact that the 920,000 attendees of the L.A. Showwere drawn from the largest car buying market in the U.S. Data from Foresight Research provides even more detail, revealing that more than half of these consumers were in the market to buy a vehicle in the next 12 months. Of these shoppers, 72 percent added one brand to their shopping list while at the Show, underscor- ing the direct-to-consumer branding power of the L.A. Auto Show. The venue also served as a highly efficient media megaphone for automakers. This reflects L.A.’s status as the second largest media market in the country where regional, national and international outlets congregated in record numbers to disseminate news to audiences around the nation and world. AUDI S6 AUDI S7 AUDI S8 AUDI R8 GT SPYDER BENTLEY CONTINENTAL GTC BMW I3 CONCEPT BMW I8 CONCEPT BMW M5 CADILLAC CIEL CONCEPT CADILLAC XTS CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 CONV. CHEVROLET SPARK DODGE CHARGER SRT8 SUPER BEE DOK-ING XD FIAT ABARTH 500 FORD ESCAPE FORD FIESTA ST FORD FLEX FORD FOCUS ST FORD MUSTANG BOSS 302 FORD MUSTANG SHELBY GT500 HONDA CR-V HONDA FIT EV HONDA INSIGHT HYUNDAI AZERA INFINITI JX CROSSOVER INFINITI IPL G CONVERTIBLE JAGUAR C-X16 CONCEPT JAGUAR XKR-S CONVERTIBLE JEEP LIBERTY ARCTIC JEEP WRANGLER ARCTIC KIA GT CONCEPT LAND ROVER DC100 CONCEPT LAND ROVER DC100 SPORT CONCEPT LEXUS GS 350 LINCOLN MKS LINCOLN MKT LOTUS EXIGE R-GT MASTRETTA MXT MAZDA CX-5 MERCEDES-BENZ C63 AMG COUPE BLACK SERIES MERCEDES-BENZ ML63 AMG MERCEDES-BENZ SLS AMG ROADSTER MORGAN 3WHEELER PORSCHE 911 PORSCHE 911 CARRERA PORSCHE PANAMERA GTS SUBARU BRZ CONCEPT – STI TOYOTA YARIS VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE R VOLKSWAGEN CC VOLVO CONCEPT YOU VOLVO C70 INSCRIPTION 2011 WORLD & NORTH AMERICAN DEBUTS 50 Debuts and Record Media Coverage Spur Jump in Public Attendance Public attendance grows by 22 percent in the last two years. There were many important brand stories told here by a global contin- gent of the world’s most noted auto - makers, but perhaps some of the most significant reflected Southern Cali - fornia’s well-known appetite for two critical categories – luxury and green segments. Not only is L.A. the largest car buying market but it’s also North America’s largest luxury car market, hybrid market and now electric vehicle market. This made the L.A. Show an ideal showcase for vehicles in these categories. More than half of the 50 L.A. Show debuts fell into the performance and luxury vehicle category. There was also a significant increase in fuel efficiency across the board in all categories. Nearly 20 highly efficient, 40-mpg-plus vehicles, using internal combustion engines – such as the world debut of the Chevrolet Spark – were featured. Underscoring that many solutions exist for reducing carbon emis - sions, several new electric vehicles and hybrids made news at the Show. And, for the first time, a natural gas vehicle (Honda Civic Natural Gas) took home the Green Car of the Year® title.  9