Heated Winter Car Storage – Sorry, Car Snuggie* not provided

October 2, 2012

We do want your car to be cozy while it hibernates away the cold and salty Maine winter months in our climate-controlled, heated, secure facility; but, no, we do not provide Car Snuggies. We get asked that question again and again; and we know that you want the best for your car but 60+ degrees of radiant-heated polished concrete gently warming your car’s underbelly is perfect for our vehicular winter guests. Since we do offer trickle charging, you could think of the battery as a lead-lined plastic encased Snuggie for its electrons, if you squint? Of course, you can provide your own Car Snuggie if you wish. We have nothing against Snuggies in general but we do not provide that service.

Now that we’ve cleared that up, you should know that we are still accepting cars for the winter 2012-2013 storage season. If you have not visited here before, please take the less-than-five minutes to see our video on our homepage so you can get a feel for the place. But realize that the video is targeted to the potential member.

You do NOT have to be a member here at Portland Motor Club to be able to store your car for the winter or any other time (we have military contractors and service men and women as well as world travelers storing their cars with us for sometimes years at a time!). Members have access to their cars to be able to take them in and out as they wish and to use our facility including our lounge and onsite detailing center Portland Detailing (www.PortlandDetailing.com) but if you want to put your car up for the winter, you can just pay for straight winter storage. We have plans for the number of months that you want to store the car. The monthly rate goes down with length of stay.

We expect that we will be pretty darned full this winter so you might want to contact us sooner than later. As you can see from the accompanying photo, we were very busy in a very quiet kind of way last winter! Please call Kal Rogers at Portland Motor Club at 207-775-1770 or email info@portlandmotorclub.com to make a reservation or to get more information.

Professional heated winter car storage at the Portland Motor Club in Maine… Sorry, no Car Snuggies!

* As I thought about what there really is to say about properly storing your car worth storing properly, it occurred to me that there isn’t really all that much to say. There are websites out there with a laundry list of things to do to prepare your car for the winter which could take you all winter to accomplish. We find that it’s really pretty straightforward here at Portland Motor Club: we store cars in a dry 60+ degrees with a trickle charger on them and they come out several to many months later none the worse for wear. So, what else is there to talk about but Car Snuggies (even though we don’t provide them)!?!… Kal

Filed Under: Auto Advice, Car Storage Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Video Link for Bill Green’s Maine’s visit to Portland Motor Club

February 4, 2011

Bill Green's Maine's visit to Portland Motor Club

If you missed it on the news this week, here it is… the link to the short video tour Bill Green did here at Portland Motor Club (www.PortlandMotorClub.com) and Portland Detailing (www.PortlandDetailing.com) for his Bill Green’s Maine show. The place looks great on the teevee — the television camera seems to add about 10 cars to the place! See our Winter 2011 “Collection”!

http://www.wcsh6.com/life/programming/local/bill_greens_maine/story.aspx?storyid=146480&catid=144

Glad we could get Bill Green out of the “Green (White) Outdoors” and into our “Green Indoors” here at Portland Motor Club — in fact, it is actually quite a “green” facility with radiant heat floors and all new insulation in the walls and roof. It comes from a combination of sensitivity to the environmental impact as well as good business sense — if you’re going to keep the cars at 60 degrees through the winter and reasonably cool in the summer, it had better be as green as you can get it!

Filed Under: Video Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Owls Head Transportation Museum 33rd New England Auto Auction on August 21, 2010

July 19, 2010

The 2010 edition of the New England Auto Auction will feature a new extended preview period running for three-plus days from August 18 through the morning of the sale. This means that anyone selling a vehicle through the auction will need to get their car up to Owls Head earlier than usual — not great for the last-minuters out there but great for those who want to spend some time selling themselves on buying someone else’s car!

As usual, there will be 200+ cars for sale on August 21 covering a lot of automotive ground. The museum will have some of its own stock on hand for sale, as it always does, to help to fund its expansive operation which spans the history of mechanical personal transportation. Many vehicles get donated to the Museum for this purpose which serves as a write-off for the donor and a boon for the organization. Plus there is the fantastic “Barn Fresh” program which assists individuals in selling vehicles directly to the museum’s visitors as well as the auction crowd. Of course, Owls Head gets a slice of the proceeds, but it’s a great way to move a worthy vehicle. You can see the vehicles in the Barn Fresh program which, I believe, go into the auction automatically if they haven’t sold directly through this program by Auction season. Here’s that link: <http://www.ohtm.org/gallery/album683>.

Once again, Portland Motor Club will serve as a major sponsor of the auction. It’s our kind of crowd — serious car enthusiasts who know that cars only maintain their value and their condition through proper storage and care. In fact, Motor Club owner Bill Waldron is on the board of the Owls Head Transportation Museum, so it’s a very good fit for both organizations. There is plenty of good information on the Owls Head Auction website including the results from the past ten years! And, of course, the catalog of vehicles going on the block this year is online as well… <http://www.ohtm.org/*NEauction10.html>.

The New England Auto Auction is pretty much the highpoint of the classic and vintage car calendar here in Maine. Why not plan to stop by and see what happens — you never know what vehicle might call out to you!?! Even if you just want to watch and see how it’s done, there is room for spectators, as well. By the way, that’s an especially good start to a story about how you bought your new special vehicle… “I only went there to watch, but…”

Filed Under: Auto Advice, Calendar And Events, Classic Cars, Muscle Cars Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Getting “Social” with Portland Motor Club… Facebook & Twitter & YouTube now up!

March 11, 2010

Portland Motor Club was designed to be a fairly social place with a members’ lounge, meeting room, computers w/ WI-FI and HD-TV, but now we’re virtually social, too.

You can become a fan of our FACEBOOK by clicking on the FaceBook link just to your left below “Contact Us” on the navigation strip — it’s right there — go ahead… just click it!!! Or you can find it by searching under groups for “Portland Motor Club” while you’re on FaceBook another time.

You can quip clever and useful things to us via TWITTER (www.Twitter.com/mainecarstorage). We are using @mainecarstorage because using our name was too long and who is going to search for “mtr” instead of “motor” and we’re more about cars and storage than motors and clubs, on some level. Our business name is great for our business but different thinking needed to go into our Twitter strategy. Who ever thought we’d be discussing things such as “Twitter strategy” — but then, who ever thought we’d be discussing it on something called a “blog”?

Below is the link to our first (of many?) YouTube video. Why it’s our own Jason Michel demonstrating how easy it is to install and use both an easy on/off battery switch and trickle charger! Great solutions for short-term and/or long-term battery care when the car is off the road.

You can bookmark our very own YouTube “channel” here: www.YouTube.com/PortlandMotorClub

Easy Battery Care Solutions for Car Storage from Portland Motor Club

We would certainly appreciate your comments and links and sharing this information with your virtual friends and fellow car enthusiasts. We have more video coming including a walk-around the Labor Day Car Show last fall. And please put Monday, September 6, 2010 on your calendar for this year’s Toys-for-Tots Labor Day Car Cruise-In & Show at Portland Motor Club. We’re very pleased to be able to host it again at our amazing facility and can only hope that we would be granted another beautiful day on which to hold it.

Filed Under: Auto Advice, Classic Cars, Muscle Cars Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

0 to 60 in Just a Few Months!

February 2, 2010

Cars, that is. And that’s a rough number but early interior shots of Portland Motor Club certainly showed lots of room to grow (well, fill, actually). It totally makes sense, of course — we had just opened and we needed customers. Well, customers we have now! We’ve filled up the “Ground Floor” and soon will need to start using the “Mezzanine Level” (via heavy-duty lifts).

Seems that those that stop by pretty much fall in love with the place — the handsome amenities (hi-tech lounge & conference room), polished radiant-heated concrete floors, classic car gallery, onsite expert car detailing shop, professional staff and of course, state-of-the-art security system.

From Ferraris to Things, Mopars to Minis, we have a great random assortment of Classic cars, Muscle Cars, Sports Cars and even some everyday drivers that don’t need to be driven right now.

Thought you’d like to see the place with some color and some metal and rubber in it — enjoy!

[nggallery id=4]

Filed Under: Classic Cars, Muscle Cars Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

HUGE TURN-OUT at Toys-for-Tots Car Show at Portland Motor Club

September 10, 2009
Toys, Cars and Music make for a great event at Portland Motor Club

TOYS, CARS & MUSIC make for a great Labor Day TOYS-FOR-TOTS BENEFIT CAR SHOW at PORTLAND MOTOR CLUB

(see TV station video links below)

By the time the car show officially started at 10 AM, the main lot was almost full. Eventually, show cars ended up in a side lot, in the back lot and in the neighbor’s lot!!! What a great day at Portland Motor Club with an estimated 175+ show cars stopping by and perhaps 500 or so people passing through during the day. The U.S. Marines were taken by surprise (which doesn’t happen often) by the great toy turn-in which filled up a Humvee as well as a trailer. And the audience was energetically entertained by music from the Monday Night Posse, an area garage band.

Organizers Stan and Cheryl Page, members of several local car clubs including Knucklebuster’s as well as members of Downeast Street Rodz and Portland Motor Club Membership Director Kal Rogers were all overwhelmed by the support and the turn-out. Rogers’ assessment: “It couldn’t have gone any better — a huge assortment of truly amazing cars, some literally filled with toys; tons of other toys that actually took the Marines by surprise; a nice array of vendors including Cruise Maine Magazine, Downeast Street Rodz’ food cart, a local t-shirt maker, the AMVETs and the great DJ JP all added a lot to the event.” Adding, “And, much to everyone’s pleasant surprise, the local live music turned out to be a great and lively addition. And the weather certainly didn’t hurt — this amazing weather streak we’ve been having helped everything to come together perfectly. We certainly hope to be able to do this again but we may have to put cars on the roof!”

Hundreds of visitors were able to get a glimpse into the Portland Motor Club facility to see (from a respectful distance) some of the fine cars in climate-controlled (heated / humidity) and secure storage there as well as to get an up-close-and-personal view of one of the state’s finest MOPAR (Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouth) muscle car collections — if not the finest.

Portland Motor Club owner Bill Waldron noted, “It was really great to help out the kids with all the toys and and a great day for everyone who came. And it was a chance for us to show off our beautiful car storage facility with its club lounge for members and on-site professional detailing at our Motor Club Auto Care shop. I think people were excited to see what goes on in here. I love cars and know that they need a good home to stay in good shape. Basically we’ve created that — a good home for good cars where they’ll be safe from all the things that damage and ultimately destroy vehicles — critters, clutter, condensation and cold. The four “c’s”, I guess. Oh, and crooks, I suppose. That makes five.” He added, “Every year you hear about this barn collapsing on a bunch of nice cars or that garage catching on fire — it kind of breaks your heart if you love cars. We have a super-reinforced building that is wired top to bottom for anything that can go wrong.”

Special thanks to all the folks who contributed all the wonderful toys as well as cash from the nickels to hundred dollar bills to the raffle prizes including membership/race passes from Maine Indoor Karting (www.MaineIndoorKarting.com) and a complete auto detailing from Motor Club Auto Care (www.PortlandDetailing.com). And, of course, to Maine’s Marines who are the great folks behind Maine’s Toys-for-Tots program. At the end of the event, it was suggested by the Marines that they may need help sorting out all the toys as they get towards the holiday season. To find out how you can participate in this program, go to http://www.toysfortots.org/donate/toys-city-county.aspx?txtState=MAINE.

And now, take a look for yourself at these video links and you’ll see what a busy and amazing event it really was. We’d love your comments, especially if you were there. Also, please feel free to send photos and videos that you’ll allow us to use to <info@PortlandMotorClub.com>

CHANNEL 8’s coverage… http://www.wmtw.com/family/20780622/detail.html

CHANNEL 6’s coverage… http://www.wcsh6.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=108863

Also, click on our Photo Gallery to see some more great photos from the event.

Marines collect hundreds of toys from Maine's generous car club members and visitors to Portland Motor Club

Marines collect hundreds of toys from Maine’s generous car club members and visitors to Portland Motor Club

Portland Motor Club's parking lot was full to overflowing into the neighbor's lot!

Portland Motor Club’s parking lot was full to overflowing into the neighbor’s lot!

Filed Under: Charity Events, Classic Cars, Muscle Cars Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Why Professional Car Storage?

April 30, 2009

Providing a marina-like approach, some dedicated vehicle storage facilities offer car owners the freedom to come and go as they like while enjoying peace of mind that their vehicles are protected from the elements, damage and worse  While it is certainly possible for a private owner to create the ideal environment for protecting the condition and value of a collectible car, it requires a serious investment into designing and building a sufficient facility that will take into account many factors such as temperature, humidity, security, access and cost. Usually some sort of compromise results that either consciously or inadvertently jeopardizes the condition, value or safety of the vehicle. Seasonal storage usually means that the vehicle is unavailable for up to six months at a time while often cold temperatures, humidity, critters and other factors can do their worst on your four-wheeled friend.

Professional collector car storage can be the affordable solution that addresses all of the storage concerns of a car collector. By garaging with a company that has designed a facility that specifically addresses all the specific security, environmental and safety concerns of car storage, car owners gain the peace of mind that comes from knowing that their prized possession is getting the care that it truly deserves.

For the auto enthusiast, it is heart breaking to hear about the seemingly annual garage collapse or burned-down chicken barn housing irreplaceable cars. Imagine the sense of security that comes from knowing that one’s vehicular pride and joy is locked away in a fortified facility featuring smoke and heat detection, a sprinkler system, and continuous visual monitoring and video recording. It’s a bit like car storage heaven!

For certain vehicles, these are not seasonal issues: proper year-round care and housing is vital to protecting the condition and value of cars that have significant worth. Even if the owner lives at a distance from the storage facility, proper care and storage trumps convenience. Oftentimes such a vehicle is only used or shown occasionally anyway. For those who do live relatively close to a year-round storage facility, they can consider such a place a marina-like service where their car receives secure storage, care and maintenance, and it is prepared and ready to go when they are, any time of year.

Car owners might also like to know that their batteries are tended to regularly, that someone is watching out for leaking fluids and other problems, and that while the car is in storage, its condition can be maintained via reconditioning and restoration services. Also, concerns about the safe and proper transportation of vehicles to and from such a facility can be handled by professional covered transportation services that certain facilities may offer. A professional car storage facility can also cater to custom care concerns and requests such as specialized mechanical work or upholstery replacement.

Some facilities even offer a members’ lounge where one can talk shop with fellow enthusiasts and can enjoy the camaraderie of gathering with other collectors, or they take a meeting with a business associate. In some cases, they might have access to the facility for special business or social occasions. In many cases, other collector car events such as car club meetings, educational events, rallies, shows and even auctions can take place on the premises. For a relatively reasonable annual fee, collectible and special vehicles can get the home they deserve and their owners can get the protection they really want and need for their valued investment. It’s nice to know that there are a few places out there that are providing car storage done right.

Kal Rogers
Marketing Director
Portland Motor Club
Portland, Maine

Filed Under: Auto Advice, Classic Cars, Muscle Cars Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,