Miami, FL, Friday 26 June 2026. As we reach the halfway point of the 2026 calendar year, we held the year’s fifth SAMA Board Meeting. It was held on the last Thursday of June at the usual World Trade Center in Miami venue. Officers present in June were Daniel Álvarez (president), Joaquín Ruhi (vice president) and Jorge “Nacho” García (treasurer). Also present were SAMA president emeritus Paul Borden, immediate past president Woodie Lesesne and board directors Eduardo Hapke and Maria Ravani. Tony Serrato represented his brother Marcello (SAMA treasurer). Special guest was Albert Collazo, Hispanic Communications Director for Ford.
If you recall our previous recap of the March 2026 SAMA Board Meeting, we noted dates of Saturday 29 August thru Monday 7 September for the 2026 Miami Auto Show. These were preceded by Thursday 27 August for ChargedUp Miami and Friday 28 August for the annual SAMA Awards. Well… forget about all that.
Wait…what? No Miami Auto Show for 2026?!
Sadly, that is correct. As reported by the Miami Herald on Tuesday 9 June, the 2026 Miami International Auto Show has been canceled. In the article, both Miami Beach communications director Melissa Berthier and South Florida Automobile Dealers Association board member Jonathan Chariff hold out hope for a 2027 return. We’re not holding our breath, though.
The article, in recapping some of the show’s history, makes a passing mention of “Topless in Miami” (albeit with zero mention of SAMA). As to the official Miami Auto Show website, it remains frozen in time, still showing the 2025 dates. Its final news release touts Miami Heat player Jaime Jaquez, Jr.’s appearance at the Kia stand on Sunday 5 October 2025. Well . . . make that former Miami Heat player. Like the show itself, he, too, is now a part of Miami’s past history, having been a part of the blockbuster trade to the Milwaukee Bucks for Giannis Antetokounmpo, but we digress . . .
What about ChargedUp Miami?
ChargedUp Miami (SAMA’s annual ride-and-drive event for electrified vehicles) was made viable, in large part, by its status as the lead-in event to the Miami Auto Show festivities. With the show now gone – at least for 2026 – carmaker staffers would no longer be in town. Add to that ever-tightening marketing and special events budgets, and factory support for a third iteration of ChargedUp for 2026 was dubious, at best. Given these circumstances, the SAMA Board voted not to proceed with a 2026 ChargedUp event
. . . and the annual SAMA Awards?
The annual SAMA Awards have been traditionally announced at the Miami Auto Show. That, of course, will need to change. The most logical scenario is for any 2026 SAMA Awards for vehicles (as well as Terry Jackson and Ron Beasley Awards for outstanding automotive journalists and carmaker representatives, respectively) to be handed out at the End-of-Year Sponsor Appreciation Meeting..
A possible Hot Wheels Fun Day 2026
As mentioned in last month’s Board Meeting recap, discussions continue to help make Hot Wheels Fun Day 2026 a reality. A possible, tentative date is Wednesday 7 October at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital.
Our new website is further improved
Our current sama.miami website has seen a number of improvements. Chief among them are new Reviews and Awards headings. The Reviews heading includes our first Review Roundup of SAMA members’ impressions of the vehicles they sample. The Awards heading is earmarked, in part, for a future compilation of SAMA Award winners throughout the years.
