• by Karl Greenberg , April 8, 2009

The New York International Auto Show taking place this week is a reflection of the economy. There isn't much of the usual free food, coffee and perks. And the exhibits are pared down. Way down.

Even Toyota, which typically commandeers the galleria upstairs in the Jacob Javits Center and puts on Broadway-style shows with modern dance and light effects, was visibly subdued. Granted, Toyota's Scion division did have the IQ micro concept descend from the rafters, and Mercedes-Benz had Dianne Reeves singing, but that was about it.

The vehicles themselves were safely on the pavement, with no wild flights of fancy as was typical in the headier days of the early millennium. Not much braggadocio about horsepower unless it was linked to how that power was achieved with fuel savings or new, clean technology.

Now the keyword is value. Value from fuel efficiency, standard gadgetry and from less immediately tangible benefits like emissions.

In one of the stranger press conferences and one that is most emblematic of where the automakers stand, Chrysler had Vice Chairman Jim Press rolling out in ... a Fiat 500, joking about how the entire car is the size of a Hemi engine. He also made a barely noticeable slip of the tongue, describing the car as making a Camry -- or rather, cameo -- appearance. You can take the man out of Toyota ...

The move was intended to broadcast Chrysler's proposed lifeline arrangement with the Italian automaker, which Press said represents a great opportunity for the automaker because there would be "no overlap between our respective products."

But Todd Turner, president of Car Concepts, says synergy is less likely than Fiat's dismantling of Chrysler. "Fiat is not saving Chrysler," he says. "Chrysler is a shell that Fiat will, if anything, take over" because of distribution. "Chrysler's only assets are its dealers," he says.

For his part, Press said the company is on the road to health, with warranty claims down 30%, employment reduced to 1934 levels, and a new deal with a lithium-ion battery maker for electric cars to be built in Michigan.

Honda's Acura division showed a new crossover sport utility vehicle, the ZDX -- intended to reside up-market from the MDX SUV. The company has also extended its partnership with W Hotels -- for which it is a preferred vehicle -- meaning that W will continue using fleets of MDX vehicles as complementary chauffeur cars.

General Motors used the show to promote the Buick/GMC/Pontiac distribution channel, which the company created to justify the three brands through complementary relationships: GMC for trucks, Pontiac as the youth "excitement" brand and Buick as the luxury brand for the channel.

Susan Docherty, VP and general manager of the three brands, said they are one-third of U.S. GM volume. She said the company will roll out a new Buick Lacrosse this summer.

The Buick brand now has a 45% conquest rate, she said, and has lowered its average consumer age by a decade.

GMC will get a new compact crossover called Terrain. Docherty said the larger GMC crossover, Acadia has gotten younger buyers than Ford has for Flex, Nissan has for Murano and Toyota has for its Highlander SUV.

She argued that even though GMC sales are plummeting, the division is viable because people need work trucks, and the market for crossovers is big enough to generate the survivable volume for the division.

"There will be a 70% growth in the crossover market and 60% growth in the compact crossover segment by 2013," she said.