I've been there man...although not the 40 yr old thing mind you - thank god
Just a chemists perspective though....the reason we dry our cars after we WASH them is to keep the relatively hard tap water from evaporating and leaving behind the minerals that were dissolved in it...the dreaded hard water spots.
Rain water is of course is pure water, and (shouldn't) leave spots behind. Sp there's no need to dry after a rain event.
In fact, there will be residue laft behind after a drive in the rain, but it will be road grime. It could well be argued that it's best NOT to wipe this off without detergent, sinc eyou risk scratching the finish on your car.
There..is tha ANAL-ytical enough for you guys?
