Chatham’s one-stop car shopping showcase returns this weekend with the annual Chatham Indoor Car Show at the John D. Bradley Convention Centre.
The free show runs Friday evening to Sunday afternoon and will feature more than 100 new car models from 10 Chatham dealerships.
Greg Hetherington, organizer of the event and the voice of CKXS FM radio, expects to see thousands of people come through the doors over the three days to check out the 2018 lineup of new vehicles.
“It’s a great shopping opportunity to see all the dealers under one roof in a heated building. It’s easy to comparison shop. Just walk across six feet of carpet and there’s another vehicle to compare it to,” he said of the close proximity of the dealers. “The types of cars you want to buy are right there.”
Hetherington said close to 4,000 people attended last year’s event, and he expects similar numbers this year. He thinks the show’s appeal is the fact no one is trying to sell you a car.
“There’s no pressure. This isn’t a sale. It’s a show. So they (the dealers and staff) are there to answer any questions and walk you around the car,” he said. “If you want to go in and look at everything and not talk to people, they’ll let you do that too. It’s a very comfortable, nice way to spend a couple of hours on an afternoon.”
Hetherington said he enjoys the show every year.
“I like hanging out with the dealers and the employees. We’ve gotten to know them. They’re solid community people who like to give back,” he said. “Think about how much money they’ve put into the local economy and how much money they’ve put into charity.”
In fact, the dealers made room for various local non-profit groups at the show this year. There’s space for a number of these organizations, Hetherington said, to showcase what they do in Chatham-Kent. They’ll be set up in one of the ballrooms at the Bradley Centre.
And they won’t be alone. Hetherington said he plans on setting up several classic cars in the room as well to help garner attention.
The Chatham Indoor Auto Show runs from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday.
Be sure to take a look at our special pull-out section on the show in this week’s Chatham Voice.
