Cuomo and his ’75 Corvette show up at Syracuse Nationals car show

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Gov. Andrew Cuomo paid a brief visit this afternoon to the Syracuse Nationals car show to announce that show organizers had signed a contract to keep the show at the state fairgrounds for at least the next five years.

Cuomo, an avid car enthusiast, spend a few minutes wandering among classic cars inside the fair’s Horticulture Building before conducting a brief news conference with reporters. Then aides rushed him off for a dinner with local government and business leaders.

Cuomo may not have spent much time at the car show, but his blue 1975 Corvette was on display all day in the Center of Progress Building. Cuomo joked with reporters that he was considering having one of the artists at the car show paint pinstripes on his Corvette, which he acquired during college.

Cuomo, whose weakness for American muscle cars is well-documented, has been car-obsessed ever since his teenage days working at a gas station in Queens. He said the Syracuse Nationals show is one of the best in the nation.

“It’s Americana at its best. Most of the cars here are American cars,” he said. “America’s had a number of great periods of car design. My favorite is the American muscle car period, like 1968 to 1972, so this is a special treat for me on a personal level.”

Rob O’Connor, promoter of the Syracuse Nationals, joined Cuomo to announce that the show would remain at the fairgrounds through 2019. Cuomo said the show generates $13 million of economic activity each year in the Syracuse area.

Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney said the car show will attract 85,000 people from across the country.

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Original Article: Syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2015/07/cuomo_shows_at_syracuse_nationals_car_show_photos.html