Ready, auto show fans?

The Dayton Auto Show opens this week at the Dayton Convention Center and fans of the Chevy Corvette will be excited.

Organizers of the annual show told me the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray will be on the showroom floor beginning Thursday. The first production mid-engine Corvette represents the fastest, most powerful entry-level Corvette in the vehicle’s 66-year history, General Motors says.

It and the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 were the stars of the recent Greater Toledo Auto Show. Quite often, what happens in Toledo is what will happen in Dayton, said show manager Kelly Danison.

Many new electric vehicles are expected at the show with the Audi e-tron, and some hybrids like the Chevrolet Bolt and the Toyota Corolla Hybrid. Show-goers may want to spend some time chatting with volunteers from Drive Electric Dayton in the lobby to learn more about electric vehicles.

Also in the lobby will be personnel from the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles to talk about the enhanced license or identification card that complies with new federal security regulations going into effect in October.

While you can’t drive one out of the convention center, the show offers patrons an opportunity to check out the vehicles without a high-pitch offer from sales people, who are not allowed to make a sale from the show.

Gas prices drop

I’ve heard it all now on the fluctuation of gas prices.

This is the time of year we see a drop in gas prices, usually because of the cold winter months and people not getting out. This week, Ohio gas prices dropped more than 10 cents. Ohio is second in the nation in largest weekly decreases in gas prices.

At a number of places around town, gas prices have fallen to around $2.20, and experts say it’s because of the coronavirus. There is less of a demand in China, which is causing a ripple effect in the United States.

“Chinese demand has dropped significantly in recent weeks for gasoline and they are one of the major demand countries across the globe,” Clay Ingram of AAA said.

In China companies are shutting down and people are not traveling because of the contagious disease.

The good news is gas is on trend to continue to decrease in price because crude oil prices are at their cheapest point in a year, according to AAA.

DiSalvo’s founder dies

Sad news this week.

The patriarch of one of the Dayton-area’s most beloved restaurants, Mamma DiSalvo’s Italian Ristorante, died.

Founder Rinaldo DiSalvo Sr., 84, died at Kettering Medical Center.

The restaurant located at 1375 E. Stroop Road in Kettering is a Dayton-area mainstay.

Rinaldo and Elena DiSalvo

opened it in July 1979, with the help of their sons Nicola “Nick,” Rinaldo Jr. and Roberto “Bobby.” The deli is operated by Rinaldo DiSalvo Jr. and is located next door to the restaurant.

Bobby DiSalvo told us this week his father had a tough childhood, losing his father when he was 3 years old. He came to America on his own in hopes of making a better life.

Kettering is better off because of the DiSalvo family.