Our Expert Automotive Service & Collision Repair Blog

It is hard to believe it is back to school month! It felt like it took forever to get Colorado's summer weather going and here we are already looking towards fall. It's not all bad though- I know many parents for whom the school year start can't come fast enough. You did well this summer parents. Now, let's take a moment of appreciation for our teachers and get these kids ready for school!!!
Back to school is an excellent time to review car safety as it relates to young kids and car seats, pre-teens, and teens as well as those going off to college.

Hold on, your holiday weekend is almost here!!

The National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) has declared the second week of June as National Automotive Service Professionals Week. Automotive service professionals are a highly skilled and specialized workforce. While sometimes overlooked for their expertise, automotive service professionals keep our vehicles on the road and our friends and families safe.

It is hard to believe we are nearing back to school! For some, this is the first time in 18 months that they will be inside a school building. For others, a transition back to full-time in-person learning. Huge kudos to all parents out there, you survived some of the most challenging learning times, and now the kids (and adults!) get to return to some semblance of normal. No matter the circumstances, we want everyone to be safe and ready to hit the books. Now, let's take a moment of appreciation for our teachers and get these kids ready for school! Back to school is an excellent time to review car safety as it relates to young kids and car seats, pre-teens, and teens, as well as those going off to college.

An interesting and fairly long-standing pattern in Metro Denver is the conversion of old auto repair shop structures into coffee shops, bars, and restaurants. Typically, auto repair businesses become priced out of highly gentrifying areas and can find vibrant new life with their mid-century and industrial-chic elements, as well as their huge garage doors that allow for plenty of fresh air and sunlight. 

It's spring in Colorado! We see the tulips popping out of the sometimes snow-covered ground, and our thoughts turn to the impending warmer weather.

As allergy sufferers know, spring can be a tough time. In Colorado, April and May can be especially difficult as tree pollens, such as cottonwood and cedar emerge. If you are a sufferer of seasonal allergies, you are not alone; according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundations of America, over six million children and 20 million adults in the US experience seasonal allergies.

So, what do allergies have to do with your car? Turns out, a lot.

Dirty and saturated cabin air filters significantly reduce the airflow from the outside and introduce particulate matter and allergens (for example, pollen) into the cabin air stream¹. How often you need to replace your vehicle's cabin filter depends on where you live (urban vs. rural environments), the make, model, and year of your vehicle, and whether you are an allergy or asthma sufferer. For non-allergy sufferers, it is sufficient to replace a cabin air filter whenever your recommended maintenance says to do so (often, this is between 15-30K miles). However, recommended maintenance is about replacing the cabin air filter to ensure airflow is not restricted, rather than when environmental pollen exacerbates allergies. If you are an allergy sufferer, make sure to replace your cabin filter during the season where allergies are most affected. Otherwise, driving with your heat or air conditioning on is likely to exacerbate your seasonal allergies.

If you have asthma or are very sensitive to significant gaseous smells such as diesel exhaust, request an activated charcoal filter. A study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine found that activate charcoal air cabin filters "clearly reduced the intensity of symptoms induced by diesel exhaust."²

Schedule a check of your heating and air conditioning system today and do what you can to lessen your allergy burden this season.

We took some time to interview a long time customer who has been with Addison since the very beginning in 1982, back when the shop was known as Swedish Automotive.

While Addison has come a long way and grown a lot since 1982, Tom says he always remembers all the "laughs with Jim from day one." One thing that has never changed is our commitment to providing personal, honest, and caring service.

Jim and Brenda Addison explain their unpredicted start.