Detroit Car Show Cuts Back

Each year the North American International Auto Show is Detroit one chance to forget the economic devastation that has ravaged the city and pretend it's Hollywood. But like most glitzy parties this time of year, the notoriously lavish affair is being scaled back. Opening to the media on January 11, the show is expected to bring $350 million to the city's economy, down $100 million from last year. Everyone from tradesmen (whose numbers at event preparations have dwindled) to fashionistas, who have seen General Motors cancel its "GM Style" fashion party, are feeling the effects of the cutbacks. There will also be fewer hospitality areas, carpet instead of wood or tile floors and, most drastically, the complete absence of Nissan, the most high-profile withdrawal from the show.