New York Auto Show Aims To Turbocharge Rising Car Sales

NEW YORK (WWJ) - General Motors jumping the gun on this week's New York Auto Show, by releasing photos of an the all-new 2014 Buick LaCrosse.

"We evolved the interior and exterior design, increased luxury amenities and materials, and enhanced the safety and personal technologies to give customers more reasons than ever to rediscover Buick," said Tony DiSalle, U.S. vice president of Buick Marketing.

The vehicle will be shown publicly for the first time at a Tuesday lunch in New York. It's one of several new cars that will be unveiled by General Motors in New York, including an updated Chevy Camaro, and an all new version of the Cadillac CTS.

Car companies have been timing the introductions to try not to get lost in an onslaught of new products this year.

"We're looking at just about a fifty percent increase in vehicle introductions this year, as compared to last year," says Jeff Schuster, an analyst with LMC Automotive. "So, we're well above where we've been at."

Schuster says the New York Auto Show comes as car and truck sales have been stronger than expected to start the year. March appears to be shaping up to be another solid sales month.

"The month itself is really tracking very close and in line with what we've seen so far to date," he said. "So, it looks like the first quarter we're going to end on a very positive note."

The New York Auto Show will also feature the return of the Jeep Cherokee, an all-new Honda Odyssey minivan and a new version of the Toyota Highlander. There will also be a number of new luxury products, ranging from an updated small Audi A3 to a new top-of-the-line vehicle from Rolls Royce.

"The New York market is the largest market for just about every car manufacturer," says Mark Schienberg, general manager of the New York Auto Show.

And the timing of the show, Scheinberg says, couldn't be better.

"North America has definitely turned around in a tremendous way in vehicle sales, and it just seems to get stronger and stronger."

With the New York show kicking off the important spring car selling season, LMC Automotive's Jeff Schuster expects good things going forward.

"I think all systems are go for strong spring sales."

WWJ AutoBeat Reporter Jeff Gilbert will be covering this year's New York Auto Show. Follow his twitter feed (@jefferygilbert) for instant updates, photos and videos.