Our new series of destination carwash conveyor tunnels (called the Hitouch™️ series) will soon be found in shopping mall parking lots around the US. This means that instead of wasting time waiting for your wash to finish, you can drop off your ride, spend as much time in the mall as you want, and walk out to a sparkling set of wheels.  Both the mall and the car wash experience have never made more sense.

With our Flagship location now open at one of the nation’s premier Shopping & Entertainment destinations, it’s time to shine a new light on this century-old industry!

No matter if you’re the proud owner of a luxury sports car or rely on a 1990s rust bucket, nothing gives you pride in your wheels quite like a fresh car wash.  That radiant shine has a way of giving anyone extra pep in their step, and turning a few heads along the way.

ut after a long week at work, who feels like taking time out of their weekend to pull out a bucket and sponge?  Sure, brick & mortar car washes are likely found all over your city to take on the heavy lifting; but within these facilities, the process and business model remain outdated.  Even in the most efficient of businesses, getting a car wash is a time-draining errand - one where customers are forced to sit around and waste an otherwise productive time of their day.  Usually, only a few magazines and a vending machine are the only things there to remedy the down time.

What if there were a way to incorporate car washes right into a consumer’s busy schedule, without any inconvenience or time wasting?  The answer might just lie in destinations where affluent people leave their cars parked for extended amounts of time - like mall parking lots, for instance.  Thanks to the rise of ecommerce, even the most highly coveted properties, often referred to as “mega-malls,” are being forced to provide their 20 million+ annual visitors with more of an “experiential” shopping experience to compete with the convenience of shopping online.  With so many cars just sitting there, and with the average person spending roughly 2 hours inside the mall, innovation on the traditional car wash model might be closer than you think.

Imagine walking out to the sight of your pristinely-washed vehicle - with a fresh outfit in your hands to match.  At AutoDrop, we’re making this scenario a reality with a new business model that’s bringing express car washes along with a selection of full service, valet-provided offerings to a mall near you.

AutoDrop’s destination carwash model is revolutionizing the century-old car wash industry by targeting a captive audience that’s never been reached.  Traditional car washes are almost always located in places that border high-traffic roads and major interstate highways, forcing customers to wait around amongst a sea of their peers.  At AutoDrop, we’re solving this problem through a major location upgrade - seamlessly providing a “drop n’ shop” experience.  Mega-mall settings enable us to take advantage of captured traffic in a way that other car washes can’t.

On the other end of the spectrum, we’re allowing malls and shopping centers to monetize parking spaces that would otherwise never generate rent.  We stand firmly on the side of the malls in their competition against the ecommerce giants - and at the forefront of innovation and growth in brick & mortar experiential shopping & entertainment.  Furthermore, our innovative upgrade on the traditional conveyor tunnel car wash adds millions of dollars of value to the property upon which a mall resides.  This efficient new design, called the Hitouch™️ series, debuted at our flagship location at the Garden State Plaza on June 23, 2018 in Paramus, NJ.

A disruptive model isn’t the only thing that sets us apart.  The Hitouch, developed with equipment consultant Motor City Wash Works in 2017, gives us a notable technological advantage.  It’s a 120-foot conveyor tunnel carwash that leverages the use of sustainable and efficient eco-friendly processes - including a modular design that’s customizable to each location.

The 100% automated system boasts aluminum frame construction for extended life and durability, can output 90+ cars/hour, and is equipped with the following features that produce better washes:

• Touch-screen entry gate point-of-sale system with RFID capability;
• In-tunnel exterior services like tire shine, wheel cleaning and surface protectants;
• Improved chemical applicators;
• Oscillating soft touch scrubbers for roofs;
• Wrap-around roto mitters for better front and back coverage;
• Super-flex couplings.

Hitouch services mall shoppers’ cars through the following 3 service packages:

This main offering (“Express Wash”) is for customers seeking more of a self-service option that they can drive up to.  Customers pay at a pay station at the tunnel entrance, and are guided onto the conveyor by an attendant.  Upon exit, they’re greeted by free self-service vacuums.  This exterior-only service ranges from $8 - $24 and a 5-10 minute completion time.  It includes a water rinse, soap soak, all-cloth brushless wash, and high-tech blower system.

We work with the mall’s valet service under this option (“Valet Wash”), where customers pay at a POS system at the valet ramp.  Exterior + interior.  Upon completion, the patron is notified via text message - and can pick their car up at the valet ramp just like normal.  This interior-exterior service costs ranges from $24 - $40, and generally takes around 10-15 minutes.

This interior-exterior is our most advanced, in-depth offering.  Our teams of 2 will provide the following: exterior wash, professional wax, vacuum, windows washed, interior dusting, hand-applied glass treatment, hand-applied spray wax and tire dressing, seat/carpet/mat shampoo, vinyl/leather conditioning, and even more.  Customers schedule appointments to deliver their cars to the valet ramp, where they can go on with their day, shop, and pick them up when ready.  We forecast an average price of $85 for Detailing with an average completion time of 40-60 minutes.

We’re also proud to offer consultation services to mall locations who need assistance with getting the Hitouch set up.  A variety of additional cleaning options - including under carriage wash, high volume spinner arches, a tire-gloss applicator, wheel wash systems, and a Dry n’ Shine system  - are also made available to our customers.

In 2016, AutoDrop funded its first location by obtaining a multi-decade lease from one of the nation’s Top-20 malls. Since then, we’ve been piling up a number of impressive achievements - both in terms of improving our express-wash offering and in expanding our reach.  Here are some we’re most proud of:

Key technology developed.  With the help of Motor City Wash Works and Service One Corp. (two equipment firms), the Hitouch series of car washes has been successfully developed.  This product will make debuted at Garden State Plaza in Paramus NJ on June 23, 2018.

Launch hurdles cleared.  During construction on this first location at Garden State Plaza in Paramus, NJ, we navigated and ultimately conquered several challenges that were unique to a mall-based Carwash by ultimately winning a Municipal Permit from the Borough of Paramus to source power from the mall while also reclaiming 95% of runoff in a parking garage setting.  

Key mall partnership under review.  AutoDrop is weighing bids from several Landlords and Property Developers for its second and third locations at premier Tier-A locations nationwide. With virtually no competition aside from those with a bucket, hose & manual labor, AutoDrop is an unparalleled enhancement to the Shopper Experience. 

Others are noticing.  Garden State Plaza’s landlord isn’t the only one; we’re also garnering interest from other retail giants and individual shopping malls.  In fact, two locations were recently earmarked for future Carwashes located in the Greater Boston area.

As for what lies ahead, the near-term future is all about expanding our geographic reach.  After the opening of Garden State Plaza on June 23, 2018, we are squarely focused on opening all of our remaining prospective locations in 2019, which include properties in San Diego, Chicago, Connecticut, 3 in Los Angeles, 3 in Washington DC, and 2 in NYC along with 2 properties in Boston. The successful efforts to fund these pre-sold locations mentioned above, along with exploring additional opportunities at the nation’s other, 400+ “super-regional” US malls has so far allowed us to grow both the corporate-owned and licensing ends of our business model.  Looking further ahead, we realize our model’s potential to accommodate additional automotive services beyond just car washes - and will explore this more aggressively once our current model is proven out.  These services include dent repair, wheel repair, and windshield repair.

We also have plans to incorporate a mobile app into our business model in the not-so-distant future.  This app will allow us to integrate with other mall tenants, including movie theatres and restaurants, to house the customer’s payment method and possibly even consolidate payments.  The app will also offer notifications, including informing them when their vehicle is finished. Longer term, we may also consider digital key technology, “KeyDrop by AutoDrop,” for inclusion in the mobile app.

The AutoDrop vision traces back to 2007, when a pair of brothers & eventual AutoDrop co-founders were called away to run a mall valet service designed to promote their family’s local car dealership. The pair quickly picked up on how long shoppers would leave their cars unattended while shopping - and uncovered a legitimate business opportunity rooted in providing on-site car washes during this time. Though they would spend much of the next decade working on other aspects of the family businesses, the idea never left them; and after finally committing to this new direction, AutoDrop was eventually born. It’s time to learn a little more about them!

Hayes Miller, President - Our CEO’s experience in the automotive industry comes from Bentley Motorcars & Rolls-Royce, two world-class brands that comprise the luxury unit of family-held Paul Miller Auto Group, which is a nationally-ranked chain of car dealerships located in New Jersey. During his time as General Manager, Hayes captured Rolls Royce’s prestigious, Global Dealer of the Year Award. In more recent years, Hayes established a successful career in Financial Services as an executive at a leading Fortune 500 Corporation where he obtained his Series 7, Series 66 & Life Insurance licenses.  Now with AutoDrop, Hayes will draw upon his unique combination of experience in Financial Services and the Automotive Industry to lead investor relations, overall sales, strategic direction, & implementation of our brand identity.

Bryce Miller, Vice President - Bryce started as an Advisor for AutoDrop and was then appointed VP/COO in 2017. He has experience working in the Luxury Yacht, Motorsports, Marketing and Automotive industries. Bryce also held executive positions at Paul Miller Auto Group as the company’s Chief Marketing Officer and IT Project Manager. Most recently in his position as General.  Manager he played a key role in restoring profitability to their Jaguar franchise location. He also has experience as General Manager to the AutoDrop offshoot predecessor, ‘The Valet Experience’ - a mall-based valet, car wash and detail service from which the vision for AutoDrop was born. His post-graduate education consists of two certifications from General Management Executive Programs specializing in Dealer Operations, Franchise Relations and Ownership with both the NCM Institute (Overland Park, KS) and the NADA University (McLean, VA). Bryce works side-by-side with Hayes to steer AutoDrop’s day-to-day operations while heading up certain business development initiatives.  He’s also responsible for ensuring optimal growth of our retail presence

Want to learn more about AutoDrop and find out how you can get involved?  Make sure to request access to the Business Plan tab of this profile!