As far back as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by old school car washes where once the car has gone through the wash and dry part of the tunnel – via an automatic conveyer belt – a crew of uniformed men took over.

The car wash closest to where I lived as a child on Alfred Street was down the steep hill from my old school Saint Victor’s on Holloway Drive.

I preferred taking the shorter route home via the Bowling Alley on Santa Monica and La Cienega, but once in a while, I’d walk by the Santa Palm Car Wash on Santa Monica Boulevard.While two guys polished the car’s headlights and cleaned its windshield and rearview mirrors, two others vacuumed the car’s floor and then used large blue rags to clean the interior windows, seats, side panels, dashboard, and steering wheel

There was always a radio playing loudly and the men working there seemed synchronized. I’m sure the physically exhausting work was made just a little bit easier to endure with some good tunes.

This short video is from a fully automated but still visually intriguing car wash we visited just a few days ago here in Malmö.