Dopo il viaggio, porto l’auto all’autolavaggio vicino a casa.

Because porto is the first-person singular present tense of portare: I take / I bring.

• portare = to take / to bring
• porto = I take / I bring

So the sentence is talking about what I do: Dopo il viaggio, porto l’auto... = After the trip, I take the car...

Italian usually uses the present tense here just like English can in habitual statements:

• Dopo il viaggio, porto l’auto all’autolavaggio.
• After the trip, I take the car to the car wash.

Italian often leaves out subject pronouns when they are clear from the verb ending.

• porto already means I take / I bring
• so io porto and porto both mean I take / I bring

Using io is possible, but it usually adds emphasis:

• Io porto l’auto... = I’m the one who takes the car...

In a neutral sentence, leaving out io is more natural.

Because auto is a feminine singular noun beginning with a vowel, so the article la becomes l’ before it.

• la auto → not used
• l’auto = the car

This is the same pattern as:

• l’amica = the female friend
• l’isola = the island

So:

• porto l’auto = I take the car

All’autolavaggio is made from the preposition a + the article l’.

Here is the breakdown:

• l’autolavaggio = the car wash
• a + l’ = all’

So:

• all’autolavaggio = to the car wash

This is very common in Italian:

• al supermercato = to the supermarket
• alla stazione = to the station
• all’aeroporto = to the airport

Autolavaggio literally means car wash.

It is a compound word:

• auto = car
• lavaggio = washing

So autolavaggio is the place where cars are washed.

In everyday Italian, this is the normal word for car wash.

Because a casa is a very common fixed expression in Italian meaning at home or home.

So:

• vicino a casa = near home
• sono a casa = I’m at home
• vado a casa = I’m going home

Using alla casa would usually mean to the house in a more literal, specific sense, not the normal idea of home.

It most naturally describes the car wash.

So the meaning is:

• the car wash near home

In other words:

• porto l’auto all’autolavaggio vicino a casa
• I take the car to the car wash near home

Italian often places this kind of location phrase right after the noun it describes.

It sets the time frame: After the trip.

Italian often places time expressions at the beginning of a sentence for context:

• Dopo il viaggio, porto l’auto...
• La mattina, bevo caffè.
• Domani, parto presto.

You could also place it later:

• Porto l’auto all’autolavaggio dopo il viaggio.

That is also grammatical, but the original version emphasizes when this happens.

The comma is used because Dopo il viaggio is an introductory time phrase.

It helps separate the opening context from the main clause:

• Dopo il viaggio, porto l’auto...

In short sentences, Italian punctuation can sometimes be flexible, and you may also see this without a comma:

• Dopo il viaggio porto l’auto all’autolavaggio...

But the comma is perfectly natural and helps readability.

Yes. Auto and macchina can both mean car in everyday Italian.

So you could say:

• porto la macchina all’autolavaggio

That is very natural too.

A rough difference:

• auto can sound a little more neutral or concise
• macchina is very common in everyday speech

Both are correct here.

Verb-for-verb, portare often corresponds to both to take and to bring, depending on context.

In this sentence, English usually says:

• I take the car to the car wash

But Italian uses portare naturally here. The exact English choice depends on perspective, not on a different Italian verb.

So:

• porto l’auto all’autolavaggio = I take the car to the car wash

By itself, it can be understood either way, depending on context.

With the present tense, it often sounds like a habit or a normal routine:

• After the trip, I take the car to the car wash near home.

But in the right context, Italian present can also describe a specific action, especially in informal speech.

If you wanted to make it clearly past, you would use a past tense, for example:

• Dopo il viaggio, ho portato l’auto all’autolavaggio vicino a casa.
• After the trip, I took the car to the car wash near home.

Viaggio is pronounced roughly like vee-AHJ-joh.

A few helpful notes:

• vi sounds like vee
• -aggio has a soft g sound, like the g in gem
• the gg is held a little longer than in English

So:

• viaggio ≈ vee-AHJ-joh

Also note that autolavaggio ends with the same -lavaggio sound.