Nissan Motor Co. became the first major automaker to pull out of the North American International Auto Show when it announced Monday that it would not attend the Detroit and Chicago shows to save cash.

Nissan already has unveiled the next three additions to its U.S. lineup -- the Nissan Cube compact, the Nissan 370Z sports car and the premium Infiniti G37 convertible, all shown last week at the Los Angeles car show.

In weighing whether to come to Detroit, "we felt this was probably right now, not the best way to invest marketing money," said Nissan's U.S. spokesman, Alan Buddendeck. "This is not a comment in any way about the importance of the Detroit or Chicago auto shows."

Nissan, one of the top players in the U.S. market, is the largest automaker to skip the Detroit show. It sold more than 1 million Nissan and Infiniti vehicles in the United States last year, representing 9.6 percent of the market, according to Autodata Corp.

By comparison, the next largest company that pulled out, Mitsubishi Motors Corp., sold about 129,000 vehicles, or 0.8 percent of the U.S. market, in 2007.

Nissan said in a statement that its decision was "based on the fact that we have no major new products to show at the 2009 Detroit and Chicago auto shows as well as the current economic conditions which will impact the shows' marketing effectiveness."

Nissan and Infiniti dropping out is a case of carefully choosing how to spend marketing dollars, said Infiniti spokesman Kyle Bazemore.

In addition to Mitsubishi, Japanese automaker Suzuki Motor Corp. also said it would not participate in the Detroit show.

Germany's Porsche said last year that it would stop coming to Detroit because the show did not reach its clientele. Three other premium brands -- Rolls Royce, Ferrari and Land Rover -- have followed suit.

Some auto executives also have grumbled about the placement of their displays in the crowded Cobo Center.

"We need to talk to Nissan and see if there is something we can do," said Joe Serra, president of Grand Blanc-based Serra Automotive and co-chairman of the 2009 Detroit show. "Economics played a major factor, clearly. If there were other reasons, we need to dig deep and find out what they are."

Last week, a representative for the Detroit show said the departures clear the way for Chinese automakers to get space on the main floor. They had been relegated to the hallway outside the main floor and in the basement.

George Peterson, president of industry consultant AutoPacific Inc. in Tustin, Calif., told Bloomberg News that he was surprised by Nissan's cancellation. As one of the Japanese Big 3, Nissan would be expected to attend every major show. But given the weakness in the market, he said, the decision was understandable. Automakers can spend millions of dollars at these shows, he said.

So far this year, Nissan is outperforming the U.S. market, with sales down 6.2 percent, compared with an overall sales decline of 14.6 percent.

But CEO Carlos Ghosn has said recently that automakers need to take steps in this environment to conserve cash.

The departures may intensify efforts to expand Cobo Center. Michigan legislators said Monday that they expected the Legislature to approve a plan to expand Cobo by the end of the year.