In the top floor of the 2009 Philadelphia International Auto Show exhibit, employees were parking a Verdi-Ithaca green Lamborghini Murcielago. Its 640 hp, mid-rear-mounted V-12 filled the room with spent hydrocarbons. Those looking to own this car will have to dole out $413,000– that’s after all options, including a $5,400 “option” for the owner’s manual to be in “American.” It shared the room with its slightly less expensive cousin, the Gallardo, and a couple of Rolls-Royces and Maserati.

Car shows are never really defined by silly, lowly-slung exotics that cost more than a house in the suburbs – or 20 fully-optioned Toyota Corollas at $20,050 a piece. However, the atmosphere at this year’s installment of the auto show was noticeably stark – and the top floor was where some of the excitement was happening.

Media day, which usually features several manufacturers pulling the wraps off of their new concept cars – literally – in varying stages of production, included just one unveiling – the 2010 Ford Taurus.

That’s right. Ford unveiled the newest iteration of its bread-and-butter family sedan. Though the Taurus revolutionized the industry when it was unveiled in 1985 as an ’86 model, and is more powerful and arguably better looking than ever, the fact remains – the only unveiling this year was a family car whose name is synonymous with rental fleets and family vacations.

At the 2008 show, Chevrolet dusted off two of its performance nameplates that were on hiatus: “ZR1” and “Camaro.” The former is the suffix attached to a $100,000-plus, 632 hp Corvette. The latter is the iconic pony car last seen in 2002. GM had its vice president of global product planning in attendance last year to talk about the supercar, and how it’s possible the new ZR1 will steal market share from Porsche and Ferrari. And GM treated the press to an appearance by Vice President of Design Ed Welburn in 2007, who discussed the Camaro’s revival – and actually brought his own yellow and black ’69 Camaro SS to the show.

There was no GM press conference this year – and instead of sitting on spinning turntables, the mighty ZR1 and the revivalist Camaro were parked on the carpet next to anonymous commuter appliances.

Dodge dusted off its “Challenger” nameplate last year and attached it to a bright orange coupe with a 6.1-liter 425 hp V-8. The $39,800 car gets 13 mpg and 18 mpg in the city and highway, respectively, according to the EPA – and was yesterday’s … or last year’s news.

The industry has to re-learn how to sell cars, according to AutoNation Chairman Michael Jackson. And the above cars, which were displayed so prominently in years past, have slipped into the background.

“The economy is a mess and our industry is a mess,” Jackson said prior to kicking off the show Jan. 30.

He attributed the “mess” to the $4/gallon gasoline prices last year, which he said, created the greatest shift in consumer preference in the shortest amount of time (from large to small cars), and also the collapse of Lehman Bros. in September.

“Every brand from every manufacturer in every geographical corner of America collapsed by an incremental 25 percent and has been flat-lined since Sept. 15,” Jackson said.

Jackson said salespeople in the automotive industry have been trained to charge a premium for larger displacement, more powerful engines and have always “given away” cars with fuel-efficient engines.

People want the best of both worlds, though, and that includes power and economy. According to Jackson, interest in hybrid cars has been waning due to lower gas prices, but interest in diesel engines is growing. Jackson said 50 percent of the cars sold in Europe have diesel engines, and added that diesel is actually cheaper to produce.

The car companies seem to be catching on. BMW had two of its twin-turbocharged diesel vehicles displayed prominently – the X5 Sport Activity Vehicle, and the 335d, a diesel version of its vaunted 3-series sedan. Both vehicles were wearing discreet stickers that read “efficient” in a shadowy font above their rocker panels. And both vehicles sport a 3.0-liter twin-turbo inline-six that puts out 265 hp and a staggering 425-lb-ft of torque. With its strange 5,000 redline on the tachometer, the diesel-powered 3-Series can hit 60 mph in 6.0 seconds, and gets 23 mpg and 36 mpg in the city and highway, respectively. The 335d costs $44,900.

Slightly cheaper, actually almost half the price of the Bimmer, was the prominently displayed Volkswagen Jetta TDI. Its 2.0-liter inline-4 diesel engine puts out 140 hp and 236 lb-ft. of torque – and gets 29 mpg in the city and 40 mpg on the highway. It costs about $22,000.

If both BMWs and the Jetta were painted Verdi-Ithaca green – maybe they would have stolen the show.