28 February, 2014
Classic car owners are helping to make sure that it is neither grim nor grime up north, new research into car cleanliness suggests.
Proud northern drivers scrub up best when it comes to cleaning their vehicles, according to the poll of 1,139 motorists by IMO Car Wash Group. Southern drivers, conversely, appear more likely to allow the grime to take hold on their pride and joy.
While the tongue-in-cheek study illustrates the north-south cleaning divide, a separate report emphasises that models become scratched from day-to-day motoring and also suffer substantial abrasions from hard hand washing.
The Paint Research Association's study therefore questions the belief that hand-washing is the safest method of cleaning cars.
Scottish motorists are the cleanest in the UK, the IMO car-cleaning researchers discovered, with many as 60% scrubbing their vehicles at least once a month. Meanwhile around 55% of drivers in the south of England leave it a month or longer before cleaning theirs.
The poll applied to drivers of all kinds of cars, even though owners of classic models are famously thought to be overly attentive to their motors. It also showed that Volkswagen owners are the proudest motorists in Great Britain.
Six out of 10 of Volkswagen motorists clean their car at least once a month, while Nissan drivers are the grubbiest with just a third washing their cars at least once a month.
Overall, under half (49%) of motorists in Britain clean their cars at least once a month, with males the most proud of their vehicles. As many as 52% of the men surveyed clean their cars once a month, compared to 44% of the women.
When it comes to deciding on how to clean their car, men are also motivated by convenience and a previous good experience while women are more likely to choose a car wash based on quality and cost.
The poll's commissioners should know. IMO Car Wash Group is the world's biggest car wash firm and cleaned more than 9.7 million vehicles in the UK in 2013.
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