Sunlight pours down in a torrent of heat, bouncing back off the cruel blacktop to boil you like an egg. You're sweaty and sunburned and thirsty, but you barely notice, because you're surrounded by 500 beautiful, gleaming cars from every nation and era, and the people who brought them out— your friends. This is Kansas City Cars and Coffee, and it's one of many excellent car communities right here in Kansas City.
We have a unique nexus for car enthusiasts here in KC. Not only do we have cool cars, we're also happy to show them off to people. Johnson County, on the Kansas side, is one of the wealthiest counties in America. It's also a fairly unrestrictive place to own a car. There are no personal property taxes on vehicles, and gas is relatively cheap compared to someplace like California. This has led to an influx of really cool cars. Everything from exotics to classics to the rare and obscure.
But this is also the Midwest, where we tend to be pretty nice people. We like to share our cars with others, and we generally refrain from judging others' cars, even if they're not our cup of tea.
This has all brought about a wealth of incredible car communities in the KC Metro. You'll find them all over Facebook, but let's take a closer look at just a few of them.
Cars and Coffee
We’re not putting this one first just because we’re a proud sponsor. We’re putting it first because it’s the best. It’s almost a community of communities, since many car clubs in Kansas City get together early on the last Saturday of every month to cruise into the meet.
Cars and Coffee, an informal movement that started in Irvine, California and quickly spread around the world, isn’t a car show. It’s a meet. This is an important distinction. At a meet, you just park up and hang out. At a show, you pay to enter and your car is judged for quality, originality, etc.
But a meet is a judgment-free zone, which is a key aspect of Cars &Coffee’s culture. Someone else’s car might not be up to your standards, but it’s theirs, and they’re proud of it, so they brought it. Plus, you have some 400 other cars to enjoy. Check our very own Kansas City Cars &Coffee on Facebook.
Unnaturally Aspirated
But car communities don’t just have to be all about casual fun. Unnaturally Aspirated was formed to have fun while doing good. One of their founders, Reuben Samuels, suffers from Cystic Fibrosis and even underwent a double lung transplant last year. UA started as a series of car shows to help Reuben and his family cover their medical expenses, but now the team hopes to expand to help other victims of cardio-pulminary diseases.
UA shows are kept affordable to enter, and by purchasing extra tickets, attendees can enter to win awesome raffle prizes. The three top cars of the event will each walk away with an incredibly cool trophy, usually a car part bolted to a stand with the iconic [UA] logo welded on.
At a favorite event last year, UA partnered with the Kansas City Region of the Sports Car Club of America, specifically the rallycross program, to give attendees the chance to ride along as one of these dirt monsters ripped around the rallycross course.
More fun events are coming down the pipe, so follow Unnaturally Aspirated on Facebook for more.
Kansas City Region Sports Car Club of America
All is fine if you want to look at cars, but what if you want to drive them? What if you want to drive them fast? Street racing is a fool's game, bound to get you arrested and wreck the reputation of the car community as a whole. That's why we have the Sports Car Club of America.
The SCCA is a national organization stretching back to the years after World War II, when returning GIs began to import the small, lightweight cars they'd seen driven in Europe, and wanted to race them. Unlike other car clubs, the SCCA is focused entirely on driving, and mostly racing. And Kansas City has a very active chapter.
Autocross and rallycross are some of the cheapest, most accessible ways to get into racing. In autocross, cones are placed in a large, paved area like a parking lot, and cars run around a preset course, individually, for time. It's very safe and relatively low-speed, so there's no need for extensive safety equipment, other than an approved helmet. (If you don't have a helmet, you can borrow one from the club for free!)Rallycross is very similar to autocross, save that the course is set up in a field or other dirt surface, rather than a paved one. One of our very own recently wrote a tribute to his experience in rallycross. If you want a little more speed, the Sports Car Club of America in Kansas City also hosts Track Night in America, a periodical weeknight event at Heartland Park near Topeka. This is a full-speed, on-track experience, with coaching available.
All three options are priced for accessibility and fully insured. Best of all, they’re filled with great people who will talk cars with you all day, share advice about racing, or help you work on your car. Find more about their programs on the KCR SCCA website. Or join the KCR SCCA Facebook group to get in on the action
Being a gearhead is much more fun when you’re surrounded by other gearheads. So, Kansas City, grab your helmet, fill your tank, wash your car (or don’t), and get out there.
📸: Cover Photo Courtesy of Cars and Coffee KC
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