Sweet rides at Super Save Car Show

Over $10,000 was raised at the event for Taos Feeds Taos, which was established in 1986 to help distribute food baskets to around 1,000 families each year around Taos County.

Wilkie continued, “The local merchants were very helpful in their response. It was a giant auction that we made the money on. And Taos Feeds Taos, you know, their board and Francis [Cordova] and them were very helpful. They all showed up ..."

The car show started at 8 a.m. and concluded at 5 p.m. Around 3 p.m. a majority of the cars left the parking lot because of all the rain. There were three cars left: a white 1985 Oldsmobile with a custom paint job titled “Icebreaker," a faithfully-restored 1967 cobalt blue convertible Chevy Impala and a 1946 Chevy Stylemaster.

The paint job for the 1985 Oldsmobile had a diamond motif throughout, the work of Phillip Gow, owner of AMG Metal Polishing and Gold Plating. Even the hood ornament gleamed.

Donald A. Martinez was the last person standing at the car show. On the hood and back of his car, he lined up his custom-made crosses featuring sports teams and their logos.

“This old man had this car in Toledo, Ohio," he said. "He had it in the barn for 20 years. He used it for probably another 20 years. I was born in ‘64, so this is a ‘67. It’s 55 years old. I had to replace all the hoses and fan belts, and I put new tires on it.” 

Martinez continued, “I don't use any kind of stuff on the top. Just that Dawn soap. Gets the top nice and clean because when you put stuff like that Armor All and that, it dries them and then you have a lot of problems. They're [Impalas] nice to keep them shiny. I keep it all original.” 

He pointed out the crosses he designs based on sports teams.

"People are liking them," he said. "We didn't get to sell crosses since COVID. I had like 75 different crosses. I even have from the Lakers, from the Celtics. I was gonna try to make some from soccer and baseball teams. I can sell them to friends and family.”

Due to licensing he said he can’t officially sell the intricate crosses. He made a Lobos-themed cross, but as of yet there are no Taos Tigers-themed crosses.

"This kind of material is a wafer board that you use in houses," he said, describing what the crosses are composed of. "It's not made out of saw dust, and we're using real wood and it was really hard to keep it from soaking in. And then it's handmade. You see the strokes of the paint. This is really hard to do. You have to tape it and make sure you don't make boo boos.”

A reader of the Taos News, Martinez recalled the story which took place in July of Santiago Griego and his 1946 Chevy Style Master in the Big Brothers Big Sisters-organized Hi Low Ride for Kids event where lowriders and motorcycles drove from Peñasco to Taos Ski Valley for a good cause. Martinez appreciated the story.

“It kind of makes people say, ‘You know what? We have to be all together so we can make it happen so we can be happy in this world and things have to change for the better. We have to help each other out.’ It’s all it is.”