Please remember, the object of an automated carwash it to make money for the owner. I do agree that a touchless wash is, by far, less abusive to a car's finish, but it doesn't remove bug splatter or the some of the current winter road salt brine "concoctions" that adhere to cars. Unfortunately, most owners skimp on quality car-cleaning chemicals and/or equipment maintenance just to make a vew cents more profit per car. How do I know? I worked briefly as an engineering draftsman for a local carwash manufacturer. And just like detailing car-care chemicals, there are a wide variety of automated car-washing chemicals, some good (but expensive) and some bad (read "economical"). The "economical" chemicals glog nozzles, ruin pumps, or just plain don't clean thoroughly. Because of confidentiality agreements I cannot tell you who's good and who's bad or the name of the carwash manufacturer. Just like a car, the manufacturer has recommendations for chemicals to use based on engineering design parameters (think matching a nozzle's flow to soap viscosity) and testing for developing scheduled maintenance procedures (how often go you need to change a filter, use a water-softener additive, or flush a system because of specific water-quality issues) It's not the car-wash manufacturer's fault what the owner uses or how well that person maintains their equipment.
