From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Dec. 21, 1986:

With year-end promotions and last-minute deals, car dealers in Lawrence were hoping that changes in federal tax laws would make the last few weeks of December a hot time for car sales. After Jan. 1, tax filers would no longer be permitted to deduct sales tax on their federal returns. Interest rates of 2.9% and lower were also luring a lot of buyers into area showrooms. A “snapshot” of auto sales in Douglas County showed that 18,086 new and used cars had been purchased so far in 1986. Sales of cars, pickups, campers, and auto parts had totaled $40 million in 1985. In all, 79,005 cars had been registered in the county in the previous year, which worked out to 1.15 cars for every man, woman and child. For comparison’s sake, the figures for 1975 showed that only 59,978 autos had been registered.