Campus car enthusiasts will have a chance to check out new rides and help out a good cause this weekend when the Madison Auto Show rolls into the Alliant Energy Center.
The show, sponsored by the Madison Auto Dealers Association and Hospice Care Inc., will last from Friday, Jan. 20 through Sunday, Jan. 22. Visitors to the show will have the option of buying $5 raffle tickets for a chance to win a new car. All proceeds of the raffle will go to Hospice Care Inc., based in Fitchburg, Wis.
According to T.J. Johnson, chair of the show and sales manager at Bergstrom Cadillac-Hummer, 1200 Applegate Rd., the Madison Auto Show is more visitor friendly than other shows.
'All the cars are open, except for a few of the real high-priced exotics,' Johnson said.
'[Visitors] can sit in the new H3, they can walk 50 feet with it fresh in their mind and sit in the new Jeep, then they can walk 50 feet and sit in the new Explorer.'
Cathy Sullivan, special events coordinator for Hospice Care, said the show is a big revenue source for the group.
'Last year we raised $42,000,' Sullivan said. According to Johnson, the auto dealers are hoping for $60,000 of revenue for Hospice Care in 2006.
Sullivan said he could not thank people like Johnson enough.
'The Madison auto dealers truly are an extraordinary group of people,' she said.
Johnson said students interested in seeing the newest Cadillacs and Hummers but not wanting to stand on cold dealership lots can stroll in comfort this weekend.
'It's a chance to look at 300 cars in a 70-degree climate,' he said.
And those not wanting to be bothered by dealership representatives will have a chance to browse in comfort on the last day of the show: There are no salespeople allowed Sunday.
While an H3 or a DeVille may be out of the price range of most students, giving to Hospice Care does give those without wheels some hope: The grand prize of the raffle is a brand new car.
