Car Washes: Then and Now

One morning last week, I drove along some muddy rural roads. I was looking for blossoms but didn't find any. All I accomplished was to make a total mess of the car.

Consequently. a few days later, I took it through the local, touchless car wash where there was no human in sight and robotics took care of the whole wash, something like the following two images.

As we were proceeding through the wash in the car, I recalled my first experience with car washes. We didn't own a car until 1962. We hadn't needed one in Montreal where public transportation was very good. While it would have been nice to have one, we got along well enough via streetcars and buses.

But then we moved from Montreal to Toronto, except that it wasn't really Toronto but well out on the fringes, even past the suburbs or most of suburbia at least.

Further to that, we lived on a nursery about 2 miles from the centre of the nearest settlement.

So ... we needed a car.

Car washes were a bit different in 1962.

Just look at all of the wash guys, or actually drying guys, in this photo that I found.

All through the car wash were stations where guys did this or that from hosing, to soaping,  to washing, to tire cleaning, and onto rinsing as we walked through the parallel corridor watching with interest.

I can't quite say how many guys (always guys) that it took to do the wash from beginning to end. Was it 20? It's just not clear in my mind at this point, but it must have been at least a dozen.

My vague impression is that the cost was around $2.50 - $3:00, but since I wasn't the one paying it doesn't stick out in my mind too much. Whatever, it was enough to pay all of those workers, along with a separate person (I think a woman) to relieve the customers of the requisite amount of cash in those times before inflation went through the roof.

My most recent wash cost $10 with nary a person involved, not even to take the money, which is no longer actual money but a plastic card.