Miami International Auto Show Reports Strong Opening Weekend

Opening weekend for the 48th annual Miami International Auto Show was a big hit with ticket sales up nearly 7 percent over those for the show’s first weekend in 2016, the last previous auto show.  The show continues its run at the convention center through Saturday, October 13.

“These numbers are huge,” said Rick Baker, President of the South Florida Automobile Dealers Association and the Show Manager. “The attendance for our first weekend reflects the excitement for the comeback of the auto show that we lost last year to Hurricane Irma as well as the newly-remodeled Miami Beach Convention Center, which opened for the first time to the public.”

Along with the hundreds of new cars and trucks arranged about the Miami Beach Convention Center floor for fans to inspect, including major debuts of the Genesis 2019 G70 and the Essentia Concept and Toyota’s 2019 RAV4, show attendees had the opportunity to drive selected models from Toyota, Chevy, Volkswagen, Mazda, Nissan and Cadillac.

Before the show officially opened on Friday evening, automotive media from South Florida and around the country took part in a full day of press conferences that featured new models from Nissan, Ford, Toyota, Lexus, Ram, Chevrolet and Mopar.

The Southern Automotive Media Association (SAMA) presented its annual awards at the annual Media Luncheon on Friday recognizing the 2019 Genesis Essentia Concept vehicle as its “Star of the Show.”

The judges also selected four other vehicles for recognition.  The 2019 Nissan Altima was selected as “Car of the Show,” a category made up of sedans, coupes, convertibles and sports cars. The 2019 Ford Ranger was selected “Pickup Truck of the Show”, the 2019 Jaguar I-Pace, the first battery electric vehicle (BEV) to be offered under the Jaguar brand, was named the “Eco Vehicle of the Show,” and the 2018 Jeep Wrangler was selected as “SUV of the Show.”

A free Miami Beach Parking app is available to help show attendees find parking near the Auto Show.  The Miami Beach Parking app shows you available parking and rates for lots and garages including real-time occupancy info for certain facilities.  The Lincoln Road corridor along 17^th Street enjoys the highest concentration of public parking on Miami Beach.  For more information on parking visit, www.miamibeachfl.gov/city-hall/parking/where-to-park/.

The auto show is presented by the South Florida Automobile Dealers Association which comprises more than 190 dealerships in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe counties making it larger than some state-wide auto dealer groups.

Admission to the show is $15 for adults, $6 children ages 6-12, and free for children 5 and under. $2.00 discount tickets are available at participating new car dealerships, McDonald Restaurants and on the auto show’s website.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.miamiautoshow.net