The name sounds promising, and so is the weather.
“Auto-Lagune” is the name of the self-service washing facility in the north of Frankfurt, its trademark: a curved, green palm tree on the flat roof, which has faded over the years, under which the five washing stalls with high-pressure cleaners and foam brushes are located.
Shortly after the turn of the year, it rained persistently in Frankfurt - a good prerequisite for observing people on the first dry morning of the new year who show their affection for their car by really cleaning it inside and out.
Martin Gropp
Editor in business.
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But the car wash is almost empty that day.
A man quickly sprays his white, American-made electric car and starts sliding off again after a few minutes, almost silently.
Another driver uses the vacuum cleaner to free his small black car from the hair of a dog that is barking impatiently behind the vehicle.
Quickly wipe the fittings with a rag, and then he's gone again.
If it is true that you cherish and care for what you particularly like, for which you may even feel something like love, then the feelings these two men have for their cars cannot be far off.
At least not that day.
Cars are seen more pragmatically
The affection of the Germans for automobiles was almost proverbial for a long time.
From the fifties of the last century until well into the new millennium, many people saw their own vehicle as at least a loyal companion, possibly a good friend and in some cases even the often tried “favorite child of the Germans”.
Many middle-aged people today can dig up anecdotes about how their own father tended the family car like treasure - and left no one other than himself behind the wheel.
But what about Germans' emotions about automobiles today?
In times of climate change, the much propagated but still not completed traffic turnaround or the disappointment in the German car industry fueled by the diesel scandal?
He still associates joy, freedom and fun with his own car, says the car enthusiast.
She and her family of five get along very well without a car, says the woman, who does without her own vehicle but still uses one every now and then.
The car is seen much more pragmatically today than it used to be, says the traffic researcher.
But more on that later.
Vehicle inventory continues to grow
Anyone who tries to get closer to the relationship between Germans and their cars will encounter a number of very contradicting facts.
On the one hand, the aim is to loosen the dependency on the car in order to reduce the emission of harmful greenhouse gases.
On the other hand, these same CO2 emissions, which are falling in other areas, continue to rise in the transport sector of all things - because there are simply more and more powerful cars.