Mayor Nutter Joins Organizers As Philadelphia Auto Show Drives Into Town
By Paul Kurtz
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - One of Philadelphia's longest running events returns this weekend, and in keeping with tradition, Mayor Nutter joined organizers in giving a preview of the 114th Philadelphia Auto Show.
Resisting the urge to put pedal to the metal, Nutter took an agonizingly slow test spin in a car built for speed -- an Aston Martin DB8 convertible.
"Sheer torture," he said. "There's no question about it. This is the highest end car I've ever driven in my life."
Nutter brought up that you can have your own Aston Martin for $218,531.29. Not surprisingly, there were no takers.
Auto Show Chairman Donald Franks says there's more where that came from:
"We've got draws from exotic cars, fast cars, expensive cars, all the way through the whole lineup. The subcompact sport utility vehicles are big this year."
With 700,000 square feet of space and 700 vehicles -- some dating back to 1911 -- Franks says this year's show will be the largest ever:
"We've got concept cars and we've got historic cars, too. And we've got an expansion this year in racing cars presented by some local universities and the workshop school of Philadelphia."
The Philadelphia Auto Show runs through February 8th at the Convention Center.