Final Sunday of Phila. Auto Show Sets An All-Time Record
By Lynne Adkins
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- This year's just-ended Philadelphia Auto Show was a record-setter despite suffering through some very difficult winter weather.
Icy conditions, a nor'easter, and an all-day closure of the Pennsylvania Turnpike (see related story) all occurred during the nine-day run of the 2014 auto show.
But this past Sunday, the final Sunday of the show, the Pennsylvania Convention Center was packed. Some 43,000 people came through the doors -- about eight thousand more than normal and the largest Sunday attendance in the 113-year history of the show, according to Kevin Mazzucola, , executive director of the Auto Dealers Association of Greater Philadelphia.
He says that made up for days with low attendance because of the harsh winter weather.
"We were very pleased with the resiliency of the show," Mazzucola tells KYW Newsradio. "What really showed strong was the intent to purchase. Last year about 31 percent of the people who came were looking to buy within the next 12 months; this year it was 41 percent."
He says overall attendance was less than expected, but he claims the show still adds about $50 million to the local economy.