Chaparral`s Monster Parking Lot Sale expects to draw 50,000

IECN7_Layout 1 10/3/12 10:18 AM Page 1
Inland Empire Community Newspapers • October 4, 2012 • Page A7
Chaparral’s Monster Parking Lot Sale expects to draw 50,000
ing quality products and services
is certainly a part of doing just that
and it appears that at Chaparral
Motorsports, a total of 160,000
square feet of retail space, they’re
doing it right. A service depart-
IECN PHOTO
CYNTHIA MENDOZA
Jim Dameron now owns Chaparral Motorsports in San
Bernardino, a business his father founded in 1962. They will be
holding a massive parking lot sale this Saturday, October 6 at the
San Manuel Stadium parking lot.
S
By Cynthia Mendoza
and, motorsport and outdoor enthusiasts are in for
one of the biggest events of
the season as Chaparral Motorsports hosts its 26th Annual Monster Parking Lot Sale on Saturday,
October 6 at San Manuel Stadium.
For those familiar with the event,
it was formerly called the “sidewalk sale” but since there is no
more sidewalk, it is now a parking
lot sale, and one big enough to
warrant San Manuel Stadium.
For those unfamiliar with this retailer, Chaparral sells all manner of
motorcycle, off road vehicles and
every imaginable related accessory
from helmets to riding boots,
gloves, eyewear, protective gear,
apparel and more.
They carry every major brand of
vehicle such as Kawasaki, Honda
and Yamaha to name a few.
Saturday’s event is expected to
draw as many as 50,000 people to
San Bernardino and comes on the
heels of what is typically recreational sand sport season, October
through April.
“No one wants to ride in the
desert when it’s over a hundred degrees,” says Chaparral owner Jim
Dameron, whose father founded
the San Bernardino based company in 1962.
Speaking of which, in its earliest
days, some vehicles cost as little,
by today’s standards, as $200.
Today, those same models might
cost about $10,000.
Times have ‘a changed’ indeed
but in spite of increased prices and
a depressing economy, Chaparral
is still alive and well and in the
same city where it was founded.
They enjoy a customer base from
as far south as San Diego to Santa
Barbara on the north end.
The parking lot sale will be a
chance for enthusiasts to take advantage of great merchandise at
lower prices, such as overstocked
items in a particular color that retailers would rather sell for less
than return.
The event is so popular that people line up as ‘early’ as midnight
the night before to take advantage
of the savings.
“It shows that lots of consumers
still want to buy stuff,” says
Dameron of the positive impact
that the sale makes on the economy.
So what is the secret to longevity
in business?
“You have to work it and do it,”
Dameron says as he gives this reporter a tour of the massive store
that appears to be a city unto itself.
“You can’t just expect customers
to walk in.”
Treating employees well, provid-
ment is also on premises.
Chaparral Motorsports is located
at 555 South H. Street in San
Bernardino. Their number is (909)
889-1302. You may also text
CHAPMOTO to 33233 for more
details
or
follow
on
Facebook.com/chaparralmotorsports.
The parking lot sale on Saturday,
October 6 runs from 8 a.m. to 3
p.m.