Salón Internacional del Automóvil México
The Salón Internacional del Automóvil México (Mexico Autoshow in English) or simply SIAM is an annual auto show held at the Centro Banamex of the Hipódromo de las Américas racecourse in Mexico City, Mexico. Held in mid December, this was to be the shortest-lived official autoshow in the world, with three editions from 2004 to 2006. However, the Autoshow will return in 2008, once again at the Centro Banamex site.
Autoexpo del Automóvil
The first "Autoexpo del Automóvil" (Mexico Auto-expo) was held as an unofficial event in December 8th 1994, at the Palacio de los Deportes center, in Mexico City and was called "International Auto Show". The car marketing in Mexico was so poor in this year that there were about 10 makers in this first Autoexpo but the real deal were cars like the Mustang Mach III, the Bugatti EB110 and even the Batmobile. It was so successful that was held again the next year at the same place.
In 1996 it changed its name to "Autoexpo Mundial" and moved to the World Trade Center México exposition center. The place has three floors so the expo was divided in three sections: "Armadoras" (Carmakers) 1 and 2 and Comercial (for trucks and commercial vehicles). The car market started incresaing since this year so every year more and more carmakers started assisting to this event. In 1998 Mexico got impressed by the entry of Ferrari cars that were presented in the Autoexpo. That would be the beginning of the entry of new carmakers.
The show was moved again in 2002 to the Centro Banamex exposition center at the Hipódromo de las Américas racecourse.
Extravaganzza Automotriz
In 2003 the organizing committee decided to make some sort of exotic car autoshow and they called it "Extravaganzza Automotriz" (Automotive Eccentricity). The event was filled with exotic and superexotic cars like the Noble M12, the TVR Cerbera, the Bugatti EB110 or the Chrysler ME Four-Twelve. People didn't like it saying "These are cars we can't afford!", when the real propose of the expo was showing this exotic cars, not selling them. There were up to 30 makers, including exotic makers like TVR and Spyker and brands not available in Mexico like Lancia and Morgan but not mainstream manufacturers like General Motors or Nissan. This expo also included a tuning zone that presented the tuned cars from 2 Fast 2 Furious sports cars film.
Salón de México
The failure of the last Autoexpo gave Mexico the opportunity to raise as a country with gained automotive culture. The SIAM was born. Auto Moto Cycle took charge by the Asociación Mexicana de la Industria Automotriz (Mexican Automotive Industry Association) or shortly "AMIA". AMC is the organizer of one of the most important auto shows in the world, the Paris Mondial de l'Automobile and also of many other important auto shows. The name "Salón de México" was given because other autoshows around the world are called for example "Salón de Paris" (for Mondial de l'Automobile). Almost every car manufacturer in Mexico assisted to the event, even the ones that weren't yet in Mexico, like Mazda. The event was very successful and worked for many new makers in Mexico to present their vehicles. The SIAM was then classified as a major international auto show. However, the 2005 edition saw a minor amount of brands, excluding Renault (which would return in 2006) along with a discouraging hosting as visitors couldn't park in the parking lot but were forced to leave their cars by the horse racecourse. The 2006 Autoshow saw even less brands, along with Renault, Peugeot, the whole of the Volkswagen Group (Audi, Volkswagen, Bentley, SEAT and Lamborghini) and others. After the so-called 2006 fraud, the Autoshow was cancelled for 2007.
SIAM 2008
The Autoshow returns to the Centro Banamex site for 2008, from the 27th September to the 5th October. The exhibition opens from 10 am to 10pm on Saturdays and Sundays, and from 1pm to 9pm Monday to Friday. The show will close at 9pm on the final Sunday. There will be around 400 cars on display, including museum pieces, from a number of manufacturers, including Porsche, Lincoln, GM, Ford, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Mercury, Pontiac, Renault, Peugeot, Saab, Mercedes, Bentley, VW, Audi, Chrysler and Dodge. The show is expected to return in 2010 as a two yearly event.
Salones de México
- Autoexpo 1994
- Autoexpo 1995
- Autoexpo 1996
- Autoexpo 1997
- Autoexpo 1998
- Autoexpo 1999
- Autoexpo 2000
- Autoexpo 2001
- Autoexpo 2002
- Autoexpo 2003; Extravaganzza Automotriz
- Salón Internacional del Automóvil México 2004
- Salón Internacional del Automóvil México 2005
- Salón Internacional del Automóvil México 2006
- Salón Internacional del Automóvil México 2008
- Salón Internacional del Automóvil México 2010