Don't think of the New York International Auto Show as a commercial expo. Think of it as a love-in-a nine-day swoonfest in which we show our boundless infatuation for cars. Why else would more than 1 million people stream into the Javits Center every April? These folks could be puttering in their gardens or strolling in a park, enjoying the first hints of spring. Instead, they pay good money to peer under hoods, slide into leather seats, and sniff factory-fresh interiors.

But there's also a practical aspect to this annual automotive orgy. Exit surveys show that people list "shopping for a new car" as the No. 1 reason for attending. Among attendees, "buyers" intend to purchase a vehicle within the next six months. "Browsers" look to narrow their choices, with an eye toward buying within a year. "Techies" just want to see the latest electronic gizmos and engine refinements. "Antiquers" go for the classic automobiles. And "fun-seekers" show up just for the sheer spectacle of it.

Whatever your reason-or combination of reasons-for going to an auto show, you'll get more bang for your buck by taking the following tips:

• Get a clue. If you're a buyer or a browser, save your shoe leather and do a little research first. Get a sense of the available sizes, body styles and price ranges within your budget by surfing the Internet or reading buyer's guides at your local library. Flip through some reviews to see what catches your fancy. (Car & Travel, for example, archives all of the magazine's "Test Drive" reviews on aaa.com.)

Even if you count yourself among the footloose fun-seekers, check out the show's Web site ( www.autoshowny.com). The calendar there will clue you in on special events and celebrity appearances around which you may want to schedule your visit.

• Map out your route. Although wandering is sometimes half the fun at events
  like this, "a floor plan is a definite must," says Candida Romanelli, director of the show and vice president of the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association. Along with Detroit and L.A.'s, New York's auto show-which will be held April 9-18 this year-ranks as one of the nation's biggest. It covers more than 850,000 square feet, with new cars shown on two levels. You want to know where you are and where you're going. You can find floor plans online or in programs available at the show.
• Go off-peak if you can. Of course, crowds flock to the show on weekends. They thin out considerably on Monday and Tuesday, however. Afternoons and early evenings on those days provide the best times to get up close to the cars without fighting through the pack.
• Pack light. With all the product brochures and freebies given away at the show, you'll definitely come home loaded down with stuff. But leave your backpacks or briefcases at home; security will make you check them before you hit the show floor. Besides, nearly every exhibitor gives away tote bags.
• Do pack your camera, though. Still photography and videos are permitted at the show. Buyers and browsers will want to peruse the photos later to remember what they liked and compare models. And fun-seekers and antiquers want to preserve their encounters with exotic sports cars and classics.
• Size up your choices, and eliminate losers. Serious shoppers go to the auto show as much to find out what they don't like as to discover their one true love. Since you can get to know a vehicle as completely as possible short of actually test-driving it, you can make gross judgements about size, styling and color that help you weed out your list of candidates. Pile in the whole family to see if the kids have enough room in the back seat. Sit in the driver's seat to test the vehicle's fit for your body type. Check out the instruments for legibility and the controls for user-friendliness. Look at the trunk's size and shape. With so many manufacturers showing similar products at a single site, the auto show gives you the best opportunity to compare various makes almost side-by-side within minutes of one another. Take notes on features you want to try out or examine more closely later.
• Make contacts, not contracts. State law prohibits actual sales at the auto show, so don't expect to sign contracts or checks. It's a great place to collect business cards and ask questions, though. You can grill not only the salespeople from local dealerships, but also manufacturers' reps-all of whom have an encyclopedic knowledge of their products and many of whom are fluent in languages other than English.
• Look to the future. As a browser or a buyer, you shouldn't neglect the "concept cars"-those ideas-on-wheels that showcase tomorrow's technology. Though some of the concepts seem far out, they might not be far off. "Not that long ago, manufacturers would show futuristic cars that you didn't expect to see on the road for another 10 or 12 years," says Romanelli. "Now, they rely on auto shows to gauge public interest, and some of the concept cars are actually only a year or two away from production."

Who knows? You might learn to live with your current car a little longer and find a futuristic machine worth waiting for.