I would not recoomend going through a regular car wash, it will swirl your paint to hell. Touchless is a better option, but the chemicals they use are very potent which will remove any protection (wax/sealant) that you have on your paint.

Personally, I ONR in the winter.

Here is a nice video from 5th gear showing the importance of proper washing techniques.

[MEDIA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZjWkB_q2lE[/MEDIA]