CARS.COM — For a place at least half the people you talk to mistakenly think is in Kansas, the so-called Paris of the Plains, Kansas City, Mo., has more than its share of cultural contributions to this country. Yes, there is a Kansas City in Kansas (KCK) and it does border the Kansas City in Missouri (KCMO) but the one you’re thinking of — the one with the world-famous barbecue and seminal jazz history, immortalized in the song’s iconic refrain, “Kansas City, here I come” — is the Missouri one.
And while some folks still think of it as an old cow town, this week it’ll turn into a new-car town as the 2018 Kansas City Auto Show rolls through.
Related: How to Car Shop at an Auto Show
K.C.’s exhibit isn’t one of auto-show season’s massive, prestigious affairs like those in Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago and New York — but big debuts and outsize promotional displays aren’t really the point. Sure, there’ll be some cool stuff to be seen and done (see below), but where regional auto shows like this excel is offering offer consumers an opportunity to kick the tires, feel the upholstery and sit in the driver’s seat (and in many cases actually drive) hundreds of new-model cars, pickup trucks and SUVs without having to go to a dozen different dealerships — and fend off at least as many chatty salespeople.