To wonder why we allow the sale of so many cars that don't fit a standard space?

[Bussesrus]

We are looking for a new car that will fit all 6 of us plus our dogs. Having looked at many options just about everything with a third row and boot space will hang over into another space by anything from .2 to nearly a meter. Where exactly are you meant to park these SUVs and vans?

To ge fair if you have 4 kids and 2 huge dogs then I guess you don't give 2 shits about the environment or those about you.
So why not just use the parent and child spaces.

I would be really annoyed if I couldn't get a space because they made spaces too big.

But would your large exended family use it?

@Allfur We absolutely would. Why wouldn't we?

@kitsuneghost Or my sister died and her children and her dog live with us and I'm trying sort out the logistics of making this work. Why be a dick as an opening move when you don't know? Does it make you feel better to shoot at someone? If I didn't give a fuck I wouldn't have made a thread. I'd just grab the nearest massive vehicle and park across two spaces but that's not what I'm doing!

Indeed. I take ikea bags and fill them up. Rain or shine. I don't like it but it keeps me fit and saves taking the car a mile up the road.

Part of the problem of allowing people to take two spaces and pay for them is that the purpose of the car park is to allow people to access the attraction, whether it's a supermarket, town centre or a museum. You'd reduce the maximum number of people the car park serves, which has knock on effects.

Initially you reduce footfall, which reduces that days' profits. Over time people know that they may not be able to park so they just stop going.

It's not an option busy car parks can afford to take.

I would like car parks to specify size limits of vehicles (possibly with some designated for larger vehicles) and fine people parking cars that are too big. It’s getting so ridiculous.

Maybe new multi story car parks should have levels reserved for big SUVs and fines issued to those who park on other levels.

You need a trailer. All the luggage in there, park it up when it’s been emptied, somewhere well out of the way. Sorted.

This isn't it.

It is just a fashion to have ridiculously big cars. The size of some of them is absurd. There has not been an increase in family sizes which means people now need these massive cars. Its just a status thing and fashion thing.

They are more dangerous in collisions. They take up huge amounts of space.

This is part of a wider issue. Look at new build houses with single garages that don't fit these cars in either.

@MabelMaybe We can't fit our very average car in our garage and open the doors on both sides.

My Gran couldn't fit their Mondeo in her garage and be able to open the doors on each side back in the 90s. Garages haven't been big enough to store cars in for many years

Ford have stopped making any cars in the US, they just make SUVs and pick-up trucks now.

I wish you could buy new cars the size of the old-style Mini. Even the new minis are quite large cars.

@OonaStubbs A smart car might suit you. I wouldn't want to be in one in a major accident but for mostly city driving it could work.

There is no reason why I should not walk a mile to church (and sometimes I do), but I don't want to in the pouring rain etc, or if I am taking something with me. Also, I do not necessarily want to walk home in the dark - ringing practice ends at 9 p.m., so from September to March that is a walk home in the dark. So two reasons why I might not want to walk to church.
I cannot - do not have time - walk to other churches where I might ring bells. Issues: the nearest church is a long walk on a main road, and in winter I would have to walk back in the dark. Other churches are in villages, where I cannot walk to and there is no bus. I don't cycle anymore, I am 74 and doubt I would be safe and a fall from a bike could cause me permanent disablement i.e. I could break a hip or leg. Certainly, I could not cycle out to the nearest village (4 miles) in the dark on a bike - it's dangerous.
The congestion, on what is a commercial road (car dealerships, restaurants, shops, take-aways, factories) is caused by a permanent bus lane on one side and now two (intermittent) cycle tracks, which between them have narrowed an arterial road out of the city, that regularly has car trucks parked on it, very narrow. Most of the traffic is commuters coming in and going out of a city, where they work. The buses are not necessarily convenient for that - and many people will not just be going to work, they will be going shopping, visiting DM etc, as well - impossible by bus unless you want to spend several hours on it. The current situation is not an improvement for anyone - and is going to cause accidents.
I find the righteousness of those who think we should all give up our cars and walk, cycle, and bus everywhere painful. It also suggests that they don't get out much or they live in London (bus every five minutes to everywhere + tube) or somewhere like Sheffield, with a tram system. When in Blackpool (own hotel there) I use the tram whenever I can because I like it and I don't much like driving. Otherwise, the car is my first choice. I am about to go out and learn the waltz. I am going by car. It would be two buses and a 40 minute journey, otherwise and had I to do that I could not go.

When I was 21, no problem. AT 35 no problem. At 50, ok. But i am now 74 and my right knee has a dodgy ligament, so, no, I can't pick up the pace a bit and I will take my car, thanks. Do not assume everyone is as fit or mobile as you are. I do not see why I should be confined to walking distance for my leisure, my shopping, or anything else - and don't say buses, I would have to go into town and take a bus out again to reach the suburb withing 15 minutes drive of my house.
I do walk to the church where I ring, if it's is not raining and I am not running late - because I like the excercise - since it's approximately a mile, but in October it means walking back in the dark. Two miles is too far for me to want to walk, realistically.

When parking up, just look for a nice little Fiesta like mine, I always come back to find myself hemmed in with massive cars, it's like a magnet literally! Sometimes I think the occupants must climb out through the boot, indeed sometimes I feel I must do in order to gain entry to my Fiesta....

The last building I worked in was built in the early 90s and had an underground and surface car park. I retired five years ago but even then people were coming in in ridiculously huge cars which frequently made the spaces next to them unusable for normal sized cars.

Technically a car can be anything up to the size of a single decker bus.
https://amp.theguardian.com/business/2024/jan/22/cars-growing-wider-europe-report

@MugPlate That's an interesting article. It really does point toward the need for legislation to put some boundaries around what can be bought and the infrastructure to support those vehicles. It's very clear they are only getting bigger.

you know why don’t you? There’s more space next to your car so they can open their door.

it’s us little cars that facilitate the big cars on the road.

its all well and good making parking spaces bigger, but our roads can’t be

Well said @BourbonsAreOverated, most of our roads aren't going to get any wider
-> we will soon be at gridlock

With the same number of people being in them