Brighter shine in just half the time.

The average Brit gets the bucket and sponge out between seven and eight times a year. Yet keeping a car clean can have a dramatic affect on our moods, how other people look at us and the value of our vehicles.

But the makers of a new time-saving car cleaning system hope to encourage owners back to their driveways on a Sunday morning. The Flash Car Wash system has already rocketed the sales of car cleaning products in America by up to six-fold.

By cutting out the need for drying the car after washing, it is claimed to slash total time taken by about three quarters.

There is no way to avoid the need for giving your car a good scrub, but the Flash 'gun' fitted to the end of a garden hose is claimed to release an almost bubble free soap requiring very little elbow grease.

But the really clever bit is in the rinsing process. Fitted inside the 'gun' are two hi-tech water filters. One takes out the positive ions from normal tap water; the second removes the negative ones.

Those ions contain impurities like magnesium and sulphates, so, according to the makers, when you use this filtered water to rinse off the shampoo, it doesn't leave any dry water marks and makes drying the paintwork unnecessary.

Flash Car Wash is available from leading supermarkets, Halfords and garage forecourts priced pounds 24.99. For further details go to www.flashcarwash.co.uk