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As gas prices rise, more cars stay dirty
By Dan Vierria and Darrell Smith - dvierria@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PDT Friday, April 25, 2008
Story appeared in BUSINESS section, Page D3
Gassed up but filthy – that describes many an auto- mobile since our economy soured. Driving unwashed cars, splattered with bugs and road grime, is how some motorists are offsetting the cost of gasoline at almost $4 a gallon.
"They're dirtier these days," said Mark Thorsby, executive director of the Chicago-based International Carwash Association.
Thorsby explained the latest dropoff in the full-service carwash business is typical during such periods. It happened, he recalled, when gas reached $3 a gallon in 2005.
On Thursday, the average national price of a gallon of regular gas jumped 2.3 cents overnight to a record $3.556 a gallon, according to a survey of stations by AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. In Sacramento, a gallon was going for $3.862.
The soaring prices have been enough to force Americans to change their spending habits, and the frequency of carwashes appears to be one way they are saving. By and large, they are not returning to do-it-yourself duty in driveways, according to ICA .
Still, the lunch hour was steady Thursday at Scrub Boys at 18th and Broadway in Sacramento, with drivers pulling in for the "Detail Express," though prices were definitely on their minds.
"You're trying to push it a little further, have the kids wash it. You've got to stretch that dollar," said Gary Hatten of Orangevale. Hatten, a father of two and an auto service technician at a downtown Sacramento garage, brought the Dodge Ram pickup he calls the "Hemi Gas Sucker" in for a detail.
Robert Turner of Sacramento has been washing cars for 16 years, 15 at Scrub Boys. As he prepared to work on Hatten's truck, he said prices have slowed business.
"It's not just the carwash," he said. "Gas affects everything. … People are a lot more conscious about what they're spending."
About the writer:
- Call The Bee's Dan Vierria, (916) 321-1119. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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