Expect to bump into a bunch of big trucks at the Dallas Auto Show this week.

But you'll also see a lot of Toyotas, Hondas, Nissans and other so-called imports, reflecting the "churn" and growing diversity in the local marketplace.

Ford

The Ford Interceptor, which is on display at the Dallas Auto Show, attracted huge crowds at the Detroit show.

Although the area still has an image as a Southwestern metropolis where people with big hats and big hair drive big trucks, new car sales numbers – and the 700 vehicles at the Dallas Auto Show – suggest a more complex picture.

In fact, the car culture here – as in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Miami and Phoenix – is being shaped by significant shifts as domestic automakers lose market share to the imports.

"The State Fair auto show demographic is predominantly a truck buyer and fairly rural," said Don Herring Jr., chairman of the Dallas Auto Show and general manager of Don Herring Mitsubishi in Irving. "The Dallas Auto Show is more of an urban buyer and is a greater cross-section of the area."

The Dallas show – which opened Wednesday afternoon and runs through Sunday at the Dallas Convention Center – features the recently introduced 2008 Cadillac CTS midsize sedan and Aston Martin V-8 Vantage Roadster. Both are expected to fare well in Dallas' strong luxury-car market.

Ford is spotlighting its 2008 Super Duty pickup, a truck that was unveiled with great fanfare at the State Fair last fall and is crucial to the automaker's financial recovery.

Meanwhile, Toyota Motor Corp., a major force in the domestics' decline, is displaying the largest model of its huge new Toyota Tundra pickup, the Tundra CrewMax. Toyota's luxury division, Lexus, is showing off the LS 600hL, a hybrid version of its biggest luxury sedan.

Ford

The whimsical Ford Airstream concept car was inspired by Stanley Kubrick’s film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Automakers have also brought more than a dozen concept vehicles to the Dallas show, including several top-line cars that were first displayed at the Detroit auto show in January. Among them are the Ford Interceptor high-performance sedan, Lincoln MKR luxury sedan, Airstream crossover hybrid, Chrysler Akino, Chevrolet Volt electric sedan and Chevrolet Camaro convertible concept.

General Motors Corp. has also brought a concept version of the Chevy Tahoe Hybrid that workers at the GM Arlington plant are getting ready to build.

Crossovers are the hot category at the show this year, with an array of vehicles that includes the Dodge Caliber, Ford Edge, GMC Acadia, Hyundai Veracruz, Kia Rondo, Lincoln MKX, Mazda CX-7 and Suzuki SX4.

As diverse as the mix already is, the show is likely to get even more varied, said Drew Campbell, president of the New Car Dealers Association of Metropolitan Dallas.

"In the next three to five years, we will see entries from India and China," Mr. Campbell said. "The imports want more space. But we haven't seen Ford, GM or Chrysler say they are giving up space."

The changes in the Dallas new car market were evident in last year's sales.

In sales numbers compiled recently by The Freeman Auto Report, 15 of the 20 largest new car dealers in the four-county area were so-called imports, up from 12 of 20 in 2005. The 20 dealers are made up of the top five retailers in Dallas, Tarrant, Collin and Denton counties.

In Dallas County – once one of the strongest domestic markets in the country – four of the top five dealers last year were imports. Moreover, the area's largest individual dealership for years, Prestige Ford in Garland, was sixth in sales, according to the report.

Sam Pack, one of Ford's most influential dealers, says Ford and other domestic automakers are working hard to present themselves positively at the Dallas Auto Show.

"I think they do want to attract some attention at the show," said Mr. Pack, owner of Five Star Ford in North Richland Hills, Sam Pack's Five Star Ford in Carrollton and Ford Country in Lewisville. "If you look at the concept vehicles that we are getting here, I think Ford is very focused on marketplace and extremely concerned about how they are perceived. They will put their best foot forward."

Ford is bringing concepts from both ends of the vehicle spectrum. On the feasible now side: the Ford Interceptor and Lincoln MKR. On the hazy years-out end: the Airstream, a whimsical crossover inspired by Stanley Kubrick's cult film 2001: A Space Odyssey and featuring plug-in hydrogen fuel-cell power.

The powertrain is real, Ford says. The Airstream's body and interior are "meant to be fun, to feel almost like a lounge," said Freeman Thomas, director of North American strategic design at Ford Motor Co.

With a low chopped top, wide muscular body and a 5-liter, 400-horsepower V-8 from Ford Racing, the Interceptor attracted huge crowds at the Detroit auto show and was named best concept by Autoweek magazine. Both the Interceptor and Lincoln MKR are built on versions of the new Mustang platform.

"We are using auto shows as a very serious venue to see how these cars resonate," Mr. Thomas said. "A great Ford's appeal transcends all social classes. The Airstream has potential 10 to 15 years in the future. The Interceptor is a very realistic, near-term concept."

Somewhere in the middle is the Chevrolet Volt, a stylish compact sedan powered entirely by electric motors. Unlike conventional hybrids, the Volt runs solely on electric power and uses a small 3-cylinder gasoline engine to run a 53-kilowatt generator that keeps the car's lithium-ion batteries charged.

GM says the Volt – which attracted major attention at the Detroit show – is the first of a family of "E-Flex" vehicles that can be charged from several sources.

Aston Martin, the storied British automaker whose controlling interest is being sold by Ford to a consortium of investors, is more focused on the near term. The resurgent company has brought to Dallas its new V-8 Vantage Roadster, a stunning convertible that should arrive in the U.S. in May.

"We are very, very pleased with the Vantage," said John Walton, vice president and general manager of Aston Martin North America. "The plan was to launch the car in L.A., the biggest convertible market in the U.S., and then bring it to Dallas for the auto show."

Dealers say they like the Dallas Auto Show because it kick-starts the spring selling season and attracts 400,000 or so people who are willing to pay up to $11 each to look at new and future cars. Most expect sales this year to be fairly flat but marked by continued shifts in market share.

"From a dealer's perspective, coming through the winter months, it's refreshing for our salespeople to just get out and talk to customers," said John Eagle, owner of the John Eagle Dealerships and chairman of the New Car Dealers Association.

"As we sit and look at the national numbers, some people are taking some big hits. But in the Southwest, even the domestics are not doing that badly. I'm optimistic."