Predictions: What will the industry possibly be like in 2050

[bigburgerboi2005]

Hello, I have always been optimistic about the future and have been and have been amazed on how much the industry has evolved so far and how different and modern it is now compared to just 10-15 years ago. That being said, what do you guys think the industry will be like 30 years from now and what are your predictions for it like, Wash Building architecture, equipment, machinery etc. my personal predictions for it are that I believe the machines in the future will most likely have Artificial Intelligence implemented in them, maybe even clearer digital displays, better chemical applications, faster and more efficient cleaning and even the software where autonomous vehicles can communicate with the machines. I’m also very curious to see what the normal brush material will be like 30 years from now considering foam brushes are one of the most popular materials and how filament was the norm about 20-30 years ago. I also hope to own my own Wash in less then 10 years from now and am currently not a investor or Wash owner, I do always enjoy seeing new technologies and concepts hit the industry and it always makes me wonder if any of this stuff that’s currently new possibly become mainstream in the future. Anyways enough rambling from me, what are your guy’s predictions for what the industry might be like in 2050.

 

[Wash4Life]

First, I must quantify most predictions have a present-bias. They are based off of what is happening today and assuming that things will follow that trajectory. I'm no different. I do figure there will be shocks to the system.

I myself feel that AI is going to cause a lot of destruction to our industry. I've talked about this before and will keep it brief. AI is going to kill jobs. With people not commuting, either unemployed or working from home, they will not be washing. I feel this is something that will have occurred well before 2050. I'm talking at most 10 years from now. Hopefully, I'm wrong, or people right the ship and realize that most AI is bad.

Then there is the climate agenda that can cause destruction to our industry. The idea behind the talk of high speed trains and buses is to reduce cars. Bad for our business. At some point, I do see the climate hawks targeting our industry for our water and energy uses. While we are way better than washing in the home driveway, reality has trouble defeating perception. If people knew how environmentally unfriendly electric vehicles are, there would be big pushes against them.

Let's talk about crime, shall we? The government won't do anything against crime, but God forbid someone leave a car wash open during COVID, even when the federal government allows us to stay open. Eliminating cash can stymie some crime. That does not handle all the metal scrap thieves would love to steal, jerks vandalizing and data breaches.

Car washes are going to be around. Just not money and probably the big ones. Things aren't looking good for small business.

 

[Randy]

The self-serve industry is in a slow spiral into the ground, like the B-17 bomber in the movie 12 O’clock High with half its wing shot off that’s in a slow spiral. In the last year there have been 5 self-serve car washes closed, sold to be used for other purposes. There hasn’t been a new self-serve car wash built here in over 20 years. All the self-serve builder/distributors are gone now. But there is talk of more express tunnels moving into the area. The tunnel wash on the other end of town from my wash just reopen after a 1.3 million dollar remodel with free vac’s and a wash club price of $9.99 a month, if you pay for a year in advance. My self-serve business is pretty much gone. Now about all I get is horse trailers, pickup bed wash outs and muddy pickups.

 

[bigburgerboi2005]

The self-serve industry is in a slow spiral into the ground, like the B-17 bomber in the movie 12 O’clock High with half its wing shot off that’s in a slow spiral. In the last year there have been 5 self-serve car washes closed, sold to be used for other purposes. There hasn’t been a new self-serve car wash built here in over 20 years. All the self-serve builder/distributors are gone now. But there is talk of more express tunnels moving into the area. The tunnel wash on the other end of town from my wash just reopen after a 1.3 million dollar remodel with free vac’s and a wash club price of $9.99 a month, if you pay for a year in advance. My self-serve business is pretty much gone. Now about all I get is horse trailers, pickup bed wash outs and muddy pickups.

Ah I see, sucks to hear that ss washes are going out of style in most places, I know the ones near me are still pretty popular and can get quite busy on sunny days, so I'm assuming location and surrounding region plays a huge role too. Appreciate the feedback!

 

[designflaw]

The self-serve industry is in a slow spiral into the ground, like the B-17 bomber in the movie 12 O’clock High with half its wing shot off that’s in a slow spiral. In the last year there have been 5 self-serve car washes closed, sold to be used for other purposes. There hasn’t been a new self-serve car wash built here in over 20 years. All the self-serve builder/distributors are gone now. But there is talk of more express tunnels moving into the area. The tunnel wash on the other end of town from my wash just reopen after a 1.3 million dollar remodel with free vac’s and a wash club price of $9.99 a month, if you pay for a year in advance. My self-serve business is pretty much gone. Now about all I get is horse trailers, pickup bed wash outs and muddy pickups.

Oh man, just when I decided to get into something, I find out its probably going to short lived. I wish I could disagree with you

 

[soapy]

Think of the SS car wash industry like a drive in movie theatre. It is more of a nostalgia thing to go to one now. A few drive ins still operate in the black but most have found the land is worth more than the income they generate. Come to think of it regular movie theatres are not doing so well either and will probably go bye bye also. The one thing that sets the SS wash apart from other things is it will always be a physical act that can't be duplicated over the internet. As long as people go out into nature I think many SS washes can survive. AS long as cars don't become so homogenized into a onw size fits all the SS wash is the only thing that can handle a wide variable of vehicles.

 

[Dan kamsickas]

To be honest, I have no clue. If you had told me 25 years ago when I stumbled into this business I'd be building meterboxes without coin acceptors I would have told you that you were insane. Really, outside of payment methods and chemicals the basic operation of a self serve really hasn't changed in decades. Even air dryers aren't a new concept. Those were around in the late 80s early 90s but were only placed on the vac islands so rarely were used. The only thing from a functional standpoint I can think of is probably the triple foam units.

In 27 years I'll either be dead or making inappropriate comments to a hot young nurse's aid in some old age home so it matters not to me.

 

[FuturaFan]

The self-serve industry is in a slow spiral into the ground, like the B-17 bomber in the movie 12 O’clock High with half its wing shot off that’s in a slow spiral. In the last year there have been 5 self-serve car washes closed, sold to be used for other purposes. There hasn’t been a new self-serve car wash built here in over 20 years. All the self-serve builder/distributors are gone now. But there is talk of more express tunnels moving into the area. The tunnel wash on the other end of town from my wash just reopen after a 1.3 million dollar remodel with free vac’s and a wash club price of $9.99 a month, if you pay for a year in advance. My self-serve business is pretty much gone. Now about all I get is horse trailers, pickup bed wash outs and muddy pickups.

Are you just talking about your area for self serve? Because around here in MN and WI, self serves are being built along highways in towns with 2000+ people

 

[Dan kamsickas]

Are you just talking about your area for self serve? Because around here in MN and WI, self serves are being built along highways in towns with 2000+ people

The entire west coast is a real nightmare for most small business right now. Randy is in Washington but I can tell you horror stories from all up and down the west coast. We are quite busy as a manufacturer. There are a ton of neglected sites that need refitting and now we're seeing more and more new ones.

 

[FuturaFan]

Oh man, just when I decided to get into something, I find out its probably going to short lived. I wish I could disagree with you

You can. It all depends on the area you are in, if you are in places where it snows, people LOVE self serve washes, from what I’ve noticed. Our self serve has good traffic.

 

[FuturaFan]

The entire west coast is a real nightmare for most small business right now. Randy is in Washington but I can tell you horror stories from all up and down the west coast. We are quite busy as a manufacturer. There are a ton of neglected sites that need refitting and now we're seeing more and more new ones.

Well there is some obvious reasons for this. It’s the west coast, all liberal run states and thats just some of them. Just thankful Randy is not in LA or Portland. Portland is a nightmare.