It appears that Toyota's President Katsuaki Watanabe will skip next month's North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Watanabe has yet to miss Detroit's big car show since assuming the mantle of president and CEO in 2005. But according to The Detroit News, he "has cancelled plans to attend" the 2009 sequel.

Of course Toyota itself is not pulling out. In fact, Detroit 2009 is the automaker's venue of choice for the unveiling of the next Toyota Prius -- a major introduction which makes Watanabe's absence even more peculiar. So why the change of heart? So far nobody is talking. However, according to the report "the number of executives from foreign companies attending the show appears to be down."