The streets near the Fiesta Market pedestrian are have been torn up recently, forcing me to find another route through downtown Santa Ana, which led me directly to Packards International. I drove by an open garage and saw, out of the corner of my weather eye, the glint of chrome and rich wine-colored paint, rolling running boards, massive grilles and suicide doors. I parked around the corner, in front of the showroom, headed back to the garage and started lurking. It turned out to be the headquarters of an OC luxury car magazine, Velocity, and the showroom, garage, and magazine are a family business. Robert Escalante gave me an "8 minute tour" because I only put a dime in the parking meter, and gave me a few issues of Velocity. There were about 20 cars, some being restored, some looking better than the day they were born. I told him my grandfather is an engineer and he said he liked engineers because they have great ideas, but they need mechanics to make it happen.
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