Volvo will be in attendance at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show, except that it won’t bring in any car — concept or production — with it. Instead, the Swedish automaker is renting premium space at the event to show…nothing. Ok, that’s not entirely true, either. Volvo will have its own booth at the show, but the booth is described as a showcase to show the automaker’s “vision,” specifically in “redefining what a car can be.” In other words, Volvo’s booth at the L.A. Auto Show will consist of a number of areas that talk about the company’s future services and a giant sculpture in the middle with the message: This Is Not a Car.

Volvo’s done a great job reinventing itself in the past few years, at least since Chinese auto giant Geely purchased it back in 2010. The automaker’s current lineup is made up of some of the best models in their respective segments. The Swedish automaker has also done a tremendous job in steering its services and technological advances to bigger and better things.

That’s all great, but the idea of a major automaker participating in an auto show without bringing a car sounds silly to me. Volvo clearly has a different take on the matter, or at least that’s what Mårten Levenstam, head of Product Strategy at Volvo Cars, alluded to in explaining Volvo’s peculiar strategy at the L.A. Auto Show.

“By calling the trade show Automobility LA, the organizers have recognized the disruption affecting our industry,” Levenstam said. “We want to demonstrate that we got the memo and start a conversation about the future of automobility. So instead of bringing a concept car, we talk about the concept of a car.”

Judging by a mock-up of its display in the event, Volvo’s car-less booth will instead feature series of interactive displays focusing on services the automaker is currently developing for the future. Volvo also has a developing partnership with Amazon on in-car deliveries. That has its own section, as well. Future tech offerings like autonomous driving and connectivity will also feature in Volvo’s booth, as is a giant sculpture in the middle that’s the farthest thing from a car as you can imagine.

Overall, the setup actually looks great, except that it’s missing a car. As much as Volvo tries to spin the event as “not a car show,” the L.A. Auto is a car show. New cars, old cars, concept cars. It doesn’t matter. A lot of them will be in attendance at the event. Even if Volvo isn’t going to say it, I bet it’s going to have some kind of buyer’s remorse — or is renter’s remorse? — when the L.A. Auto Show opens, and its car-less booth is surrounded by, well, cars.

It’s even stranger when you consider that this is the same automaker that skipped on the 2018 North American International Auto Show and the 2018 Geneva Motor Show because it wanted to spend its marketing funds in other ways.

I’ll give Volvo this: it did spend its marketing budget in other ways. It just so happens that it involves attending the same type of show it ditched more than once this year to show…without a single car in tow.