300,000 Expected At Miami International Auto Show As Organizers Plan Future Bigger Event
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - The 49th Miami International Auto Show is now underway at the Miami Beach Convention Center.
People visiting may first notice the return of "Camp Jeep". It's an amusement ride where workers will give you a bumpy ride on a course Jeeps can handle.
There is also a lien of cars people can test drive. Usually, that's done before the sun goes down.
Inside the convention center, people will notice the latest 2020 models. There's also an area reserved for people to take a trip down memory lane and see older cars.
Organizers counted nearly a thousand cars on the floor.
"It's great to be here to break the ice and be the first," George Delatorre said. "I think it's better than last year. Last year, it was a little bit limited. This year, it's a lot more selection."
The event started on Friday and it goes until November 10th. 300,000 people are expected over that time.
Show Runner Richard Baker admitted the show needed a tune-up after a rough few years.
"We didn't have a show two years ago. Last year was the first show in this building. So, we were still going through the kinks of the show and kinks of the building too. So, we had a tough year last year," Baker said.
Organizers dealt with convention construction, Zika concerns, and storm threats. They also saw some manufacturers back out of all car shows.
Despite that setback, there's a push to make the next show bigger and move it to a different month.
"Some of the other shows up north moved to the summertime and we are going to take advantage of that and move to February," the showrunner said.
That means there will be no show in 2020. Instead, it'll resume in February 2021.
