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November 22, 2011
We did it again! The employees of Modern Motors pulled together and donated almost 800 food items and 19 turkeys to the Friendly Hands Food Bank in Torrington.
September 16, 2011
Congratulations to John Q from Southbury for winning the MX-5 Miata! For more pictures, visit our Facebook Page.
  
John when he first opened Chaz & AJ, Jim B and John
the door with his winning key!
September 2011
Plan on visiting the Bethlehem Fair in September? Be sure to stop by the Modern Motors booth and look at some cars, enter to win a key for the MX-5 Giveaway, and just say hi! We look forward to seeing you there.
July 28, 2011
Our first Ladies Night Out Car Clinic was a huge success! From one of our participants "Thanks for a fun learning experience. Equally special is that there was no bias shown, no question was left unanswered, and our little group was very knowledgeable and treated with respect.".
We covered safety and emergency items such as jump starting a car and changing a tire. Plus, everyone who participated got some great take-home Goodie Bags! Watch our events page for another clinic in the Fall.
 
It's Thomaston-opoly!
The town of Thomaston is making a Monopoly board of just Thomaston Business's, and Modern Motors is on Park Place! Stay tuned for more details on how you can order your board!
Just Announced
Modern Motors Mazda and 99.1 WPLR are teaming up to give away a 2011 Mazda MX-5 Sport! During the 99 days of Summer, 99 winners will get a key. One of those keys will open the door to a new MX-5 Miata! You can enter to win by visiting Modern Motors or listen to Chaz and AJ weekday mornings.
For more information and rules, click here.
Summer 2011
The American Cancer Society is proud to present the 2011 Relay for Life of Thomaston, an overnight walk to fight cancer. This year's event will take place on Saturday June 11 through Sunday June 12.
Modern Motors has signed on to be a corporate sponsor in an effort to help Thomaston's Relay for Life raise $75,000 and reach their ultimate goal of eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives and diminish suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy and service.
For additional information on this event, please contact Alice Leonard of the American Cancer Society at 203-563-1503.
February 2011
Join us as we celebrate our 38th Birthday all month long! Each week on Facebook, we are giving away $5.00 Dunkin Donut Gift Cards if you're the first person to answer our trivia question correct! If you're not a fan yet, just search Modern Motors Mazda Dodge and click the "like" button.
December 27-December 31st 2010
It's our 2-a-Day Giveaway! Each day this week 2 lucky customers will will a Flip Video, Kindle, TV, Wii or i Touch! Plus, one lucky buyer will win a $1000 American Express Gift Card on Friday December 31st. Happy Holidays.
Big Grand Prize Winner of the $1000 Shopping Spree - John W from Litchfield, CT. Congratulations to all of our winners!
TV Winner Ruth Kindle Winner James
 
Flip Video Winner Richard iPad Touch Winner Michael
 
iPad Touch Winner Ashley Wii Winner Richard
 
November 19, 2010
For the last 10 years, Modern Motors employees have been donating turkeys to the local food bank. What started back in 2000 as a donation of about 10 frozen turkeys has turned into a internal competition amongst employees – where the true winner is the Friendly Hands Food Bank in Torrington. This year, our biggest year yet, we donated 1482 items PLUS 26 turkeys!
To learn more about Friendly Hands, click here. Modern Motors Mazda Dodge is located just off exit 38 off Route 8 in Thomaston.
  
October 2, 2010
The Nutmeg Miata Club met at Modern Motors on this past Saturday as they ventured off for the day. Over 50 members/MX-5 Miata's ventured off for their annual Leaf Peeping Tour. To learn more about the Nutmeg Miata Club visit their website at nutmegmiatainc.org. Here are some pictures of the great event!
  
May 19, 2010
The new Mazda2 goes into production this month and everyone here at Modern Motors is very excited. Read below what the folks at Mazda are saying. For the complete article, e-mail jodifletter@modernmazda.com.
Magazine-thin laptops, MP3 players and bite-size candy bars are just a few examples of good things that come in small packages. Now, for the first time in North America, Mazda is introducing its own affordable, fun-sized creation - the 2011 MAZDA2. It will launch into the North American market in July 2010.
Zoom-Zoom in its most concentrated form, MAZDA2 is the latest in a line of stylish, insightful and fun-to-drive small cars from Mazda, and will bring an all-new level of refinement to the segment. MAZDA2 is a car that only the engineers at Mazda could have created. It was designed and engineered from scratch to be a pure Mazda, offering the sort of driving experience that could only come from the company that developed the timeless MX-5 two-seat roadster, and it brings a combination of athletic design and dynamic performance to the subcompact class.
(from MazdaUSAMedia.com)
October 30, 2009 – Thomaston, CT – Modern Motors Raises Money for Breast Cancer Research
The Modern Motors Motor Boaters team participated in the Philadelphia 3-Day walk to benefit the Susan G. Komen foundation. The walk brought together thousands of walkers and crew members with one goal in mind: raise awareness and funds to put an end to breast cancer. The team participants raised over $18,000 with the help of friends, family and Modern Motors customers. In addition, a donation was made by Modern Motors for every vehicle sold since last October.
“The walk was one of the most incredible experiences I have had,” said Jim Brandolini, owner of Modern Motors, after he participated in the walk last year with his wife and daughter. Their team goal for 2009 was to raise $10,000, and they surpassed that amount by over $8000. Their team of 3 has grown to 8 this year. “To be able to focus on only the cause at hand, and to see the support of the community, was amazing. Giving back to a cause that’s important to us is a great feeling, and we look forward to doing it again next year and raising even more” added Lynn Brennan.
Modern Motors has been family owned and operated for over 36 years. The Modern Motors Motor Boaters team includes employees and friends of Modern Motors. For more information, visit www.modernmazdadodge.com or jodifletter@modernmazda.com to find out how you can make a donation.
Motor (still) runnin'
Thomaston car dealership continues to thrive after 35 years
BY KARI BANACH
REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN April 2008
THOMASTON — Anyone can sell a car once. The owner and the founder of Modern Motors Inc. pride themselves on bringing customers back for two, three or four cars. For this family-owned Mazda and Dodge dealership at 68 Waterbury Road, quality customer service before — and after — the sale is the key to its 35 years of success. "You have to have a great product and great service," said Ernie Brandolini, 80, who created the company in February 1973 and sold it to his son, Jim, in 1990. "Before I opened here, I was selling cars at another dealership. You'd sell a car and the customer would come back with a laundry list of problems the next day," he recalled. "I knew I never wanted to run a business like that." That thought alone was what provoked the longtime Cheshire resident to quit and create Modern Motors. It's a mission even customers recognize today. Anna Willis of Torrington has purchased three cars from the Brandolinis and was picking up her third — a small Mazda SUV — recently. She agreed it's no typical dealership. "I don't mind making the drive to come down here from Torrington," Willis said. "It's always an awesome experience. They answer all my questions, and take time with me. Jim (Brandolini) kept the dealership open late for me when I was deciding on my car. "If I have any problems after (the sale), I just pick up the phone and they're there for me 150 percent," Willis said.
Right from the start, Ernie Brandolini was thinking about his family 150 percent, too. "We had five kids, and I was creating a business for them, something they could get into," said Ernie Brandolini, who noted that his wife, Barbara, also worked for the company for roughly 20 years. Involved they got: As teenagers, all five worked odd jobs for their father's business. Today, Jim Brandolini, a Winchester resident, owns and manages the company while his sister, Jodi Fletter of Oxford, handles Internet marketing. Three grandchildren have also pitched in.
Business has almost always been good, they said, and though the Brandolinis declined to reveal annual profits, they estimate they sell 1,150 cars each year. With the closest large Mazda dealerships in Hartford, Danbury and Derby, Modern Motors has a stronghold on the Litchfield County market, they said. The company started selling Dodges across the street in 1997, after buying a dealership from Thomaston Motors, another local company.
'Just a better spot'
The company was actually founded on Thomaston Avenue in Waterbury as a strictly Mazda dealership. In 1973, Mazda was a new brand in the United States, and Ernie Brandolini recalled customers lining up outside the original dealership to buy the novel cars when the first truckload arrived in the Brass City. But Ernie Brandolini found the Thomaston Avenue location wasn't getting enough traffic. He acquired the current site in Thomaston, right off Route 8, a year later. The building, the former Saville Ford dealership, was on the market and was roughly the same size as the first dealership in Waterbury. "It was just a better spot, very convenient off the highway," he said. In the early days, the company was moving between 100 and 150 cars annually, but "we've consistently grown," said Jim Brandolini, who noted the dealership starting in 1975 even sold Peugeots, but the French cars were discontinued in the United States in 1992. The company originally employed 10 people, and now employs 52. At any given time, there are about 300 vehicles on the lot. As proof of their growth, the Brandolinis have photos posted outside their office depicting the dealership over the years. The building itself was expanded in 1984, 1987, 1998, 2000 and 2006. The business was destroyed by fire in 1977, but the family rebuilt on the same site and carried on. Ernie Brandolini said he picked Mazda, a Japanese brand, for his primary dealership because the cars had, and still have, a good reputation as quality vehicles. Because of that, being a family-owned business has been no problem, they said.
"There is competition everywhere for us. Car dealerships are everywhere," said Jim Brandolini. "We don't view it as an issue. We offer a no-pressure sales approach, great service and we're in a convenient location with a great product. That helps us succeed."
Modern Motors Inc. Location: 68 Waterbury Road, Thomaston
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