Sergio (Automotive Alley)

Boyle Heights Beat reported in December 2023 that Sergio, a 20-foot muffler man, stands at the corner of North Mission Road and Gallardo Street, outside an auto glass repair shop at 580 N Mission Road. The report called him the Eastside's last muffler man, noting that another Eastside figure had been sold to a buyer in Lancaster that August, according to a Roadside America post. It describes a muscular figure with outstretched arms and a checkered shirt painted on his torso. Staff had recently repainted him, covering a cursive "Sergio" nametag. The shop owner said the statue was inherited with the business and takes its name from the previous owner, and he suspected it had stood at the corner for more than 40 years. He called the figure a "point of reference" for giving directions to the shop. The report places muffler men mostly between 1964 and 1972, many made by International Fiberglass in Venice, California, with businesses swapping the axe for their own trade. In the December 2023 report he stood on business premises, so view him from the public street if he is still there.