Unsupported. This doesn’t account for potential increases in population and car use. In the past, although there may have been a higher rate of scratches on cars, there may have been fewer cars overall. So, the overall number of scratched cars might have been lower in the past.

Unsupported. We’re not told the reason modern car washes were introduced. The fact modern car washes are better for clear-coat finishes does not imply the clear-coat finishes caused modern washes to come about.

Strongly supported. Mitters are easier on most cars’ finishes than brushes. This is important because clear-coat finishes are more easily scratched. This suggests that when used on older finishes, mitters aren’t likely to produce scratches, at least not any we can see.

Unsupported. We’re not told whether brushes or mitters are more effective for cleaning. We’re only told which one is easier on cars’ finishes.

Unsupported. We know that many cars today have clear-coat finishes. But we don’t know whether most (over half) cars today have such finishes.