An ailing auto market has had a major impact on the type of vehicle featured at the auto show this year.  While exotic cars like the Rolls-Royce Ghost, which retails for $245,000, still have a place at the show, the focus is obviously on small cars and minivans like the Toyota Sienna.

In fact, many high-end carmakers won’t even be preset at the L.A. Auto Show this year.  After a year of fierce competition and dismal sales, several exotic car manufacturers, including Maserati, Ferrari, Bentley, and Lamborghini, will be staying home to lick their wounds.

“We had no North American [product] launch, so we decided not to go,” Ferrari spokesman Matteo Sardi told the L.A. Times. “But we value the show, so we’ll definitely be back.”

In the case of this year’s L.A. Auto Show, the absence of the exotic car manufacturers gives regular car companies a chance to shine.  And according to reviews, the 2011 Toyota Sienna stands out from the rest.

As a nod toward the market’s current values of frugality and fuel economy, Toyota has designed the Sienna with a standard 2.7-liter, 4-cylinder engine.  The V-6 will remain an option for consumers, but this new 4-cylinder offers an improvement in fuel economy at 26 miles per gallon on the highway.

Debuting the redesigned Sienna at the L.A. Auto Show represents an aggressive marketing move for Toyota and draws admiration from some car enthusiasts.

“It’s a very straightforward way of doing things,” Dave Thomas, senior editor at  Cars.com, explained the L.A. Times. “A Toyota Sienna minivan? That’s not the type of thing you would normally debut at the L.A. Auto Show. It’s certainly not a sexy car, but it’s a big deal for Toyota.”

Some exotic car fans may be just a little disappointed at the absence of many of the big names.  Despite exotic car ownership hassles like getting an Azle TX insurance quote or finding secure car storage, we all fantasize about driving a Bentley.  Those who wish to indulge the fantasy can find an excellent exotic car rental directory at http://www.rentexoticcars.net.

Luckily, most exotic car manufacturers are not ruling out their attendance at next year’s auto show.

This year’s L.A. Auto Show runs from December 4 through December 13.

Kate Miller-Wilson is an SEO web writer and a professional freelance writer.  To view more of her work, please visit her website.