Dreadful U.S. sales, bailout hearings in Congress and General Motors' decision to stay away may have cast a gloom over the Los Angeles Auto Show, but there still will be plenty of horsepower on display.

"It's going to be a very delicate balancing act of going to Congress and saying 'We need help' -- and having dancing girls around their cars" at the show, said Rebecca Lindland, an auto analyst with the consulting firm IHS Global Insight. "I think that may be why GM pulled out."

In all, some two dozen cars will make their North American debuts at the show, which officially kicks off Friday and runs through Nov. 30, and several top automakers will unveil new models during media previews Wednesday and Thursday.

GM had planned to unveil its new Buick LaCrosse sedan, but that vehicle will instead make its debut at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January, said GM spokesman Scott Fosgard.

The new model could get lost in news about GM's cash crisis and efforts to get government aid, Fosgard said. GM also wants to unveil the Buick in Detroit to get more exposure to Chinese journalists. Buick is a hot-selling product in China.

The show will have its usual emphasis on fuel efficiency, with Honda's 2009 Insight making its North American debut. The vehicle is touted by Honda as the cheapest gas-electric hybrid on the market and is seen as a challenger to the long-dominant Toyota Prius.

Ford has its own plans to unveil new versions of the Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln MKZ at the show, including models of the Fusion and Milan featuring hybrid gas-electric powertrains.

The company got a jump on the festivities Tuesday, unveiling the 2010 redesign of its muscle car Mustang, featuring a more aggressive grille, punctuated with the first new Mustang emblem since the car's introduction in 1964.

Chrysler will offer the public its first glimpse of its own electric vehicle concepts, including a Jeep and a minivan that can go 40 miles on battery power before a small engine extends their range.

Chrysler is hoping the vehicles will steal some of the limelight from the Chevrolet Volt, the much-touted gas-electric car General Motors unveiled in Los Angeles a year ago.

BMW's MINI division also unveiled an all-electric car for lease on a limited basis on the eve of the show. The company will begin accepting lease applications this week for 450 of its MINI E electric cars from customers in California, New York and New Jersey for $850 a month.

The two-seater Mini E runs on a lithium-ion battery, the same that will help power the Volt. The battery gets about 150 miles per charge.