Big car count, big prizes, big fun. The big story with a big slideshow of the big KCI Cruise Night

The KCI Cruise Night is a cruise night in name only. It isn't like the typical monthly city cruise where you see the same 50 cars that live within ten miles of the parking lot.

No, this one is different. It only happens once or twice a year, and people come from all over the Kansas City area. So when we went there on Saturday night, it was no surprise that the massive WireCo parking lot near Kansas City International Airport was packed with hot rods, customs, trucks, and muscle cars. There might not be any awards at this event, but this is an all-out car show.

I saw a lot of friends out there this weekend. Several members of the Camaro Club of Kansas City had their shiny Chevys, both new and old on display under the muggy setting sun. Chevy truck parts dealer Tony Smith had a trio of '64-'66 half-tons out there, including an all-original Suburban and a '66 four-wheel-drive stepside that looked better than it did when it was new. And I even managed to get the announcer to plug this blog a couple of times. Hopefully the fame won't change me too much.

One of the reasons this event is so popular is because they manage to drum up so many cool door prizes. They have all kinds of big things like airline tickets, NASCAR tickets, and Royals tickets. Heck, we even managed to take home a $25 Zona Rosa gift certificate and an emergency roadside safety kit with our winning raffle tickets.

I'm not even sure where to start on the notable cars. There was a bright blue '46 Ford flathead hot rod that I was really attracted to. And to give equal time to the Bowtie Brigade, there was a silver and black '47 Chevy fastback that was also particularly appealing. There was a black '56 T-Bird, a red '59 El Camino, a bunch of great Corvettes, more Mustangs than I could fit on my camera's memory card--heck, I really can't narrow down my favorites all that far.

So, instead of me telling you what's good, you can decide for yourself. I present to you below a slideshow of more than 300--count 'em--300 photos from Saturday night's cruise. You get to attend the show without leaving the comfort of your air-conditioned office space. OK, that might not be as fun as actually going to the show, and you can't win a door prize here, but hey, it's something.