If the buzz from the Detroit auto show is any indication, the hottest cars at this weekend's Utah International Auto Expo will be those that boast fuel efficiency.
"The hybrids and the alternative fuels are what people really want to see," said Marty Beecham, with Motor Trend Auto Shows, the production company for the Utah Auto Expo. "That's what people are starting to shop for. People are concerned about the price of fuel."
Fourteen hybrid and alternative fuel models will be on display today through Monday during the Utah Auto Expo, sponsored in part by the Deseret Morning News, at the South Towne Expo Center.
The show's promoters would not reveal how many people they expect at this year's event, or how many people attended the Auto Expo in the 20 years it has been in Utah, saying it is proprietary information.
The show is brought to the state by the New Car Dealers of Utah, which said that while people cannot purchase cars at the show, 87 percent of them intend to buy a new car within three years. Seventy-two percent of the attendees said that the show helped their decision of what to buy.
The show is not associated with the North American International Auto Show that has been going on this week in Detroit, where car manufacturers roll out their latest advancements in auto technology, but many of the "same cars that were displayed in Detroit are in Salt Lake City," Beecham said.
The latest arrivals in hybrid and alternative-fuel technology are large sport-utility vehicles.
When hybrids and alternative-fuel vehicles first were designed, they were mostly small cars with smaller engines and lower performance expectations than pickups and large SUVs, Beecham said.
"They needed to go 75 mph and carry 3,000 pounds," Beecham said, before engineers could move on to developing hybrid and alternative-fuel SUVs.
People like big vehicles, however, because they feel safer inside them. Beecham predicts many Utahns will be attracted to the Chevy Tahoe Hybrid.
Except for the concept vehicles and a fleet of classic cars, the models on display at the Auto Expo will be for sale this year.
The Ford Reflex is one concept that will be on display. It's touted as a sports car of the future with reverse butterfly doors, 20-inch wheels, seats made from recycled Nike running shoes and a diesel-electric hybrid engine that attains 65 mpg.
If you go . . .
What: Utah Auto Expo
Where: South Towne Expo Center, 9575 S. State
When: Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sunday and Monday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
Cost: Admission is $7 for adults, $5 for senior citizens, $4 for children ages 7-12. Children 6 and younger are free.
For more information, visit www.autoexpoutah.com.
E-mail: lhancock@desnews.com