"George Earl" wrote
> This got me to thinking that this summer I started to use one of those
> soft-cloth car washes that pulls the car through on a track and maybe
> that is what is causing this flaking problem with the wheel covers.
> (But why wouldn't I see a ton of other cars around with this same
> flaking problem?)
>
> What do you think?

That would be my guess, too. Most of those automatic car washes use
very strong detergents, and when you drive into cool water with hot
wheels/hubcaps, it's bound to take its toll eventually. I bought a
few-year-old Nissan Stanza once - its hubcaps were similarly destroyed.
And I've seen a bunch of other cars looking like that on the roads as
well.

I always let my wheels cool off for at least half hour before washing
because they can get pretty hot at times. Drastic temp. changes (like
when you pour cool water on hot surfaces) aren't too good for the paint
finish.

Cheers,

Pete