A little warmth and sun brings out the long car wash line in Syracuse, N.Y.
There are certain winter season days in Central New York where cars line up with a resolute purpose.
No, not those panicked rushes to the supermarket to buy milk and bread when the forecast calls for a big snow. People know enough to keep cans in the cupboard and bottles in the fridge, in case the white stuff arrives in feet instead of inches.
The really long parade of vehicles comes on the warmish day after a string of freezing weather. If the sun is shining, they pull into the lot one after another after another.
People are patient at the car wash, dozens of vehicles piloted by drivers who know it’s the day to wash the accumulation of road salt away from the carriage and underside. That’s the stuff that’ll attack your finish like nothing else. It may melt the ice and snow from the roads, but the aftermath will eat at your car.
Or maybe they all just like the look and feel of driving a clean car.
I caught the line Wednesday afternoon at the Delta Sonic car wash in DeWitt, just outside of Syracuse.
Do you have any peculiar wintertime phenomena where you live?
Back, back, back goes the line of cars awaiting the big clean in Syracuse, N.Y.
Mark Bialczak 
i think this is hilarious and i’ve seen it happen here as well. the funny thing is, it never occurs to me to take part in this, as i always think my car doors will soon freeze shut as the temp plunges back down on the very next day. here, i have my class ready for a snow day, and plan to stay home with a call from school early morning, if snow is anticipated. teachers love snow days even more than kids )
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Yes, that worry about the car door freezing has kept me out of those lines as well, Beth. As for snow days, I hope you get yours without too much of a buried-up-to-your-you-know-what hassle.
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Yep. The only time I use a car wash is in the winter. Washing by hand is fine in the summer. For some reason can’t get the hose to work in the winter. 🙂
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What, your hose doesn’t shoot ice cubes across the driveway if you forget to disconnect and put it away for winter? Way to DIY in the summer, Cat.
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A peculiar Wintertime phenomena,,,yeah, tourists! 🙂
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Ah, the curious strangers among you.
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🙂
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Those cars look clean to me!
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It’s all relative, PJ. Maybe they were worried about crud underneath …
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Wow! But they’re smart. I lived in Minnesota for many years and it’s incredible what salt can do to metal. I swear, one year, I came out to the parking lot after work and found my car surrounded by parts that fell off. Some people would just give up and drive their rusted beaters throughout the winter.
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Oh, yes, SDS, you have mentioned another phenomena that grips my part of the world, that of the winter rat car. Thank you. And my very first car, a 1969 Chevy Nova, had a rotted underside so drastic that I felt like I could stop and start by sticking my feet to the road, a la Fred Flintstone.
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