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  • 02 Jul 2025 9:46 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    The results are in for the 2025 Spring Rally “MAMA’s Favorites” awards, recognizing standout vehicles across seven key categories as voted on by more than 75 automotive journalists. Held at the iconic Road America racetrack in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, the Spring Rally provides a rare opportunity for journalists to drive and evaluate more than 80 of the latest vehicles in one place—offering valuable insight not only to the industry but also to today’s car shoppers.

    “The Spring Rally represents everything MAMA stands for—education, connection, and meaningful hands-on experience,” said Jim OBrill, President of the Midwest Automotive Media Association. “What makes this event—and these awards—so impactful is the chance for journalists to evaluate vehicles the way consumers actually use them: on-road, off-road, and everything in between. These are not just industry accolades—they’re real-world endorsements that help guide car shoppers toward vehicles that deliver on performance, value, safety, and innovation.”

    2025 MAMA’s Favorites Spring Rally Award Winners:

    • Favorite Family Vehicle: TIE – 2025 Subaru Forester Touring Hybrid & 2025 Kia Carnival Hybrid SX Prestige
    • Favorite Luxury Vehicle: 2025 Volvo EX90 Ultra
    • Favorite Off-Roader: 2025 Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro
    • Favorite Pickup Truck: 2025 RAM 1500 RHO
    • Favorite Performance Vehicle: 2025 BMW M5 Touring
    • Favorite Plug-In Vehicle: TIE – 2025 Volvo EX90 Ultra & 2026 Hyundai IONIQ 9 Calligraphy
    • Favorite Affordable Vehicle: 2025 Volkswagen GTI

    These awards reflect what happens when seasoned automotive media professionals—who collectively drive and review hundreds of vehicles each year—test new models in dynamic, real-world conditions. The results go beyond hype, offering trusted guidance to consumers looking for vehicles that truly meet their needs.

    The success of the 2025 Spring Rally would not be possible without the generous support of MAMA’s sponsors: Cars.com, Subaru, Scout Motors, Hyundai, Toyota, Jeep, the Chicago Automobile Trade Association, Ford, GM, Genesis, Kia, and CDK Global.



  • 09 Feb 2025 12:19 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    The Midwest Automotive Media Association (MAMA) proudly announces the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N takes the top spot as the winner of the 2025 MAMA’s Favorite Vehicle Awards—selected by nearly 200 automotive media experts who drove over 100 vehicles at the association’s signature events. 

    “We experienced an incredible variety of new, redesigned, and refreshed vehicles throughout 2024 at events like the MAMA Spring Rally, Favorites Fall Fest, and Chicago Drives Electric,” said Jim O’Brill, MAMA President. “Each winner represents the pinnacle of innovation and quality in its class, but ultimately, one vehicle stood out above all—the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N. It’s a true performance marvel that captures the spirit of what MAMA loves most about driving.”

    MAMA’s Favorites narrows the field naming seven category winners for the 2025 Favorite Vehicle Awards, with the victor chosen from these finalists.

    The category winners are as follows:

    • Performance: Hyundai Ioniq 5 N

    • Family: Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid

    • Luxury: Genesis GV80 3.5T

    • Most Affordable: Honda Civic Si

    • Off-Roader: Toyota Land Cruiser

    • Pickup: Ram 1500 Rebel

    • Plug-In: Kia EV9 GT-Line AWD

    MAMA’s Favorites is an evolution of the association’s longstanding awards, celebrating the diverse range of vehicles that capture the hearts of media professionals and consumers alike. Following rigorous testing and thoughtful discussion, the winners exemplify excellence across their respective segments.

  • 15 Jan 2025 4:07 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)


    2025 is here, and if the Annual Business Meeting was any indication, it’s going to be another fantastic year for the Midwest Automotive Media Association. Buckle up—here’s your fun-filled recap of all the highlights, stats, and what’s on the horizon.

    2024 Highlights: 

    Virtual Meetings: We hosted five engaging eMeets covering everything from Lexus’s TX debut to collector car insights with Jonathan Shaw of Hemmings. Topics ranged from EVs to iconic concepts, drawing in up to 80 attendees per session.

    • Spring Rally (May 21–23): 100 media pros, 60 affiliates, and 80 vehicles (including Polestar, INEOS, and Volvo EX30 debuts). New sponsors Brembo and CDK elevated the experience, with track time, karting, autocross, and off-roading thrills.
    • Fall Fest (Oct. 2): A new venue, 40+ vehicles, and plug-ins/EVs joining for the first time made this event unforgettable.
    Our events reached new heights with:
    • 558.6M in news media reach
    • 5.6M from broadcast placements
    • 118M on social, with 862k video views and 550+ posts

    2025 Vision: 
    We’re putting the pedal down on in-person monthly lunches while keeping streaming options for maximum accessibility. Plus, stay tuned for these exciting events:
    • Spring Rally: May 20–22, 2025
    • Fall Favorites: Late September or early October (date TBD)
    • Chicago Drives Electric: Coming Summer 2025

    Chicago Auto Show Update:

    Save the date for February 6–8, 2025! Don’t miss our signature breakfast and the third year of MAMA’s Favorites Awards. This year’s nominees are:

    • Family: Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid
    • Luxury: Genesis GV80 3.5T
    • Most Affordable: Honda Civic Si
    • Off-Roader: Toyota Land Cruiser
    • Pickup: Ram 1500 Rebel
    • Performance: Hyundai Ioniq 5 N
    • Plug-In: Kia EV9 GT-Line AWD

    New Leadership:
    Please join us in congratulating our newly elected board members:
    • President: Jim OBrill
    • Vice President: Zack Pradel
    • Communications Director: Allison Phelps
    • President Emeritus: Rob Duffer

      Here’s to a new year full of exciting opportunities, thrilling events, and continued growth for MAMA. Let’s make 2025 our best year yet!
  • 16 Oct 2024 7:09 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)


    The Midwest Automotive Media Association hosted its second annual MAMA’s Favorites Fall Fest on Wednesday, Oct. 2,  at the scenic Arrowhead Golf Club in Wheaton. Illinois. More than 50 journalists attended what turned out to be a beautifully warm fall day to get behind the wheel of nearly 40 new, refreshed or updated vehicles across all powertrains. 

    “MAMA’s Favorites Fall Fest brought late model-year cars to our members to test in everyday driving scenarios, as owners will experience them,” said MAMA President Robert Duffer. “Member attendance and automaker participation continues to grow for MAMA’s Favorites.”

    Participating manufacturers included Acura, Buick, Chevrolet, Dodge, Fiat, Ford, Genesis, GMC, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Lexus, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, and Toyota. Hyundai sponsored the welcome breakfast where Michele Tinson showed a sizzle reel highlighting their latest revamped lineup. Fall Fest participants were also treated to lunch sponsored by Genesis. The specifically chosen drive route for this Fall Fest allowed members to compare and contrast each vehicle with a mix of turns, curves, and stoplight acceleration and braking. Communications and product representatives were available on site to answer any questions MAMA members may have had leading up to category voting for the organization’s “MAMA’s Favorite Vehicle” awards. 

    The winners from each category, as well as those winners from the 2024 MAMA Spring Rally, will be voted on at the end of the year, and an overall MAMA’s Favorite Vehicle will be announced at the 2025 Chicago Auto Show breakfast on Feb. 6, 2025. The winners from the 2024 MAMA’s Favorites Fall Fest are:


    Favorite Plug-In Vehicle: 2024 Kia EV9 GT-Line AWD

    Favorite Affordable Vehicle: 2025 Honda Civic Si

    Favorite Performance Vehicle: 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 5 N

    Favorite Off-Roader: 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser

    Favorite Pick-Up Truck: 2024 Ford F-150 Hybrid 4x4 Supercrew

    Favorite Luxury Vehicle: 2025 Genesis GV80

    Favorite Family Vehicle: 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid


    Just like last year, the MAMA Fall Fest event took place the day before CATA’s Chicago Drives Electric media day in nearby Oakbrook Terrace featuring more EV and plug-in hybrid models to sample.

    MAMA would like to thank all the participating manufacturers for providing press vehicles and making the 2024 MAMA’s Favorite Fall Fest a great success.

      


  • 05 Jul 2024 1:23 PM | Anonymous member


    On Wednesday, June 26th, about 40 MAMA members and affiliates joined Hemmings’ president, Jonathan Shaw, for a virtual roundtable discussion. Topics included an in-depth look at Hemmings’ history, the company’s evolution in the digital age, and the shifting demographics and behaviors of the collector car market. Also highlighted was the company’s focus on community engagement, innovative services, and the future of both internal combustion and electric vehicles in the world of car collecting.

    Key points of the discussion:

    • Ernest Hemmings founded Hemmings in 1954 in Quincy, Illinois.
    • Hemmings has transitioned from a print media company to a digital marketplace leader.
    • 25% of collector car owners are now millennials, and 22% are Gen Z.
    • Millennials spend about six months researching before purchasing a classic car, with an average price point of $30,000.
    • Despite the rise of e-commerce, 90% of collector car transactions still occur in the gray market.
    • Gen Z and Millennials prefer e-commerce and expect services that offer independent valuations and seamless transaction processes.
    • The Frictionless Marketplace was launched to cater to the needs of younger buyers.
    • Muscle cars continue to have cross-generational appeal, while interest in hot rods and cars from the 1930s to 1950s is waning. Restomodding is becoming more popular.
    • Even certain electric vehicles, like the Tesla Model 1 Roadster and Model S Plaid, are expected to become collectible.
    • Supporting institutions like America’s Automotive Trust and RPM Foundation is essential to ensure the availability of skilled craftsmen and women for car restoration.

    With 92.2 million Americans interested in collector and classic cars, and with 31 million collector vehicles in the US alone, the market isn’t going anywhere. Hemmings is committed to providing sales and marketing support, as well as supplying trustworthy digital platforms for buyers and sellers to connect and keep the nostalgia alive!

  • 19 Jun 2024 11:51 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)


    On Monday, June 17th, Jenni Newman and Patrick Masterson from Cars.com hosted a virtual meeting and Q&A session for about 80 MAMA members and presented their annual American-Made Index. The AMI compares how much of a vehicle sold in America is actually American. “The automotive industry’s economic impact is much broader than the general public realizes,” Jenni cited. From car factories and dealerships, to auto parts stores and gas stations, the industry creates over 5.4 million American jobs. Yet, unsurprisingly, the country an automotive brand calls home has little to do with where their vehicles are made or where their parts come from.

    To help sort through all the confusion, Cars.com looked at over 400 light-duty models on sale for the 2024 model year. Each vehicle was then weighted on five key factors on a 100-point scale: transmission country of origin, engine country of origin, US manufacturing workforce, final assembly location, and percentage of US and Canadian parts. (Note that Cars.com uses a minimum sales threshold, so some lower volume manufactures/models did not qualify to be ranked).

    The vehicles that topped this year’s American-Made Index are:

    #1 Tesla Model Y (3rd year in a row)

    #2 Honda Passport

    #3 Volkswagen ID.4

    #4 Tesla Model S

    #5 Honda Odyssey

    #6 Honda Ridgeline

    #7 Toyota Camry

    #8 Jeep Gladiator

    #9 Tesla Model X

    #10 Lexus TX

    With changes in the political landscape regarding gasoline and EV vehicles—and with many manufacturers soon to start building EV batteries and EV vehicles in the USA—the American-Made Index will continue to change. Cars.com is taking the lead to demystify the very complicated world of automotive manufacturing and to provide a comprehensive list for consumers who want to keep their purchase dollars in the community and better support the US economy.


  • 01 Jun 2024 6:59 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)



    ELKHART LAKE, Wis.--The Midwest Automotive Media Association (MAMA) hosted the 2024 Rally May 21-23 at Road America. 100 journalists put nearly 80 vehicles through their paces on track, autocross, street drives, and a technical off-road course sponsored by Jeep. Many of MAMA’s 160 members arrived the evening before the official start day to attend the, now famous, Lake Street Café Fish Fry Dinner sponsored by the Chicago Automotive Trade Association (CATA).  Then, on Wednesday, May 22nd with the Spring Rally in full swing, Toyota sponsored the kick-off breakfast with a presentation of their all-new Crown Signia.  After the first morning of track hot-laps, street drives, and off-roading, the group fueled up with lunch sponsored by Hyundai featuring the new Elantra N.

    The driving continued into the afternoon and members were also given the option to test out their karting skills at the Go-Kart track.  By 4pm, the driving events had shut-down and a small but enthusiastic group of attendees made their way to the racetrack to participate in the fourth annual “4 Miles of Fitness,” sponsored by Kia, where they enjoyed walking, running, or biking downthe legendary 4.048-mile-long track. 

    Lincoln sponsored the cocktail reception with a static display of their new Nautilus strategically parked just outside by the courtyard.  After dinner at the Osthoff Resort, everyone was invited to finish up the evening at the Siebkens Afterglow party sponsored by General Motors.  

    Day 2 continued the great weather with a breakfast presentation by Subaru with the new Forrester line-up. Street drives and a timed autocross competition sponsored by Genesis followed. Finally, the Spring Rally wrapped things up with a lunch presentation by Cars.com highlighting key statistics of the current automotive market.

    MAMA welcomed new brands INEOS and Polaris to the event along with a new track day sponsor, Brembo.

    “Brembo’s presence at the 2024 Rally showcases not only our wide range of increasingly digital and connected brake offerings but underscores our commitment to partnership with nearly every automaker present,” said Stéphane Rolland, president and CEO of Brembo North America.

    This year’s rally marked the second year of MAMA’s Favorites awards. Members chose the following winners from seven categories.

    Family Vehicle: 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe

    Luxury Vehicle: 2025 Genesis GV80

    Off-Roader: 2024 Ford Ranger Raptor

    Pickup Truck:  2025 Ram 1500 Rebel

    Performance Vehicle: 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 5 N

    Plug-In Vehicle: 2024 Kia EV9

    Affordable Vehicle: 2024 Buick Envista

    Post-rally results indicate over 550 posts, articles, videos, broadcast coverage and more reaching a collective 682.2M and nearly 1M video views. Engagement with social content topped 35.7k. (Source: Meltwater & Content Tracking).

    Additional event sponsors include Brembo for the track laps and CDK Global for the EV drives.

      


  • 09 May 2024 7:16 PM | Anonymous member


    Kick-starting an exciting month for the organization, Head of Fiat North America, Aamir Ahmed, met virtually with 36 MAMA members to introduce the brand's hot new 500e.

    A nameplate that's been missing from Fiat's stateside lineup for a few short years, the all-new Fiat 500e arrives here for the 2024 MY as a key tool in Stellantis's push towards a future of electrification. Prior to its U.S. homecoming, the latest 500e has been a hit in the European market, with more than 1 billion miles of accumlated real-world testing from owners. Sitting atop what Ahmed referred to as "STLA City" underpinnings and built in Italy, with a range of 162 miles per charge the new 500e aims to be the perfect EV for urban and sububran dwellers. Combining personified and iconic design, the latest and greatest tech, and a price tag just north of $32,000, the 500e is the first of many approachable EVs that will play an important role in helping consumers shift away from ICE. Furthermore, in a bid to ease the transition towards electrificaiton, Fiat confirmed every new 500e would include an at-home Level 2 charger or credits for public charging sessions.

    After the presentation, Ahmed spent time answering several questions MAMA members asked about the vehicle. Buckle up, because MAMA members attending the 2024 Spring Rally at Road America later in May will have the chance to get behind the wheel of a new 500e, both for street drives and around the autocross course!

  • 13 Mar 2024 3:29 PM | Anonymous member

    MAMA hosted another informative virtual meeting on Wednesday, March 6th featuring something a little different. Instead of the typical new vehicle roll-out with facts and figures and marketing plans, Chrysler Brand CEO, Chris Feuell  gave more than 40 MAMA members a glimpse into the future of the brand by showcasing the Halcyon Concept vehicle, lead the discussion with some background of what this concept represents: “The Halcyon is a concept car for the Chrysler brand that truly embodies every aspect of the Harmony in Motion ethos that we are moving towards with all of our future products.”

    The Halcyon Concept illustrates the contemporary and sleek aerodynamic design, as well as, the comfort and self-driving technology that customers will see in all Chrysler vehicles starting in 2025. In fact, despite it’s futuristic look, many elements of the Halcyon concept are intentionally designed in a way to be produced very near term. In other words, the Halcyon Concept is a “real” versus “abstract” concept vehicle and is even built atop one of Stellantis's upcoming shared platforms: STLA Large.

    Next up in the presentation was a video showing the Halcyon in action highlighting it’s style, comfort and autonomous driving capabilities followed by a lengthy but very informative Q&A session. Key takeaways include that despite the latest worldwide obsession with SUVs and crossovers, the Halcyon Concept proves that Chrysler is still dedicated to the car.And, Chrysler is aware that they not only have a (lack of) product problem, but they have a quality problem as well and, going forward, they are absolutely committed to changing that stigma with an emphasis on strong engineering and even stronger leadership.

  • 09 Feb 2024 9:00 AM | Anonymous member

    The Midwest Automotive Media Association (MAMA) has awarded the Chevrolet Trax as MAMA’s Favorite Vehicle of 2024. The overall winner was voted on by the association’s 189 nationwide media members and announced at the Chicago Auto Show welcome breakfast on Feb. 8, 2024.

    “The new Chevrolet Trax packages style, features, and value unlike any new car,” said Robert Duffer, MAMA President. “Priced at less than $25,000, it costs nearly half of what new car shoppers are paying on average. It outshined more than 100 qualifying vehicles, and MAMA members responded by awarding it MAMA’s Favorite Vehicle of 2024.”

    Revamped for 2024, MAMA’s Favorite Vehicle awards build on the strength of the association’s prior Family Vehicle of the Year and Luxury Family Vehicle of the Year awards. It was expanded to highlight the eclectic number of vehicles available and of interest to the readers, viewers, and listeners of MAMA’s membership base. Before determining the overall winner, members voted for the seven category winners after each of the association’s three drive events in 2023: The MAMA Spring Rally held at Road America, MAMA’s Favorites Fall Fest, and Chicago Drives Electric.

    The category winners for 2024 are:

    • MAMA’s Favorite Family Vehicle: Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid MAX
    • MAMA’s Favorite Luxury Vehicle: Genesis G90 3.5T E-Supercharger AWD
    • MAMA’s Favorite Off-Roader: Jeep Wrangler Rubicon X 4xe
    • MAMA’s Favorite Pickup Truck: Ford Maverick Tremor
    • MAMA’s Favorite Performance Vehicle: Ford Mustang Dark Horse
    • MAMA’s Favorite Affordable Vehicle: Chevrolet Trax
    • MAMA’s Favorite Plug-In Vehicle: Hyundai IONIQ 6

    Two trophies were presented to representatives from GM at the 2024 Chicago Auto Show welcome breakfast, with the Chevrolet Trax being awarded to both MAMA’s Favorite Affordable Vehicle and MAMA’s Favorite Vehicle of 2024. Additionally, throughout the 2024 Chicago Auto Show, MAMA board members met with representatives in attendance from the category winners above to present trophies on the show floor.

    Congratulations to all!


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