NAIAS 2011: Notable absentees

(NAIAS)

As the North American International Auto Show opens to the media in Detroit, automakers are preparing to reveal their latest models for the coming year - but which names are absent?

After debuting the first designs of its long-awaited Fisker Karma at the 2009 Detroit Show, Fisker won't be attending this year's event, choosing instead to display at March's Geneva Motor Show, according to AutoEvolution.

British automaker Lotus, which displayed four models at last year's Paris Motor Show, won't be attending either, according to reports that surfaced over the weekend.

One of the most high-profile names notably absent from this month's event (and those of the last two years), will be Nissan and its luxury brand Infiniti.

The Japanese automaker, which unveiled the production-ready version of its Nissan Leaf electric vehicle at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November, told the Detroit Auto Dealers Association on Sunday that the brand will return in 2012 after its three-year absence.

Mitsubishi, which manufactures the Leaf's global competitor the i-MiEV, has also skipped the show, as has fellow Japanese automaker Suzuki.

Luxury marques are also slightly underrepresented, with Aston Martin and Rolls-Royce eschewing the event, although Bentley will be in attendance.

The show is open to the public January 15 - 23 in Detroit, Michigan.

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Who will be there - key attendees

- Ford
- General Motors (Cadillac, Buick, GMC, Chevrolet)
- Chrysler (Jeep, Chrysler, Ram, Dodge, Maserati, Fiat, Ferrari)
- Audi
- Mercedes Benz
- Honda
- Toyota (Scion, Lexus)
- Volkswagen
- BMW
- Porsche
- Honda
- Mazda
- Subaru
- Hyundai