By Mark Abrams

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — The start of the Philadelphia Auto Show is just 10 days away, and preparations are in high gear as the event prepares to drive traffic to the newly expanded Pennsylvania Convention Center.

Kevin Mazzucola, executive director of the Automobile Dealers Association of Greater Philadelphia, says this year’s show will take full advantage of the newly expanded center with more than one million square feet of space, plus an additional 500,000 square feet of related exhibit hall space.

And that, Mazzucola says, is a big plus for an industry that is regaining its momentum.

“It hits at a great time, because the industry is getting healthier,” he tells KYW Newsradio. “It’s not great, but it’s certainly better than it was just two, three years ago.”

Mazzucola says the auto show drives lots of car sales in the weeks and months ahead because visitors get to actually see and compare various models.

“They see this variety of technology and breadth of product,” Mazzucola says.  “The bar is very high, and needs to be high in this marketplace to succeed.”

The show opens Saturday, January 28th and runs through Sunday, February 5th.

For more information, go to phillyautoshow.com.