Drivin' Through

Recently, two unrelated events came together for me as a single issue. First was a news item pointing to California’s record breaking drought and explaining how motorists could still responsibly wash their cars by utilizing a... »

The car wash I frequent is a full-service location and part of a metro-wide chain comprised of two-dozen-or-so sites. It is also one of the chain’s older washes and, frankly, it’s beginning to show its age. The waiting room is... »

Autonomous cars were once again in the spotlight recently with the unveiling of Google’s self-driving prototype, 200 of which the tech giant plans on putting through a test program starting this summer.  »

In his “Finishing Line” column this month, Robert Roman makes a statement that most operators hold as true: “The car wash industry is literally fed by vehicle sales from new- and used-car dealerships.” I was wholly unaware,... »

The International Carwash Association’s The Car Wash Show 2014 exceeded most observers’ expectations. With the event being held in Chicago — at the end of March — few had hopes for a solid turnout. The final attendance figure of... »

Many readers will be picking up this issue of Auto Laundry News for the first time at The Car Wash Show in Chicago. Those who have made the effort to attend the car wash industry’s premier event will be rewarded with... »

Whiplash. A mild form of this affliction is what you get when you pay too much attention to media reports based on studies that appear in medical journals. Coffee is bad for you one study finds, shortly after which another finds... »

Car-care-show season is upon us. As usual, the first round gets started in Arlington, TX with the Southwest Car Wash Association’s annual convention and expo in February. The Automotive Oil Change Association’s iFLEX follows in... »

Less often than I’d like to, I spend a little time at one of the annual auto shows and try to figure out what car washers will be contending with in the near future. Of particular interest are the concept cars, which »

Twelve months ago, our State of the Industry Survey, although showing some improvement over the previous year, offered results that could best be described as a mixed bag. The results from the current survey (page 34 in this... »

“Thinking outside the box is dead.” This, according to Alan Iny, co-author of Thinking in New Boxes, a book briefly sampled in the October 7 issue of Bloomberg Businessweek. We’ll return to Iny’s five-point strategy for solving...

Every generation deals with its own peculiar challenges while, at the same time, presenting unique challenges to those with whom it interacts. Products are created and services designed to appeal to the idiosyncrasies of each...

In this space in June this year, we offered up some lamentable trends in the country’s driving habits: Americans drive fewer miles in total today than they did eight years ago; fewer young people are obtaining driving licenses...