Group May Be Inflating Los Angeles’ Growth

“It’s amazing how L.A. is growing,” boasts an ad from the New Los Angeles Marketing Partnership, which touts the county as the place to do business. And, judging from NLAMP’s press materials, much of the growth results from including nearby counties as part of Los Angeles. To support its claim that Los Angeles is No. 1 in auto design, an NLAMP news release says: “Chrysler, Ford, GM, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Toyota, Volvo and VW all have design centers here.” But only two auto makers--Ford and Honda--have design centers in Los Angeles County, and Ford is planning to relocate to Irvine from Valencia. As for the rest: Volvo and Volkswagen (Ventura); Toyota, Mazda, Mitsubishi (Orange County); Chrysler, Nissan (San Diego). General Motors relocated to Detroit from Newbury Park. Jack Kyser, an economist and representative of NLAMP, said Los Angeles can claim these centers because they employ designers trained at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. NLAMP--formed by local government agencies and businesses--is launching a print and outdoor campaign that asserts Los Angeles is No. 1 in such categories as new businesses and manufacturing jobs, besides car design. The ads, part of a $560,000 effort, are intended to attract businesses to the city and county while creating a feel-good atmosphere for firms already based here. Kyser said other claims in the campaign are based on statistics from Los Angeles County only. The ads were prepared by the Davis/Elen advertising agency in Los Angeles.