High performance for Bostonian in Johnson Lane

When he moved from Boston to Lake Tahoe four years ago, Kelsey Martin Jr. brought with him his love of cars. He recently opened Performance Plus Automotive in Johnson Lane, offering total vehicle maintenance.

"I've been working with cars since I was 15," said Martin. "I started out on '34 and '50 Fords and old school roadsters. Then I got into European cars, Alfa Romeos and Volkswagen Beetles. My father was an old school hot rodder."

Kelsey and his wife moved from the East Coast to Lake Tahoe looking for a change of scenery.

"I lived in the city all my life," said Martin. "We were looking for good weather and good folks."

Folks at Tahoe were fine, but the couple wanted less snow, so they moved to Gardnerville two years ago.

"I was working at a tire store in Tahoe and it was kind of a change of lifestyle for me," said Martin. "I had my own shop in Massachusetts, closed it down to come out here, then had to get a regular job for a while."

Six months ago, while his wife, Leslie Dupont, was busy opening Café Girasole in Minden Village, Martin decided to open another shop.

Performance Plus emphasizes speed-shop performance, blower set-ups and suspension changeovers, but doesn't discriminate against everyday drivers.

"I do everything," he said. "Basic tune-ups, wiring, suspension, rod and custom welding fabrications. Right now I got an '85 Chevy Impala, an '86 Corvette, a '53 Plymouth Four-door and a '72 El Camino."

Performance Plus is located at 2576-B on Nowlin Road in Johnson Lane. The shop is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, call (775) 291-5066.