Thankfully, just about every carwash around is now "touchless." After all, who wants spinning brushes, embedded with other cars' grime, abrasively whipping your paint like micro-fine sandpaper?
The touchless playing field is now pretty level, so how about some new innovation?
It's here.
This Kingsland facility contains a touchless carwash different from most, in that it is "self-propelled" (similar to Bubbles), but the owner remains in the car.
What this means is that the driver enters the moving queue themselves, and immediately begins the wash procedure. This is occurring while, down the track, other cars are being rinsed and dried.
In other words, you don't need to wait for the complete wash cycle before your car enters. Multiple cars are in process simultaneously, and this saves everyone time!
I love the idea, however, this also means that drivers need to be able to:
A) Have enough skill to position a front tire between the rails above the moving track.
B) Follow directions.
These two points can lead to some unexpected and unintentional comedy!
I witnessed one driver moving back and forth repeatedly trying to get a wheel BETWEEN the rails, and then, trying to figure out why the car was not moving once there.
This is the "following directions" part.
As the sign says, you must be in neutral, and GET YOUR FOOT OFF THE BRAKES! Funny how a car just sits there with all 4 wheels locked up.
Otherwise, this Kingsland Co-op facility is great. There is no Co-Op grocery store--it is convenience only. But for a "gas station," it's everything you need.
There are a significant number of gas pumps out front, which means no waiting.
Also, and most significant in my "gas station choices," the pump handles lock in the open position!!
I ** REFUSE ** to gas up at any station where I need to physically hold the pump for all 120 litres in the wind/rain/sub zero temps. Sorry other guys, if you bowed to your lawyers and removed the locks, I fill elsewhere.
The convenience store is large, clean and new. And attached, a Co-Op liquor store. What you'd expect out of both in a brand new location.
Truly, this place lets you knock off a number of "to-do's" in one stop.