Aston Martin One-77, Ford Focus PEV,
Cadillac Ciel named best vehicles at Miami auto show - Pepe Delfino
Recipient Of Terry Jackson Memorial Award
Miami, FL (Oct. 28, 2011) – The Aston Martin
One-77 and Ford Focus Plug-In Electric Vehicle were named the top vehicles
at the 41st annual South Florida International Auto Show (SFIAS) by the
Southern Automotive Media Association (SAMA), while Cadillac’s stunningly
beautiful Cadillac Ciel was tapped as the Best Concept Vehicle in the
Show.
The nine-member SAMA judging panel awarded the One-77 the fifth annual
“Star of the Show” trophy after deciding that it was the single vehicle on
display at the show that South Floridians will most want to see.
At the same time, the judges picked Ford’s new Plug In Electric Vehicle as
the “Best Green Technology Vehicle” in the show because it is Ford’s Focus plug-in electric car to be mass produced and marketed in
the United States and should make the technology more accessible to more
Americans.
Cadillac’s Ciel, which has been praised as the forerunner of future
Cadillac styling, captured the “Best Concept Vehicle” trophy.
“We considered about 20 vehicles for the Star of the Show award,” said
SAMA judging committee chairman Ron Beasley, “That list included the Audi
A7 and Lexus GS sedan, the Mercedes-Benz C Class, the Toyota Camry, Range
Rover Evoque and Hyundai Veloster. But, in the end, the judges felt that
the new Aston Martin One-77, which made its North American auto show debut
in Miami, was just the most exciting vehicle on the floor and it’s the one
car that people will come to the show to see.”
Beasley said that the judges considered half-dozen vehicles in the Green
Technology category before deciding to award the trophy to the new Ford
Focus electric car.
“We considered the Mitsubishi iMEV, the Toyota Prius V and various
manufacturers’ hybrid and clean diesel technology,” said Beasley. “But,
the new Ford Focus Plug-In Electric Vehicle with its fast-charging
capability is clearly a giant step forward in this technology.”
This is the fifth consecutive year that SAMA has given the awards at the
SFIAS, which marks its 41th anniversary this year. A prestigious panel of
nine SAMA members walked the floor of the show and reviewed the vehicles
prior to the opening and determined which vehicles would receive the
coveted SAMA
awards.
The 2010 panel of judges included SAMA founding president and
automotive editor for Miami’s Community Newspapers Ron Beasley, former
Automundo Magazine publisher and SAMA founding member Jorge Koechlin, FAMA
Magazine editor/publisher Al Vazquez; prominent international auto
journalist Howard Walker, auto writer/photographer and SAMA founding
member Angelica Willard, nationally known automotive radio personality Joe
Castello, veteran automotive writer and track announcer Ric Green,
bilingual automotive journalist Juan Robbin, and auto writer and sports
car racer Dr. Ray Mummery.
The awards were announced and presented at the annual auto show luncheon
hosted by SAMA for members of the auto industry on the opening day of the
Miami auto show. The SFIAS opened in the Miami Beach Convention Center on
Oct. 28 and continues through Nov. 6.
Pepe Delfino Recipient Of Terry Jackson
Memorial Award
Jose “Pepe” Delfino, a founding member of SAMA and the Media & Internet
Director for the organization, is the third recipient of the Terry Jackson
Memorial Award.
The award named for the late auto journalist recognizes a member for
outstanding service to SAMA and for contributions to the auto industry in
South Florida. The announcement was made at the annual SAMA luncheon at
the South Florida International Auto Show in Miami Beach.
“Pepe’s work on the website has been invaluable in promoting the success
and awareness of our organization throughout the country,” President Paul
Borden said. “Pepe created and designed the website and has continued to
keep it updated with news, reviews, and other features all on his own time
and without remuneration of any kind.
“I have heard comment after comment from people in the industry about the
high quality of our website and how it is the best by far of any media
organization.
“Pepe deserves all the credit.”
Since coming to Miami in 1990. Pepe has operated his own business, Dolphin
Intertrade Corp., dedicated to computers and information systems,
Internet, Electronic Commerce, web design and electronic publishing. He
also is publisher and editor of AutoMundoFlorida.com in partnership with
Jorge Koechlin.
A native of Peru, he was the founder and first president of the San Isidro
Automovil Club in Lima and raced several Peruvian rallies championships
from 1969 to 1973, winning the Clausura Rallye in 1972 and the First Rally
de la Selva in 1972.
In the late 1970s, he emigrated with his family to Canada and in the 1980s
moved to Chicago, where he worked in Chicago as a new car sales manager at
two Ford dealers.
Since moving to Miami, he has served as an officer in several professional
organizations.
He and his wife Gaby just became grandparents for the seventh time when
their daughter Giuliana Delfino Levin (also a SAMA member) gave birth to a
daughter, Penelope.
The Terry Jackson Award is named for the late auto journalist who was a
nationally known figure and also a founding member of SAMA. He succumbed
to cancer in January 2009.
Previous recipients of the award are
Marcello Serrato, president and
founder of Prestige Auto, and Rick Baker, president of the South Florida
Automobile Dealers Association.
