Jose Martinez, of Klique Car Club in East L.A., used to see lowriders all around him while growing up in the Highland Park area of Los Angeles. The style of the cars and the attention they got were very appealing to him. At 16, he got a job, started working, and bought his first car-a '63 Chevy Impala Super Sport. It was with this car that lowriding would engulf Jose and soon after purchasing it he joined Klique Car Club. Jose and Klique's presence were everywhere. They were cruising all the local hot spots, like Whittier Boulevard, San Fernando, and Van Nuys Boulevard, and attending house parties and car shows in the Los Angeles area.
Eventually Klique East L.A. started to travel to car shows outside of the Los Angeles area to cities like Porterville, San Jose, Bakersfield, and San Diego. The club then began to travel out of state to attend the Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, shows every year. During this period of lowriding, most clubs, including Klique, drove to the shows on 5.20s and didn't trailer their cars. In 1976, Jose became the club's vice president. The following year, he sold his '63 and bought his most-recognized car to date: a '77 Mercury Cougar. The Cougar was on the streets for a while before Jose decided to tear it down for a more detailed customization. The Cougar had quite a few looks over the years. Fellow club member Art Martinez candied and flaked it, Javier M. from Oxnard, California, patterned the roof, which would eventually be redone, and added marbleized paint and graphics, which are on the car now. Not to be left untouched, "Tramp," the famous muralist from Oxnard, did the trunk mural. Over the years, when the Cougar was torn down for paint, Jose had a '62 Impala and a '74 Camaro to keep him and the club visible on the streets.
In 1978, Jose became the club's president. He brought the club to the next level during his reign. Up until this point, Klique East L.A. was known only as a street club but that changed once Jose took over and they came out with Mondo Estrada's "Brandy Madness." The whole club contributed to the build, including Jose's cousin and fellow club member Mario Martinez who painted the car. Brandy Madness would be crowned the first ever Lowrider magazine Lowrider of the Year. The next year, the club busted out Mario Martinez's "Lethal Weapon" and again took Lowrider of the Year. Klique eventually earned the top honor three times and set the bar for future lowriders. As a club, Klique took lowriding to the next level and showed the other clubs that they could take care of business not only on the street but on the show floor.