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Hyundai’s 'Smaht Pahk' feature, other car tech highlighted at KC Auto Show

auto show smart park.jpg
Posted at 11:51 AM, Mar 05, 2020
and last updated 2020-03-05 12:53:26-05

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — From a car that parks itself to all-electric sports cars, you can see it all at the KC Auto Show happening now and all weekend in Kansas City, Missouri.

One car sure to get a lot of attention at the show is the Hyundai Sonata, fresh off its Boston-themed, celebrity-packed, “Smaht Park” Super Bowl commercial.

The car boasts a remote smart park feature. It allows the driver to remotely drive the car into tight parking spaces without being in the driver’s seat. The idea is you can fit into a parking spot so tight you wouldn’t be able to open the door and get out had you been inside.

“So you're not scraping a car or damaging your own vehicle," Kent Rose, from Reed Hyundai in Merriam, Kansas, pointed out.

He explained how it works. First, you must line the Sonata up facing the spot where you want it to park. Secondly, you exit the vehicle and use controls on the key fob to move the car forward or in reverse. Sensors surrounding the car allow it to make minor side-to-side adjustments, but the car can’t turn 90 degrees into a spot.

"The car is going to sense what is around it and then will start to pull itself out," Rose said.

And once you get on the road, you still don’t need your hands. The Sonata uses lane detection and adaptive cruise control to basically drive down the highway by itself. One employee at the dealership said he drove to Topeka in the car and didn’t touch the steering wheel about 95 percent of the time.

This version of the Sonata is $34,000, which is comparable with the newest, top-of-the line Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima, Mazda 6 and Honda Accord Hybrid, which all ring up at about $35,000.

If you want to see the smart park car, or any of the hundred other cars on display, head down to Bartle Hall.

Admission is $12 for anyone over the age of 13. Tickets for children between the ages of 8 and 12 are $6 and children under 8 get in for free. There is free parking with a shuttle to Bartle Hall available at 1601 Liberty St. in the West Bottoms.

KC Auto Show hours:

  • March 4, Wednesday 5 p.m. – 10 p.m.
  • March 5, Thursday 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.
  • March 6, Friday 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.
  • March 7, Saturday 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.
  • March 8, Sunday 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.