Carlisle Events has been doing “the car show thing” since 1974 with great success.  That success over the past 46 years has led to expansion, including events in Florida.  Now, with the growth of Winter AutoFest in Lakeland, Carlisle Events is pleased to announce that an all-new car show element is coming to the SUN ‘n FUN Expo Campus starting at 8 a.m. daily and running February 21-23, 2020.

First it was Mustangs in 2015, then it was Corvettes in 2019…now, Mopar Madness takes over the show.  With a passionate enthusiast base who can often be heard saying “Mopar or no car,” it’s a given that not only will there be a solid turnout of cars and car owners, but vendors specific to the brand and fans, too.

For Carlisle Events, a Mopar themed showcase is nothing new.  Annually, each July in Carlisle hosts the world’s largest all-Mopar themed weekend; the Carlisle Chrysler Nationals.  That show draws nearly 3,000 cars and 60,000 guests, including a massive Mopar flea market.  While the showcase in Lakeland won’t be that big, it will still offer some themed displays, guests and seminars. 

Details are still being ironed out on the guest and seminar front, but Lou Santiago, of Car Fix on Motor Trend is slated to appear. Mopars will be part of the 1970/50-year showcase and Santiago, as well as others specific to the hobby will talk with guests about their beloved rides.  Parts shopping will also be key to this display and Carlisle Events is now accepting vendor registration.

“Mopar owners are arguably the most passionate and loyal of any automotive brand,” noted Carlisle Chrysler Nationals event manager Ed Buczeskie.  “There are a lot of Chrysler enthusiasts in Florida and since Ford and Chevrolet were being featured, I wanted to make sure the Pentastar was represented too. Rather than focus on one nameplate, ALL Mopar brands will be welcome.”

There are three great ways to experience this all-new showcase at Winter AutoFest Lakeland.  The best way would be to show and car owners can do so at one of two price points.  The $75 VIP package offers weekend admission for the car, car owner and a guest, plus two VIP bidder passes to the two-day auction, powered by Carlisle Auctions.  In addition, the $75 option allows its holder and guest access to the VIP bidder’s breakfast on Saturday morning; offers two days of celebrity judging; exclusive photo opportunities to showcase your Mopar; a FREE event t-shirt and more!

Option two is a $25 Fun Field pass.  Again, the car, car owner and guest will be part of the event each day, but are only eligible for the two days of judging along with auction access.

Finally, anyone can see the Mopars, the Mustangs and the Corvettes, the auction and/or shop the automotive flea market by purchasing a single day or full event spectator ticket.  Simply park in the general parking lot, pay admission, walk on grounds and enjoy all that the event has to offer.  While it is very much an option at $10 per adult (kids 12 and under free), it just might be more fun to be the attraction rather than just seeing the attractions.

Complete event details including links to register can be found at www.CarlisleEvents.com via the Winter AutoFest Lakeland page or by calling 717-243-7855 today!   

Cyber Monday marked the official launch of Awesome Joe Auctions™, the new online auction house for the modern enthusiast that offers a collection of modified, motorsport, classic, exotic, and other commodity autos for collectors, racers, and hobbyists.

Developed by Andy Lally ALIVE® and Carlisle Auctions, the consignment arm of Carlisle Events® (one of the largest event organizations in the United States), Awesome Joe Auctions was created to capture all the excitement of a live car, truck, and motorcycle auction and put it in the palm of every motoring enthusiast’s hand.

“We work to ensure the safety of online transactions by subjectively assessing vehicles with the utmost regard for value and credibility standards,” said Lance Miller, co-owner of Carlisle Auctions. “From the start we offer buyers and sellers a streamlined purchasing experience, with a growing network of partners that provide everything from financing to logistical support once the auction ends.”

Those industry experts include Motul, Auto Appraisal Group, Inc., Grundy Insurance for classic automotives, Lockton Motorsports Insurance, and many other service providers.

The “Awesome Joe” origin story is based on Awesome Joe Racing, the New Jersey racing team founded by Gerald “Jerry” Raffa. A lifelong racing enthusiast, Jerry invested heavily in the development of his local racetrack and dedicated himself to supporting and promoting the sport he loved.

Both the racing team and auction house are represented by the bad-boy-in-a-leather-jacket mascot, Awesome Joe, who touts the wry humor and skill of a mechanic that can tell what your ride has under the hood at a glance.

Awesome Joe Auctions is the third product from ALIVE, with predecessors MotorCrush®, the app for motoring enthusiasts, and Track Rabbit®, the source for motorsports registration, in conjunction with a full range of marketing, design, and technology services. Together, this unique combination creates a cohesive, enhanced experience for the automotive and motorsports industry. With this latest launch, ALIVE continues to fuel and strengthen the community by connecting people to their passion in a meaningful way.

Buyers and sellers alike can head to AwesomeJoeAuctions.com today to place their bids. Successful auctions pay only 2% of the winning bid, and all accepted rides onto Awesome Joe Auctions are FREE TO LIST unless sold.

There was a time when the Carlisle Events season schedule ran April through October.  Spring Carlisle would start things off, with Fall Carlisle wrapping things up.  Over the past few years, due to demand, that trend has shifted.  Now, Carlisle Events offers an event 9 out of 12 months, including a season opening weekend in Allentown Pennsylvania.  Auto Mania, as it’s been known for decades, runs January 17-19 within the Agri-Plex building at the Allentown Fairgrounds.

Auto Mania takes place within a singular building on the 46-acre fairgrounds complex and thousands of enthusiasts travel from regional cities and towns to buy, sell and trade with total confidence.  The over 200 vending spaces are contained within a fully heated building, making an otherwise cold weekend in Lehigh County an automotive hot spot.  In addition to an all-automotive sales floor, attendees have an opportunity to snag a collector car via the car corral.  This forum allows for owner and seller to deal directly with one another in a no pressure, no haggle environment.

In addition to the car corral which varies in size depending on the weather, Auto Mania once again offers Pennsylvania's largest indoor and heated automotive flea market.  Within the facility, enthusiasts will find sold-out vending spaces packed with automotive pieces and parts.  Included within the building will be a wide array of aftermarket accessories, original restoration items, new old stock parts, merchandise, memorabilia, collectibles and more.

The annual Allentown weekend runs January 17-19 and not only can guests enjoy a buffet of automotive treats and treasures, less than 200 yards from the main entrance of the Agri-Plex is the Allentown Farmer’s Market.  This expansive footprint spans the underbelly of the fairgrounds grandstand and has all types of home grown and home cooked foods and treats.  This aspect of the weekend runs on Friday and Saturday only of Auto Mania weekend.

Finally, the best part of the show is the ease and convenience of finding it.  The Allentown Fairgrounds are less than two hours from New York City, Philadelphia and Scranton with major roads like I-78, the Pennsylvania Turnpike and Route 22 all nearby.  In addition, because of its location on the fairgrounds property, ample FREE parking is available. 

Don’t just sit around waiting for spring time and car show season, beat the winter blues with Auto Mania and experience a mix of food vendors, plus even more vendors looking to move automotive pieces and parts, movies, collectibles, signage, merchandise, antiques, aftermarket accessories and more.  Event details can be found at www.CarlisleEvents.com or by calling 717-243-7855.  Spectator tickets are just $10 (kids 12 and under are free) and must be purchased at the door during the event.  In addition, interested vendors who wish to be part of the event should connect with Carlisle Events via the aforementioned phone number. 

The chance to enjoy a car themed weekend at Carlisle has been on the motoring radar of car lovers around the world since 1974. For many of the last 45 seasons, access to some of the biggest events of their type in the world has been offered at a discounted price, all while expanding and growing to be destination events for car crazy enthusiasts of all ages. Now, as 2019 concludes and 2020 is right around the corner, Carlisle Events is pleased to offer its fans and followers an even deeper discounted opportunity to enjoy their time in America’s automotive hometown.

Holiday Sale 2020 commences on Black Friday, November 29 and doubles up on the savings for showing a car, while offering unmatched discounts on ways to experience events as a spectator.  Anyone planning to show and save can be part of any or all events at a 20% discount. It doesn't matter which event, if showing a car/truck is your way in, you'll save 20%. In addition, those that capitalize on the Showfield savings will also be offered a discount offer for the t-shirt of their event too.

But wait...there's more. Continuing the savings theme, spectator tickets for single day or multi-day event access are also offered at a 20% discount. Why pay full price for something you enjoy, right? With the savings feature on tickets, a bundle also ties in parking, which means that a ticket and reserved parking at a Carlisle Events operated lot is available at a discount! 

The 2020 Holiday Sale also includes discounted packages.  The discount savings vary per package and per event, but are as follows and include:  Spectator Package (two single day admissions plus reserved parking for one vehicle), Show and Shirt Package (Showfield and event shirt), Show and Camp Package (Import and Chevrolet only – Showfield and TWO camping spots), Fan Package (Ford and Chrysler only – Showfield, event shirt and die-cast) and finally, Corvette lovers have a bevy of Corvette themed packages to pick from. 

Online sales for all discount options commence on Black Friday, with phone and in person orders starting December 2 at 8 a.m. The discounted gift of a Carlisle car show continues through 5 p.m. on January 2, 2020. Phone and in person options run through 12 p.m. on December 20, with only online orders available thereafter (Carlisle offices closed for the holidays).

Call 717-243-7855 today to learn more or visit www.CarlisleEvents.com starting November 29 to accelerate your purchase!  The annual Carlisle Events holiday sale...capitalize on the savings and give the gift of Carlisle this holiday season.

Carlisle Events and Carlisle Auctions often tout that cars, people and excitement help power their annual schedule of events and auctions.  While that is certainly the case, a fourth bullet point often helps make or break a fun-filled weekend; weather!  For Sunset-Carlisle, November 8-9, 2019 in Sarasota, Florida, warm temps, blue skies and an awesome turnout of excited bidders and spectators helped make this first-ever offering worthy of a fall 2020 sequel.

Prior to the start of Sunset-Carlisle, the Carlisle Auctions team worked to load in cars, register bidders, check in consignors and prep the venue in front of Friday’s start.  Event prep also included positioning of Friday’s scheduled cars, indoor merchandise and collectibles as well as making sure the VIP area was ready for those planning to attend.  Another great feature of the event included a display complements of Corsa 7 of Sarasota.  Their two Hyper-cars strongly appealed to the guests who meandered the facility daily.

With seats in place, video monitors turned on, participants ready and auctioneers on the podium, it was show time in Sarasota!  The first of 400+ cars crossed the block just after 10 a.m.  From the time the first item crossed the block until the final car crossed on Saturday, the event ran smoothly.  From Corvettes to Corvairs, Mustangs to Mopars, Street Rods to VW Vans and lots of things in between, the auction featured nearly 100 years of automotive history.

Millions in total sales were amassed, with the top five selling cars amassing $277,090.  Speaking of the top five, they are as follows:

1) 1973 Detomasa Pantera - $97,370
2) 1986 Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet - $55,105
3) 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 - $51,895
4) 1956 Chevrolet BelAir - $51,360
5) 1998 Ferrari F355 Spider - $51,360
*all totals include applicable fees

“For our first event in Sarasota we were very impressed with the turnout of bidders and guests as well as the quality of the cars,” noted Tony Cline, Director of Auction Operations.  “Sarasota is a beautiful city and the hospitality was second to none,” continued Cline.  “We are looking forward to our next event here in 2020."

Sunset-Carlisle marks the end of the 2019 auction season for Carlisle Auctions.  Looking forward, the Carlisle Auctions team turns its attention to its upcoming 400+ car auction as part of Winter AutoFest in Lakeland, Florida.  The event runs February 21-22, 2020 at the SUN ‘n FUN Expo Campus.  Finally, details on any leftover inventory from Sunset-Carlisle that is still for sale can be learned by calling Carlisle Auctions at 717-960-6400 or online at www.CarlisleAuctions.com and viewing the results page and link associated with Sunset-Carlisle.  Also, for car lovers and followers of events outside of the Carlisle Events/Carlisle Auctions brand, visit Awesome Joe Auctions, an all-new online auction marketplace run in partnership with Carlisle Auctions.