The bright shiny colors — the rose reds, violet blues and daffodil yellows — sprout from concrete gardens and suck up the pollen by the bushel.

And the parking-lot gardeners, also known as car salesmen, can rinse off their prized products only with a few allergy-induced tears.

Todd R. McQueen/Special (ENLARGE)

'We're watching the weather closely, hoping for rain,' said Calvin Diemer, owner of Day's Chevrolet in Acworth.

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Peak pollen season meets prohibitive water bans for the first time this week. Because state drought rules tightly restrict businesses from using water outdoors for anything but essential needs, new and used car dealers can't easily clean their stock.

And really, is there anything sadder than a brand-new maroon Chevrolet Corvette that has become a two-tone? Green on top, maroon on bottom.

"The dark colors are horrible," said Calvin Diemer, owner of Day's Chevrolet in Acworth. "Look at that Corvette out there. We're watching the weather closely, hoping for rain."

Somewhere around a million sinuses in Atlanta agree.

Thursday's pollen count was 2,809, which, of course, is in the ridiculously high range. It's the third straight day that pollen counts have reached a new annual high but is still a far cry from last year's high of 5,000, so we have that to look forward to. Rains this weekend should provide some relief.

Diemer thinks pollen season does have an effect on car sales, but not because of how the cars look.

"People don't want to get out and walk around and look at cars if they have allergies," he said. "It has no effect on the paint, and people understand that."

When Diemer buys a car, he takes it across the street and pays for it to be washed, legally. Then when he sells it, he'll have it detailed and washed. But when they are on the lot, they don't get treated.

"We bought a big pressure washer a couple of years ago, with a huge tank on it, and it just sits there."

Jason Sandager, new car sales manager at Town Center Nissan in Kennesaw, said the ick factor was high.

"It's frustrating for us, for customers, everyone," he said. "You can't touch a car, or brush by it, without getting it on you."

Sandager said he's had a few customers buy cars and tell him not to wash it because they want to do the right thing, waterwise.

Sandager said there is one color car that looks good right now: green. And guess what — he's got a couple that he can get you right into.