Live from your living room: the “Greater Lehigh Valley Auto Dealers 2020 Virtual Auto Show.”
The local auto dealers association has teamed up with WFMZ-TV in Salisbury Township to produce a 30-minute show that will first air 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
The program will help fill the void left by the cancellation of the 23rd annual event at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic. It had been scheduled from March 19-22 at Lehigh University’s Goodman Campus.
“One of the things we have found is people use the auto show to get information about cars,” said Tom Kwiatek, executive director of the dealers association. “We always knew they could do comparative shopping, but we didn’t realize they depended on that before they made their decisions.
“This is just a way to fulfill something to the community.”
The show will also air 6:30 p.m. May 16 and 7 p.m. May 18 on WFMZ. It is also scheduled to run other times during May on various networks, including MeTV and Retro, and be available on wfmz.com.
The show, which has also raised thousands of dollars annually for area nonprofits, won’t reap the income via the TV program similar to the live event, Kwiatek said. Some proceeds had been earmarked for Good Shepherd Pediatric Rehabilitation, this year’s beneficiary. Kwiatek said a short segment will air on the program about Good Shepherd.
Founded in 1998, the auto dealers group comprises 63 new car franchised dealers responsible for 6,370 jobs, with a combined annual payroll of more than $390 million. Visit glvada.org for more information.
source: mcall