The Greater Lehigh Valley Auto Dealers Association was recently informed by Lehigh University that the university will not allow outside events to be held on campus this spring, thereby canceling the rescheduled 2021 auto show. Lehigh had previously postponed the show from its originally scheduled dates in March to May 12 to 16.

“Our dealers planned to follow all state and local guidelines, and had put in place extra measures so that they could safely present a show,” said Tom Kwiatek, executive director. “However, we understand Lehigh’s first responsibility is to its students and so we must abide by the university’s decision.”

In its place, the auto dealers will present an expanded virtual auto show. It will begin with a 30-minute television program created by WFMZ-TV featuring videos supplied by the manufacturers. These will be coupled with local dealer interviews highlighting the new 2021 vehicles and products available on dealers’ lots. The program will air during the second week in May and will be broadcast multiple times.

The 30=minute program will be followed by a web-based buyer’s guide that will be available on both the Greater Lehigh Valley Auto Dealers Association website: glvada.org; and WFMZ-TV’s website: wfmz.com. The buyers guide will feature shorter videos by local dealers highlighting vehicles in individual market segments, e.g. compact SUVs, sports cars, sedans, so that buyers can still compare and contrast vehicles by different manufacturers.

These segments may also include dealer specials and offers in conjunction with the virtual auto show. Dealers’ websites will be linked to these segments so that customers can learn more or schedule appointments to see vehicles in person. These segments will stay on both websites until the information on the 2022 auto show is available. In addition, the audio portion of these videos will be converted to podcasts and compiled in the Lehigh Valley Car Talk program. More information on these will be available when they are produced.

One of the main reasons that auto show attendees come to the Lehigh Valley Auto Show is to be able to compare similar vehicles from different manufacturers in a pressure-free environment without having to visit numerous showrooms. Often, auto show attendees find that they add vehicles to their consideration set because of being able to check out a vehicle at the show that wasn’t in their initial shopping parameters. Dealers feel that these virtual opportunities will offer a great way to do this in 2021.