The keynote speaker at the show was Alan Mulally, President and CEO of Ford Motor Co. At this presentation, he discussed the company’s plans, such as reaching profitability by 2009 and finishing its product refresh by 2010. Consumers will be interested in knowing the company’s is focused in expanding its sales volume. This, in my opinion, means more feature-rich products at current prices, a sharp contrast to volume leaders Toyota and Honda, who have been incrementally increasing their prices of their vehicles as the Camry and Accord. Ford is sparing no expense in new products and fuel-efficient technologies. Expect future Fords to be more light weight while powered by alternative fuels as ethanol. Mulally stated, in fact, that fifty percent of the Fords on the road by 2012 will be flex-fuel, i.e., can use either regular gasoline or ethanol.

General Motors took a sizable chunk of my day. First, I interviewed Carl Hillenbrand, program manager of the Chevrolet Silverado, whom I asked why should people buy the upcoming Chevrolet Silverado Two Mode Hybrid. Truck buyers, I pointed out, tend to prioritize gas mileage differently, for example, than car buyers. Hillenbrand acknowledged the point but said that with the new Silverado Hybrid, truck buyers would not only continue to have the towing capability, space, comfort expected of the Silverado, but the city fuel economy matching that of a four-door Toyota Camry.

The interview with Mr. Hillenbrand segued into the General Motors press conference. There, Robert “Bob” A. Lutz, Vice Chairman of GM’s Global Product Development, announced the establishment of the Chevrolet brand as the “fuel solutions leader” worldwide. He pointed to the four new hybrids in model year 2007 and 2008 such as the Chevrolet Malibu and Tahoe hybrids, with the latter to win the 2008 Green Car of the Year award the next day. His point was then punctuated when the all new 2009 Chevrolet Aveo5; the E85-powered Impala; the Malibu sedan, Silverado pickup, and Tahoe SUV hybrids; and Volt Concept drove out onto the stage.

The rest of Thursday and Friday rushed by like LA traffic on a Sunday morning (i.e., fast). Watch for posts on the debut of the Volkswagen Space Up! Blue Concept; Audi Cross Cabriolet Quattro Concept; 2009 Nissan GT-R supercar; 2008 Dodge Journey and the debut of the Chrysler Aspen and Dodge Durango HEMI Hybrids; as well as the introduction of Hyundai’s GENESIS Coupe Concept (pictured).