It was called an Auto wash bowl (right there in the photo) and probably existed until the modern car wash idea. this photo is in Chicago, 1924... and they probably used this method to get the horse crap off the bottom of the cars is my best guess
1916 Chevrolet board track racer at the velodrome. You've probably never heard of a velodrome, or board track racing. Both were made obsolete when modern paving was invented.