Nissan dealers back out of the Detroit auto show

Nissan’s car and trucks will not have any presence at the 2009 North American International Auto Show — not even a dealer supported presence.

Nissan Motor Co. announced a decision in November to pull out of the show, but that was followed quickly by a group of local Nissan dealers saying they would provide vehicles and staffing for the space that their corporate parent previously planned to occupy.

At Nissan’s request, those plans have changed.

“The dealers were going to support a presence and had all stepped forward,” said Doug Fox, auto show co-chairman and owner of Ann Arbor Nissan. “But the week before Christmas we received a request from Nissan to please respect their decision to not have a presence at the North American International Auto Show.”

The dealers were disappointed, Fox said, but agreed to respect Nissan’s decision. Fox said Nissan did not provide a reason for the request.

“They just said they had made a national decision not to participate in this show and they asked us to respect that,” Fox said.