The late 1940s and early ’50s were the height of classic American road culture, a time when flashy hot rods sporting white-wall tires reigned supreme on the highways, and a gallon of gasoline cost less than a quarter. Car washes too were far different beasts than they are today.

“A car wash back then would be what we call today ‘full service,’” says Dan Pecora, the owner of Erie Brush & Manufacturing, a Chicago-based detailing and car wash supply manufacturer.

Express car washes weren’t even dreamed up yet: Most car washes during the mid-20th century were operated by dozens of employees, and a car wash attendant drove a customer’s car into the wash; both the interior and exterior of the car were cleaned and then dried by hand. It was not only a time-consuming process — it also sometimes put the customer’s prized automobile in the hands of a young, inexperienced driver.

As a child during the ’50s, Dan and his father, Carlo Pecora, used to make hog’s hair car wash brushes (a specialized brush that’s easier on a car’s paint job and is made of real hog’s hair) at night in the basement of their Milwaukee home. During the day, Carlo would hit the road selling the brushes. It was during all those trips to those countless car washes that Dan’s father developed an idea to help speed up the car washing process.

The idea was relatively straightforward: create a simplified car wash that specialized in exterior washing only. In 1962, Carlo Pecora purchased property in Appleton, Wisconsin, and the following year he opened the first exterior-only car wash in North America — the precursor to the express car washes seen commonly around the country today.

“It changed the whole industry. It was all full service before my father dreamt it up more than 55 years ago,” says Dan.

The car wash, which was called Automat of Appleton, was located on the far east side of Appleton — the west side of town already sported a rival car wash, and the property on the east side was relatively inexpensive.

“There was absolutely no traffic on that street,” says Dan about the piece of property that his father chose for the car wash.

What made the Pecora’s car wash unique was that, unlike most car washes, the customer never had to watch someone else drive their car — they simply drove up to the wash, and their car was hooked onto a 90-foot conveyor belt. They were then pulled through the wash, where automated equipment quickly cleaned the exterior of the car and a super-powered blower dried it off. Then the customer drove off.

“My father eliminated the [practice of] employees driving the car on and off the conveyor, and he eliminated the employees doing the inside windows and the vacuuming,” he says. A central vacuum system was provided free for customers to use themselves. By doing this, labor costs were significantly reduced as compared to all other car washes, so the Appleton car wash cost far less for the customers.

“We were only charging 90 cents for a car wash,” says Dan, noting that the cost was lower if the customer also purchased gas.

At first, business was slow. “No one knew we were there,” Dan says.

At 18, Dan worked as the car wash’s manager, and he took it upon himself to drum up more business. He went about posting flyers all across town, and posting ads in the newspapers, promoting the family business. The marketing campaign worked: the low cost, plus the quick car-wash turn around, was enticing enough for people to commute from the other side of town.

“Nearly every one of the customers were coming out of their way,” says Dan. In November of ’63, just months after opening, they washed roughly 10,000 cars; in December, they washed an estimated 12,000.

The Appleton location was the first of many car washes that the Pecora family opened in the U.S. — they also opened car washes in Minnesota, Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and elsewhere in Wisconsin. All of the properties they purchased for their car washes were inexpensive so as to keep overall costs down. The first location continued to do well — so much so in fact, that “people started contacting my father to buy it,” says Dan.

They eventually sold off each of their car washes throughout North America one by one, and by that time, “everybody and their brother were building exterior car washes,” says Dan.

Exterior, express car washes — one of the most popular car wash models in the U.S. — can trace their origins back to that first exterior car wash in Appleton in 1963.

“He dreamt up all kinds of things,” says Dan about his father’s entrepreneurial skills.

Dan has continued to follow in his father’s footsteps, creating innovative equipment that helps to increase the effectiveness of the modern car wash industry.

Erie Brush & Manufacturing makes high quality replacements for automated and self-serve car washes, foaming brushes, and specialty cloth and foam products. Erie also makes the patented Wheel Wonder™ and Poodle Brush used in automated car washes for cleaning the small spaces within today’s intricate wheels and rims. The company also still makes the hog’s hair car wash brushes that Dan and Carlo made together over 60 years ago.

The ’50s were the height of the classic American road culture, a time when flashy hot rods sporting white-wall tires reigned supreme on the highways and a gallon of gasoline cost less than a quarter. Car washes too were far different beasts than they are today.