Americans Come Clean About Their Cars

International Carwash Association Survey Uncovers the Dirt on Americans' Love-Shame Relationship With Their Treasured (But Filthy) Cars

'Wash Me' Written on 32 Million Automobiles

CHICAGO, Feb. 26 -- Americans love their cars, but five of six owners say they feel ashamed when their autos don't look -- or smell -- their best.

Indeed, the International Carwash Association's 2004 Car Love Survey found that owners' most embarrassing moments occur when trash and odors permeate their car's interior. But the outside appearance humiliates, too. Nearly 50 percent say noticeable dirt on their car's exterior triggers embarrassment, followed by salt build-up (33 percent) and bug grime (30 percent).

Another rub? Getting grubby from a car rub. Two of three car owners say their clothes have been dirtied from rubbing against their cars. That's a frustration shared by more than 90 million car owners.

Adding to their chagrin is when others mock the grime. Twenty-three percent of respondents -- representing nearly 32 million U.S. car owners -- report that "Wash Me" has been scribbled on their cars at least once. And what comes around goes around: 25 percent have written it on someone else's car.

After two years of documenting Americans' emotional connections with their cars, the Association finds that owners are entranced with them. The inaugural 2003 Car Love Survey discovered that an estimated 116 million drivers (owning 84 percent of all registered vehicles) feel so affectionate toward their cars they talk to them, name them, adorn them with trinkets, and involve them in some of life's most significant and personal moments. This year's results show that one in 10 respondents love their car more than their significant other.

Yet these warm feelings often are negated by inattention to care and cleaning. More than half of all car owners wash their cars less than once a month, and 16 percent say they never wash their cars. "Emotional ties aren't enough to protect a car from various environmental culprits that can cause damage in just a couple of days, like bird droppings, acid rain and salt," says Mark Thorsby, executive director of the International Carwash Association. "If you're not washing your car professionally at least once or twice a month, your relationship will end in decay."

   Among other findings from the 2004 Car Love Survey:
   --   Better than a spouse.  Eleven percent love their car more than their
        significant other.
   --   It's a date thing.  Six percent have taken a date to the car wash.
   --   A clean car impresses.  Nearly two in five car owners get their cars
        professionally washed before a date.  Men (27 percent) are more
        likely to get their cars washed to impress a member of the opposite
        sex than women (11 percent).
   --   Brief -- but intimate -- moments.  About one in 10 car owners
        (11 percent) say they've kissed or "made out" in a car wash.  And
        Americans with children are more likely to have smooched at the car
        wash than those without children, signaling that perhaps the car
        wash is one of the few places offering some valuable moments alone.
   --   Car wash faux pas.  Owners admitted the following self-induced
        car-wash blunders:
        --   Left the antennae up (29 percent)
        --   Didn't shift the car into neutral (11 percent)
        --   Missed the track for the car's tire (9 percent)
        --   Did not close the car window (9 percent)
        --   Did not shut the car door completely (5 percent)
        --   Did not shut the sunroof (2 percent)
        --   Opened their windows purposely during a car wash "to see what
             would happen" (2 percent, or 4 million car owners)

  About www.carlove.org

Carlove.org is an online resource that offers fun and factual information about car care and cleanliness from a financial, emotional and environmental perspective. The site features a Car Wash Wizard that offers state-by-state wash "prescriptions" according to geographic region.

About the International Carwash Association

Celebrating its 50th anniversary, the International Carwash Association (ICA) is a non-profit trade association serving 3,000 businesses in the United States, Canada and overseas. Members include car wash operators, equipment manufacturers, distributors, and related suppliers. ICA members represent approximately 25,000 car wash and car care locations in North America.