IF you listen closely at the New York auto show, you can almost hear the pent-up pressure beneath the optimistic speeches and aspirational displays of gleaming sheet metal: it is the sound of an industry holding its collective breath.
During media previews of the show last week, car executives sought to reassure anyone within range of a microphone or notepad that perhaps the worst of the sales carnage is over, that compelling new models will tempt people back into dealer showrooms. Consumers, at least those with gainful employment, can judge for themselves at the 2009 show, which runs through April 19 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan.
Many of the car introductions carried a worrisome subtext, especially those of the two Detroit companies in critical care, Chrysler and General Motors. Before a redesigned Jeep Grand Cherokee drove into the spotlight, James E. Press, Chrysler’s vice chairman, cited mildly hopeful sales statistics from the first three months of 2009 to show that the company was making progress.
Yet even as the reporters and analysts praised and pored over the Grand Cherokee, many were whispering about whether Chrysler would still be around next year, when the Jeep is due to go on sale as a 2011 model.
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