GM cancels L.A. auto show debut

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

General Motors has made the L.A. Auto Show shine a little less brightly.

The cash-starved automaker said today that it would cancel its only news conference at the annual event, originally planned as the North American debut of the Saab 9-X Air BioHybrid Convertible. The executive who was to conduct the reveal of the concept car, Vice Chairman Bob Lutz, also will not be attending the show, which opens to the public Nov. 21. The vehicle will be on display at the show, however, just without a flashy introduction.

The company described the cutback as a cost-saving measure. In the third quarter, GM burned through cash so quickly -- about $2.3 billion per month -- that executives predicted that, without outside help, it would run out of cash sometime in the first two quarters of next year.

Now the automaker is lobbying Washington for help, and Congress, as well as President-elect Barack Obama, is pushing for $50 billion or more in low-interest loans, or for other financing alternatives. Meanwhile, GM has dramatically cut back on production and other expenses and has reduced product-development expenditures.

The Saab concept car had its worldwide debut at the Paris Motor Show in October. Last year, GM debuted three cars at the L.A. show. The fact that it will officially debut zero vehicles in the single largest auto market in the U.S. is another reminder of the industry’s dire situation.

-- Ken Bensinger