The annual KC Auto Show is coming up, and we couldn’t be more excited. It’s not only the official kick-off to the spring car show season in Kansas City, but it’s also the biggest manufacturer event of the year, which means it’ll have all the latest and greatest new cars as well as local classics and exotics.
Bartle Hall in downtown Kansas City is the perfect venue for such a huge gathering of cars, spectators, and potential customers. Sure, we’ve got incredible outdoor areas that could host an event of this size, but with the event taking place from March 4 through March 8, the weather is anyone’s guess. Plus, Bartle Hall has more than enough room for what will be more than 500 new cars, trucks, and SUVs on display, as well as some of the other great activities taking place.
What we’re looking forward to at the KC Auto Show
It should go without saying, but everyone at Zohr is mostly looking forward to all the new cars in one location. We’re all automotive fanatics, so we love ‘em all; cars, trucks, SUVs, sports cars, exotics, new, old—everything.
Kansas City Auto Show Delivers
This year should be especially great, as there are said to be over 500 new vehicles on display, from minivans for the whole family to two-seater sports cars and everything in between. Plus, one of the best things about the Auto Show is that you can sit in them and poke around just about as much as you like without any salespeople to worry about. Of course, when you do have specific questions about features or pricing, each brand does have product specialists there to answer your questions—or find the answers—with no pressure. The whole event is a car shopper’s dream since you can see just about every vehicle you’re cross-shopping under one roof.
Among our in-office personnel, we have sports car fanatics looking forward to seeing the new mid-engined Corvette, GR Supra, anything Porsche brings out, and some of the locally-owned exotic cars that will be on hand. The more family-friendly people in our office are looking forward to seeing the new VW Atlas Cross Sport among many of the other SUVs and family sedans that will be on display from American, Japanese, Korean, German, Italian, and British automakers. Our faithful off-road fanatics in the office can’t wait to see the vast number of 4x4 trucks on exhibit, but there’s also a lot of excitement building up around the new Land Rover Defender that will be there.
And, of course, a modern auto show would be nothing without some of the more eco-friendly vehicles. There will be cars, trucks, and SUVs with alternative engines ranging from hyper-mileage internal-combustion power to hybrid to full-electric. There’s a bit of a buzz around our office, so to speak, with the anticipation of the brand-new Ford Mustang Mach-E electric vehicle, as it will be the first time any of us get to see it in person.
KC Auto Show: More than just new cars
There’s no arguing that the biggest draw of the KC Auto Show is the more than 500 new vehicles that will be on display, but the event isn’t just for car shoppers. If you’re a full-on car enthusiast or just looking for an enjoyable way to spend some time, there’s something for everyone to enjoy, so it’ll be easy to convince your significant other, kids, or anyone else to go with you.
The classic car area set up by the Kansas City Automotive Museum along with local private car collectors is guaranteed to have a nice selection of classics, exotics, and other unique vehicles that are always a big hit.
The food trucks, beer and wine garden, and Kids Korner make it so no one will get bored, and there are even live-action comic book characters for the kids to meet. That way you can hit one car section at a time, take a break for food, drinks, and playtime, and then move on to more cars.
One thing we’re all particularly looking forward to seeing is the Crushed Car. We’re a bit of a competitive bunch in the office, so we’re fairly certain at least one of us will be able to guess the year, make, and model of the crushed vehicle that will be on display. Or we’ll at least have some funny guesses in the process.
The pet lovers among us are really happy to know that Subaru Loves Pets is hosting adoptions each day of the event. It’s a great initiative with 200 or more pets from local shelters, so we’re looking forward to showing the rescues some love.
One of the big highlights for us, as well as many other attendees every year, is the Ride N’ Drive part of the show. It’s hosted by Toyota this year, so whether you’re in the market or just curious about what it’s like to drive a brand new Camry, Highlander, RAV4, or Tundra, you can hop in with a product specialist (not a salesperson!), and take a guided test drive nearby. It’s a great, no-pressure way to test drive cars, and even if you’re not shopping, it’s fun to hop in and see what’s available in the latest vehicles.
Affordable automotive fun for the family
Tickets to the Kansas City Auto Show are affordable and can be purchased online or at the door, but keep an eye out for businesses that might offer discounts leading up to the show. Even without a discount, at $6-$12 per ticket (kids under 8 are free), it’s a great event to visit with friends or family.
The KC Auto Show opens on March 4, 2020, with opening-day hours of 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. From Thursday through Saturday, it’s open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday’s hours are from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For the full daily schedule of events, parking information, a list of all exhibiting auto dealers, or if you want to buy tickets in advance, go to the Kansas City Auto Show website.
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