DETROIT, USA - Nissan Motor Co has decided to pull out of the Detroit and Chicago auto shows as it reins in marketing spending amid a global downturn in sales.

The move was the latest by a major automaker to skip one of the U.S. auto shows, costly trade events designed to showcase upcoming vehicles.

The auto show circuit has traditionally started and peaked with the January show in Detroit, home to the embattled U.S. automakers.

Nissan spokesman Alan Buddendeck said the company had decided to skip the Detroit show and the Chicago show, which takes place in February, after reviewing its planned marketing spending.

Alan Buddendeck, a Nissan spokesman, said the company had decided to skip the Detroit show and the Chicago show, held in February, after reviewing planned marketing spending.

"Is this the best use of our marketing dollar? The answer is probably not," said Buddendeck. "As with every other automaker, we are looking at all of our marketing expenses."

In a break with tradition, General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC both opted not to send high-ranking executives to the Los Angeles auto show last week or to unveil new vehicles there.

Nissan launched three new products at the Los Angeles auto show last week, including the Cube small car and the 370Z sports car.

Carlos Ghosn, who heads both Nissan and its alliance partner Renault SA , also gave the keynote speech at the Los Angeles show, saying that the priority for his companies was to conserve cash during a steep downturn in sales of still uncertain duration.

Other automakers have also announced plans to skip the Detroit auto show.

Porsche AG said earlier this year that it would skip the Detroit show, saying it would focus on other regional U.S. markets - such as California - and spend more of its marketing budget on efforts to reach prospective buyers outside the auto show circuit.

Mitsubishi Motors Corp , Suzuki Motor , Land Rover and Rolls Royce have also said they would skip the Detroit auto show next year.

GM, which has warned that it will soon run short of cash and is asking the U.S. government for a financial bailout, said on Monday that it was ending an endorsement deal with golfer Tiger Woods a year early.

GM has also cut spending on motorsports endorsements and dropped plans to advertise during the Super Bowl and the Academy Awards.

(Reporting by Kevin Krolicki, editing by Leslie Gevirtz)