The silence of freshly fallen snow pierced the walls of the Charleston Civic Center Saturday morning.
The ears of car sales personnel working the West Virginia International Auto Show perked up as they heard the swish of snow-pants and the thud of boots, but the salesmen returned to their reading material when they saw that it was one of the same 10 people who walked by.
"We were surprised that they were open," said Corey Jarvis, of Barboursville. He had driven the 40 miles through the snow in his Toyota Tundra to see a show that he comes to every year.
As of Saturday morning, 18 inches of snow had fallen in the Charleston area.
The dealers were surprised that the show was open as well. One of them mentioned that the auto show in Washington D.C. had been postponed, so all of their co-workers were inside watching movies and playing games.
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., had flown in from Washington D.C. Thursday night in time to catch the grand opening of the show.
But during that event, he hadn't been able to see any of the cars.
So Saturday morning, after shoveling his driveway, Manchin borrowed the keys to his neighbors truck and drove down to the Civic Center for what turned out to be a private car show.
"I think it's a tribute to our state and to this region to have this quality show," Manchin said.
He hovered around the American cars - that's what his family has always driven - peeking into the windows to see the interior and looking at the features on the price tag.
Manchin is a Corvette guy, and he spent a lot of time hovering around a burgundy one before moving over to the Fords.
He pointed out a large Ford F150, the kind that could cut through the snow, and said that it was the model that his son drove.
"If it's made in America, we love them," Manchin said of his family's choice in cars.
Manchin continued on to the Toyotas, the GMC's, the Jaguars and all the other exhibits in the show. He tried guessing the prices of the cars just by looking at them.
Upstairs, he took a look at a Lexus LX570 and guessed that it was $60,000. It was closer to $90,000.
Manchin wasn't alone in preferring the American made cars.
David Dyer was perusing some of the Dodge trucks with his son, Cole.
Dyer had come from Winnifred in his Toyota truck, after a night of pulling people out of the snow, many of whom were in a Ford Focus. He goes to the car show every year.
"It's very laid back and relaxed compared to when there's 30,000 people here." Dyer said of the empty show. He was able to take his time and really look at the cars.
A group of college students had come down from Morgantown to talk to people about a Camero that they had turned into a hybrid for the EcoCAR 3 advanced technology competition. But with few people to talk to, they were mostly walking around.
"It's personal," Justin Brumley, a graduate student studying mechanical engineering, said. "It's starting to pick up a little."
Dealers said that on Friday, no one walked through the doors, so it was nice seeing a few people trickle in.
But Ruth Lemmon, the President of the West Virginia Automobile and Truck Dealers Association, said she was encouraged that more people would be coming to the show on Sunday.
"I think later this afternoon and tomorrow, it will be wonderful," Lemmon said.
But that depends on if people can get there.
Reach Daniel Desrochers at dan.desrochers@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4886 or on twitter at @drdesrochers.
