“I had not seen it on the lots on the website,” Martinez said. ”I’m not sure how I missed it, especially since I was specifically looking for Impalas.” It wasn’t long before the bidding activity on the car had stalled, and the seller’s reserve had still not been lifted. Martinez figured the car would need to bring a much higher price in order to sell. “I thought, there’s no way this car is going to sell at this price. Surely, there’s no way they’re going to lift the reserve.” On a whim, he decided to place a bid, and almost immediately, the auctioneer announced, “The reserve is off!” When the hammer dropped, no other bids had been placed. The car was on its way to Martinez’s garage. Mar tinez’s love for Impalas stems back to his high school days and a project car that sat parked outside the home of his best friend. “My best friend’s father, who was like a father figure to me growing up, had a 1962 Impala sitting in the yard since we were little kids,” Martinez said. “It was always there. “My sophomore year in high school, my friend and I saw a 1960 Impala at a used car lot and fell in love with the car. Of course, being high school kids, we didn’t have any money, but that didn’t stop us.” The two eventually mustered up the courage to ask Dad if he would buy them the car. The proposition received a firm no. “He said, ‘I already have a ‘62 sit ting in the yard I’m going to restore,’” Mar tinez said. “Our response was, ‘that car has been sit ting in the yard for over 10 years, and you haven’t done anything with it.’” That comment from the boys and their interest in Impalas turned into mot ivat ion for the enthusiast. He immediately got to work on his ‘62, and a year later, it was restored and roadwor thy. “We drove that Impala all throughout our high school days,” Mar tinez said. “Af ter high school, I joined the military. When I would come home for vacation, I didn’t have a vehicle, so he would let me drive around in that same car.” Mar tinez said that all these memories and more were on his mind while he was bidding on the Impalas. He may not have ended up with the one he expected, but he said it seems like it was meant to be. “I want to say there is some divine intervent ion in play,” Mar tinez said. “It ’s the lit tle stuf f. The car is a maroon color, which is similar to the color that Dad was going to repaint his Impala. The high school we all at tended also had maroon and white as its school colors. “It’s very powerful stuf f, and that’s not lost on me,” Martinez said. “I still kind of pinch myself and say, wow, the car is here in my driveway.” MECUM.COM • 85
