Charleston - Huntington, West Virginia -- WOWK -- 13NewsWV Auto Show opens with plenty of high tech and test drives

WV Auto Show opens with plenty of high tech and test drives

From Fiat to Ferrari, you can check out hundreds of the hottest cars at the West Virginia International Auto Show.

The three day event opened Friday at the Charleston Civic Center.

If you're in the market for a new car, or just like cars, this is the place to be.

Not only can you check out hundreds of vehicles in a non-selling environment, but this year's auto show is offering more "ride and drives" than ever before.

Sometimes at these shows, you just know you've spotted your dream car.

"This car right here. This is beautiful," said one car enthusiast as he sat inside a 2012 Nissan 370-Z.

But you don't have to just sit in some of these beauties.

There are 27 new models you can actually test drive.

So, we hopped into a 2012 Acura MDX. It's fully loaded and has some unique safety features, such as adaptive cruise control.

"It will actually slow you down when you're in cruise control to the speed the vehicle is going in front of you. When that vehicle moves, then you'll continue on without having to turn the cruise control off and on," said Jeff Shaffer, a sales consultant for Thornhill Acura.

This car also will brake for you if you start dozing at the wheel and get too close to the car in front.

"It'll blink 'brake' and it will beep at you through the dash. If you still haven't hit the brakes within a second, then it will start agitating the seatbelt, like this to wake you up," said Shaffer as he pulled at his seatbelt.

And if you still haven't hit the brake, then it will apply the brakes on its own and pull the seatbelt tight to hold you in place.

It's also fully loaded with the latest high-tech features, such as a navigation system, voice-activation and a lot more.

But safety is foremost in this Acura, including an ace body structure.

"This is like a roll cage built around the vehicle. When you have an impact, the entire frame and body of the vehicle takes the impact."

However, you'll want to be on your best driving behavior to keep your beauty humming along.

The West Virginia Auto Show runs through Sunday at the Charleston Civic Center.

To check for times and other information, just click on WestVirginiaAutoShow.com.