Pike Place Profile: Darwin Ruiz of The Miniature Car Dealer

Who: Darwin Ruiz, 43, co-owner of The Miniature Car Dealer

Where I live: Auburn, but originally from Tenerife, Spain

What I sell: Metal miniature replicas of classic or popular automobiles, airplanes and trucks. For example: the 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air and the black Trans Am from the 1977 movie "Smokey and the Bandit."

How I got started: "No one else was doing it. And in the Northwest, they have a lot of car shows and a lot of people who are attracted to the classic cars."

Most popular items I sell: Mini Coopers and VW Beetles.

What makes them special? "They are cars with a lot of charisma. They are cars for all ages, the young, the old."

Sights and sounds I enjoy at the Market: "It's the diversity of the people, the performers, the characters. They create what I call the magic of Pike Place Market."

Most memorable sale? "It was a slow sales day during the end of the summer of 2003. Then an attorney from India came in and said, 'You know, I want 25 classic cars to decorate my office.' You never know when people will buy. It's what makes this place exciting."

— Compiled by Tan Vinh,

Seattle Times staff reporter

The Miniature Car Dealer is across from Sound View Café in the Market's Mezzanine Level. Phone 206-624-7799.