Casas Adobes Automotive

Cool Auto owner Michael Moreno first opened shop at age 9, when he detailed his brother's 1968 Camaro and was paid with a bag of chips and a six-pack of root beer. Today, the longtime Tucson resident has expanded the business to include a staff of 22 full-time employees who detail about 8,600 cars, trucks, SUVs, and vans every year, pulling in almost as many chips and root beer as the World Bank. Detailing technicians sanitize rides with grease removals from engines and auto bodies, clay-bar and waxing rubdowns, and steam cleaning of undercarriages, axles, and suspensions. They apply the same attention to detail inside cars, lifting soda stains and pulling out ground-in dirt with extractors. They can even protect leather upholstery from wear and sun damage with shine-boosting conditioning. To make sure the car smells nice, the techs use puffs of ozone to banish stubborn odors from car cabins.

Metro Car Wash's meticulous technicians and loaded wash and detail packages have earned them the back-to-back title of Tucson Weekly's Best Car Wash in 2011 and 2012. Determined to make both Metro Car Wash locations stand apart from faceless car-washing chains, owners Craig and Sean strive to add personal touches to both locations. To that end, the Speedway facility is known for its outdoor track where customers can observe their car during a wash and croon it soothing lullabies to calm its nerves. The owners and staff have also built a community partnership program to donate a portion of their funds to nonprofit organizations each quarter.

Though they might not be able to turn all they touch into gold, the technicians at Midas can do just about anything to keep cars rolling smoothly. They swap out dirty oil during oil changes, give vehicles a thorough checkup during Midas Touch maintenance packages, and put cars through the wringer with any number of other guaranteed services. And every time they install a new muffler, they remember how Midas got its start back in 1956—as a muffler shop in Macon, Georgia, where the first of Johnny Mufflerseed's trees produced fruit.

For more than 13 years, the technicians at Octopus Car Wash have escorted vehicles into high-tech soft-touch washing systems. Controlled by a tunnel computer system and electronic sensors, their robotic equipment slathers vehicles as tall as 6 feet, 10 inches with double-coat foam conditioners, clear-coat protectors, and delicious donut glaze. To appease the environment, Octopus softens, treats, and internally recycles its water while using far less than is normally used at home.

The experienced staffers at Prestige Automotive Group LLC brandish specific skills that play to the auto shop’s strengths: owner Brad Starr recently became the garage's Volvo master, having completed training and acclimated himself to Volvo's new Vida computer system, and two mechanics lay claim to ASE-certification, specializing in Volvos, and European and Asian-made vehicles. Despite their specialized knowledge, with outstretched wrench the techs happily welcome any car that needs an oil change, repair, or a polite reminder that its hood is open, servicing engines as customers connect to the facility's free WiFi during visits. The staff also thwarts inconvenience by comping carless motorists for one day of car rentals under certain conditions or helping to procure rentals at reduced rates.