CM: What was the Corvette market like in 1969 when you opened your business?
Martel: Corvettes were just cars then. You could buy them for $1,200 to $2,500. Of course, a new Camaro was only $3,000 in 1969. A new Corvette in 1968? I had a friend who bought a 427 air coupe and it was like $6,000. I’m talking list price for a hard-loaded car. In 1969, I bought a used ‘68 350-horse 327, red coupe and paid $3,700.


CM: Corvettes depreciated year by year then, right?
Martel: Right. There were no Corvette collectors in those days to speak of. Chevrolet was still building better Corvettes. Up until 1971, all the musclecars kept getting bigger and better. The Corvette came out with the 396 in 1965 and they upped it to 427 in 1966. Then, in 1967 they had Tri-Power. In 1970, Chevrolet came out with the 454. So, every year you waited for a better, faster car and you weren’t interested in hanging onto some old Corvette because it was collectable.