Visitors to the Inland Empire Auto Show last weekend saw a display in front of the Ontario Convention Center that had nothing to do with automobiles.

A cluster of manufactured houses in front of the convention center - including three-bedroom structures from Fleetwood Homes in Riverside and Silvercrest/ Western Homes Corp. in Corona - greeted patrons of the auto show, which was held April 24-27.

The "Street of Dreams" manufactured housing display was actually part of the Southern California Builder Expo, which is scheduled for May 1-4.

The California Manufactured Housing Institute, a trade association in Rancho Cucamonga, wanted the display erected and furnished so that auto show patrons could see it, President Jess Maxcy said.

With the local and state housing market in a slump, institute officials are looking for any opportunity to display their product and emphasize it as a possible way to revive single-family home sales.

"It's a rare bird that would go to an auto show and buy a house, but 35,000 people will see the housing display," Maxcy said April 23. "We think it will get some of them thinking about buying a manufactured house."

Structures that are built in a factory instead of on site, manufactured houses are plagued by an image problem, he said. "Most people still think of a mobile home when they hear 'manufactured house.'"

"The industry needs to get away from that image and we think that catching people by surprise is one of the best ways to do that," Maxcy said. "We aren't immune to the downturn, but a lot of people start to get interested when they find out they can buy a manufactured house for 20% to 30% less than an onsite house."

Built in a factory and assembled on site, manufactured houses must meet structural guidelines established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. They must also pass local housing inspections.

Most manufactured houses are built on infill lots and are designed to fit in with surrounding homes, Maxcy said.

The Baldy View chapter of the Building Industry Association of Southern California has several members that construct manufactured housing, said Frank Williams, the chapter's executive officer.

Williams called manufactured housing "one option" for people who are looking to buy an affordable house, but said he doesn't believe manufactured housing by itself will solve the Inland region's housing slump.

"The house itself may be cheaper but you still have to buy the land," Williams said. "So you still have land costs and you still have construction costs once you find property. I agree that their inspection standards are high, but in the end I don't know how much money you save."

But manufactured houses don't appreciate in value as much as regular homes do, said John Karevoll, a housing analyst with DataQuick Information Systems Inc. in La Jolla, which charts trends in Southern California real estate.

"You won't always get your money back when you sell them," Karevoll said. "That's just the way the market works. But manufactured housing does put some people into price categories they normally wouldn't be able to get into."

Fleetwood Homes built about 1,000 manufactured homes in 2007 and generated about $42 million in revenue, said Michael Epsinosa, a regional sales manager with the company.

This year Fleetwood Homes expects to build about 850 manufactured homes and generate about $36 million in revenue, Espinosa said.

Silvercrest/ Western Homes Corp. built about 500 manufactured homes last year but expects to construct only 300 to 350 this year, said Al Whitehouse, a division general manager with the company.

The company generated about $40 million in revenue last year, Whitehouse said.

The Southern California Builder Expo is the only builder exposition in Southern California that is open to trade professionals and the general public, according to a release.