By Doug Hoagland | dhoagland@selmaenterprise.com | Tuesday, October 11, 2011 | 5:00 PM PDT

Selma should get ready for its close-up: Reality TV is coming to the Selma Auto Mall this weekend. A production company will be filming Saturday and Sunday at the mall to "capture the trials and tribulations" in "the dynamic environment of the car business," according to Amber Nelson, advertising executive for the Selma Auto Mall.

Film from the weekend will be used for a TV pilot that could lead to a national cable series, Nelson said. The cable network doesn't want to disclose its identity at this time, she added. The auto mall was selected from all dealers in the United States and Canada as the first place to film the show, according to Nelson.

Connections in the business world helped the auto mall land the reality show.

The Caliber Group, an event marketing company that works regularly with the auto mall, lined up the TV shoot.

"We wanted to find a location that was unique to other dealerships and one that would be able to generate enough traffic for the event," Ben Reneau, managing partner of the Caliber Group, said in a news release.
The mall's distinctiveness includes a 20-acre location along Highway 99, sales surpassing other dealerships during the economic downturn, multiple dealerships at one site and experience with big sales events, Nelson said.

Selma Auto Mall owner Dwight Nelson said in a news release: "The Selma Auto Mall was envisioned to be a customer friendly atmosphere, with many choices and many unique features that will have customers coming back for years and years."

This weekend, the production company will film salespeople, customers and others in the roles they occupy in the car-sales business.

There are no guarantees that someone buying a car this weekend will get their close-up -- or that they'll survive the editing process if they are filmed, Amber Nelson said. However, it might happen.

A new car and the chance for some face time on reality TV? Only this weekend in Selma, it would appear.

If the pilot leads to a reality series, the show would film at other car dealerships in the nation, but probably would return to the Selma Auto Mall, as well, Amber Nelson said.