Get To Know Ty Taylor, The Guy Behind Bangor Car Meets

It started when he was a youngster when his Dad took him to his first car show.  He fell in love.  Maybe he was already in love with cars.

His Dad had a '51 Chevy so was passing along a passion for collector automobiles.

What put him over the top and solidified what is predicted to be a lifelong passion was watching the first “Fast and Furious” movie, on a VCR tape, with a friend. He remembers it vividly.

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Ty Taylor is a car guy. He is a member of Pinestate Automotive a group formed in 2011 by like-minded VW and Audi enthusiasts and friends from all over Maine.

Ty also started and runs Bangor Car Meets, albeit with some assistance from others. But the enthusiasm and drive of the group starts with Ty.

His first car was a 1991 Toyota Corolla. He got it in 2008, and “within a week” was modifying it. Thirteen years later, he has had seven cars, often more than one at a time. After all, you have your collector car, and you have a car you drive daily.

Ty has worked at a garage for 13 years. A technician and also a tinkerer. Although he has had more than a couple of Corollas, he has a deep love for Volkswagens.  When asked what he’d name as his dream car, he didn’t hesitate:

“a VW Westie Bus”

And of course, he’d want to modify it.

Bangor Car Meets was started in 2010 with the platform to be less “trophy and awards driven” than other car shows. Ty just wanted to be able to have like-minded car enthusiasts come together, and not be judged for their cars, or be competing for ribbons.

“Let’s just bring car lovers and their families together, and enjoy the cars without the competitiveness. I aim for a nice, low key environment.”

That was the plan and it now has grown 11 years later to over a dozen shows in the past or is it still current, season.

“There might be one more ‘last show of the season’”

When Ty Taylor was younger he attended ‘Leaders School’. It's a program that teaches youth leadership and believes in "service over self," and "pay it forward."

From that training, comes Ty’s belief that as long as there are a couple of hundred cars at the shows, he can at least ask, with no pressure or expectation, to support various nonprofits in the area.

Bangor Car meets were held at the former Toys R Us parking lot before Bangor Mall was approached about allowing the group to use a portion of their parking lot.  At these meets, car lovers were asked to bring nonperishable items to help The Bangor Area Homeless Shelter, Shaw House, Bangor Humane Society, Orono Old Town Animal Orphanage, and others. Truckloads of items and hundreds of dollars have been given to area charities.

Last words Ty Taylor:

“It never gets old.  The excitement of a car meet day. Polishing the car and looking forward to getting together with others who feel the same passion.”

"Without You there is no Us"