Got Lead?

Are your wheel weights lead free?

When I realized that lead weights are still being used in our industry, I was shocked to say the least! I spoke to Bob Nightingale, a sales rep from Hennessy that supplies weights to auto repair shops. It seems that the majority of car dealers and auto shops still balance tires with lead weights! These weights can become loose over time and end up on the roadside, in our soil and eventually our streams and waterways. Add up all the cars out there and you can see why this has become an environmental and health issue.

The alternative material, steel, has been used most recently. Steel has only become the replacement of choice recently since they are finally affordable. The manufacturing process for these involved the investment of all new equipment which made the cost prohibitive for several years. Steel wheel weights are slowly and finally becoming a norm in our industry. They also are becoming more sleek with special coatings and options to either clip-on or stick-on.

You might want to check your weights to see if you've got lead. Curry's has been using steel for the last year, so we can help out if you're unsure.

Tire Pros Annual Meeting

Some Curry’s Associates are attending the Tire Pros Annual meeting in Miami, FL and are getting updates on how to better serve our customers with new technical advice on tires and industry trends.

Tire Pros is one of the biggest networks of independent tire dealers and is growing in both membership and services available to customers at the meeting they exclusively announced the upcoming launch of their all new website, which brings with it more intuitive navigation, an interactive tire fitment guide and a host of other exciting features.

For Curry's customers, look out for a Tire Pros exclusive tire deal with Continental tires that coming this May! (Details on this will be on our website and in an upcoming CurryLink newsletter). I’ve been told that it’s really muggy and hot in Miami right now since there have been several thunderstorms that have passed through the area = No sun!

And THIS was spotted on the beach:


Eeeeewwww!

SNEAK PEEK - Curry's gets a new logo!

With a new store on the horizon (look out for the announcement soon on our website) the Curry's team decided it was time for a refresh on the logo, so we got our marketing team to sit down and come up with some ideas that we could all look over and debate... so... here are the early ideas...

Now the whole team agreed the top logo was heading in the right direction, it added the website address which has been something we have been looking to add to the logo for a while now, but everything felt a little crowded. The middle one was a 'no-go' from the first minute, everyone agreed it was too confusing, too many messages in one block, and too much italicising!

So the bottom design was a favourite with the marketing department, bringing the Curry's family crest back into the logo was seen as a positive move, and giving it the feel of an automotive badge felt right.

So the final design, you ask...

We will be unveiling it officially in the next couple of weeks so here are a few little sneak peeks at the design elements we have incorporated:

As you may have imagined the Curry's family crest is staying, we not only feel it reminds our customers that we are a family business, first and foremost, but the Curry Crest has always been used by us as a seal of excellence for all of our services.

You may be able to see a hint of a wing, think Aston Martin, think Mini Cooper and you will be some way to getting the design cues we ended up working from...


This second sneak peek shows you for the first time our new font. Our approach for the whole design was to present an image that embodied both the 'golden age' of customer service and family values tied to a modern forward thinking look and feel. We hopefully succeeded in this by using a modernist font, the inclusion of the URL within the logo and the retro automotive badge imagery.

The official, full version of the logo will be unveiled soon, in the meantime we'd love to get your feedback on the elements we've included, tell us what you think!

Curry's Presents the DSYS 5K Run for ALS Research

Saturday see the inaugural Curry's sponsored DSYS 5K Run for ALS Research, and at Curry's we are busy preparing a slew of exciting online events to coincide with the actual run.

For anyone that doesn't know ALS is the acronym for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis - also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease - the disease attacks the parts of the nervous system that control voluntary muscle movement. Although the cause of ALS is unknown and there is no cure yet, research on the disease is advancing at an unprecedented pace, thanks to research centers like the one at Pittsburgh University (click here to read more about what they are doing). Curry's and DSYS (The Dulles South Youth Sports organization) have joined forces to raise money and promote awareness for ALS research through the medium of running.

The 5k and Fun Run will take place on Saturday March 19th at the Dulles South Multipurpose Center in South Riding, Virginia. Anyone who still wants to sign up, you have until the end of today to register at http://currys-dsys5k.com/, alternatively everyone is welcome to come along from 8am on Saturday and support all the runners.

The Curry's team will be in attendance, Judy Curry will be accompanying the runners equipped with a video camera to record everyone's experience. Matt Curry will be hosting the event and live tweeting through out (follow us on Twitter by clicking here), and our Marketing Director, John Phillips will be hosting spot prizes and live reports via the Curry's Facebook Fan Page.

So come down and join in the fun or follow all the action on Twitter and Facebook, we look forward to seeing you and remember, it's all for an amazing cause!

It's Our 13th Birthday!!

We are proud to announce that today is officially the 13th Anniversary of Curry's Auto Service, Inc., so we thought we share a little bit of history with you...

In 1998 Matt & Judy Curry fulfilled their lifelong dream of opening a repair shop where customer service would be the focus of the ultimate auto repair experience - for EVERY customer. The first store opened in Chantilly, in a secluded spot deep inside an industrial park with only 4 parking spaces, where no-one could find us! Matt, Chris Prack (our Technical Director) and Joe Vrobel (one of current Reston/Great Falls Technicians) worked ceaselessly to get the store ready. Once they cleaned the 6 inches of diesel oil from all the visible surfaces they managed to get the store ready for customers.

Within weeks, local BMW Club President, Mike Gayle was looking for replacement tires for his BMW M3. Gayle called Hunter Equipment, a high-end automotive manufacturer, and was told the only place in the country that had the machine to replace his tires was Curry's. Gayle wrote an article about Curry's for the BMW Club magazine, which helped seal Curry's reputation in those first few months, as the pinnacle of specialist auto repair in Northern Virginia.

Within two years, Curry's had opened their second location in Falls Church... and the rest is history!

Matt and Judy have worked tirelessly to change consumer perceptions of the auto repair industry and they, and all of the Curry's family, want to take this opportunity to thank each and everyone of our customers for the trust and support you show in Curry's Auto Service, each and every day.

We thank you, and we hope you can join is 2013 to celebrate our 15th Anniversary!!

Wow! I can't believe it's raining again. I'm hoping the rain will wash all the salt and sand off the roads so I can get a nice car wash that will last. Or better yet, I have a great car detailer that I'm very anxious to call. I'm dreaming of that "new car smell" fragrance.

A brief welcome message...

Welcome to the Curry's Auto Service Official Blog, we hope you enjoy the insights, fun links, interesting articles, please feel free to comment and suggest articles and features we can incorporate into the blog over the coming months...

We look forward to hearing from you!