MIAMI, Fla. This year’s CARS Expo, hosted by the National Performance Warehouse Companies‘ Speed, Motor and CMA Warehouses, grew by one-third to 67,000 square feet of space for 2013. In addition to 100 of the country’s leading suppliers of replacement and performance products demonstrating their offerings this year, several California jobbers also exhibited in the show.
The show opened with the Oakland Raiderettes again greeting customers and posing for photos with fans and drawing raffle tickets. More than 100 door prizes were awarded during the show, with six 51-inch or larger TVs given away on the hour. The show ended with a grand prize drawing of a seven-day cruise to the Caribbean.
There were more than 200 custom, restored or exotic vehicles on display, which added to the overall theme and interest at the show. DenBeste Motorsports was a show special feature with a huge display of Shelby Cobras.
Two categories of customers were a target for the show, said NPW. The company attracted significant interest in the engine parts area with demo’s of engine parts lookup in the Motor Warehouse booth and offering service techs free sign-ups to suppliers’ technical and training sites and programs as well as deals through the jobbers at the show.
A Saturday evening reception was held for suppliers and special guests, where awards were presented for categories such as Rep of the Year, Supplier of the Year and Performance and Traditional Jobbers of the Year. This year, three individuals were inducted in the Hall of Fame category to honor their contributions to Speed Warehouse, Motor Warehouse, CMA Warehouse or the aftermarket as a whole.