About Us

Sames Auto Group History

The Sames family history is the story of the automobile business in Laredo. Sames Motor Co is the oldest automobile dealership in the state of Texas and one of the oldest in the nation, being established in 1910.

W.J. Sames came to Laredo in 1890. His wife-to-be, Virginia Wright's family arrived in Laredo in the 1870s; her father having been stationed at Fort Macintosh. W.J. was born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1866. In 1887, he set out for Cuba to sell life insurance, moved to the Yucatan to work on the Mayan digs, and then on to Mexico City, where he fell ill. He was sent to Laredo to convalesce and, while there, he met his future wife, Virginia, and decided to stay.

He began work as a commission sales agent for a local commodity broker and with another agent, J.R. Moore, eventually bought the business and formed Sames & Moore Company. The business flourished and in 1910 they decided to take on a sideline, selling Ford automobiles. That business became Laredo Auto Sales and sold the first vehicles in Laredo.

In 1925, the partners decided to split up, with Sames taking the automobile business and Moore the wholesale business. In order to commemorate their long and successful partnership, they built the Sames-Moore Building, which was opened in 1927 and still stands today in downtown Laredo.

Over the years, the auto business flourished, and at one time Sames had dealerships in Laredo, Mirando City, Hebbronville, and Alice, Texas. Harry E. Sames was W.J.'s son and ran the dealerships from 1940 until his death in 1956. Harry E. Sames Jr. then took over the operations and ran the dealership until 1981 when his son, Harry (Hank) Sames III, took over as general manager. In 2010, Hank's daughter Evelyn Sames took over the dealership, making her the 5th generation of Sames who have operated the business. It was also the year that the dealership turned 100 years old. Hank's nephew Richard Sames has also recently joined the group and is learning the business.

Sames Auto Group has been in expansion mode since Hank and Evelyn have run the business. In the late 1980s, the company bought the Laredo Honda dealership and in 2016 built a new location for Honda on the loop. In the early 2000s, the Sames grew into Corpus Christi and bought a Ford dealership there. The next expansion was the establishment of a Kia dealership in Laredo. Sames then invested in Austin with a pre-owned dealership, a Ford dealership in Bastrop, and a Chrysler-Ram-Dodge-Jeep dealership, also in Bastrop. In 2016, the company purchased the Ford and Nissan dealerships in Kingsville.

Driving Texans for over 108 years is the passion of the Sames Team. Commitment to customer satisfaction by providing world-class products and services is priority number one. The Sames family exemplifies the American Entrepreneurial Spirit as one of the largest privately-held, local companies in South and Central Texas. Sames Auto Group is comprised of thirteen dealerships spread across Laredo, Corpus Christi, Kingsville, Bastrop, and Austin, with franchise lines representing Ford, Honda, Mazda, Kia, Ram, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Nissan, as well as pre-owned vehicles.