Garages - becoming too narrow..

[Cyclone]

Has anyone got figures for the old and new average widths of cars.

[the_bloke]

Cars getting bigger over the years has been happening since the 1950s; the new version of each model would boast of more room inside, it being quicker, more boot space, most of which can only be achieved by making the car bigger.

 

As examples, look at the standard Ford car in the USA through the 50s and 60s up until the fuel crisis of the 70s when suddenly they remembered things can be made smaller. 'Longer Lower Wider' was considered the way forward. Modern European examples are cars like the Polo, Clio, 3 series etc which have grown to a point where the manufacturer has had to introduce new smaller models as the original car has left the market segment the first generation was designed for.

[area 51]

My garage must be a bit bigger than normal.I have no trouble at all and i can still open the door and get out and i have had sierras, mondeos and focuses in there.Cars are getting bigger though,Quentin Wilson has complained that a lot of the spaces in car parks are now too narrow and too short for modern cars.

[tzijlstra]

Has anyone got figures for the old and new average widths of cars.

 

Can't believe you didn't search the Font of ALL knowledge...

[Eater Sundae]

I think the bigger problem caused by wider cars is the lack of space on urban roads. With more and more people wishing to park their ever wider cars on the street, there is less and less room for moving vehicles, particularly larger ones such as refuse wagons and, more importantly, fire engines, to pass safely.

 

Whereas parking bays can be made bigger (but in doing so the quantity will have to be reduced), there's no practical way of widening most roads. As times goes on, I think there will need to be more restrictions on street parking (eg to limit parking to one side only), plus more and more roads being made one way for when cars can no longer pass.

 

On a recent trip to America I noticed that some car parks had areas reserved for compact cars. There may be a case for doing the same in the UK, but possibly with a revised definition as to what constitutes a compact.

[Isabelle]

You both make it sound like a badge of honour or something!

 

Neighbour was same. And dragging cubic meters of junk out of his garage main door every other weekend, to access this, that or the other specific widget.

 

Enough dirty looks over the years and eventually he's seen the error of his way. Still not quite you-could-eat-on-the-floor clean, nor reaching German IKEA-like levels of order and minimalism like ours, but getting there

 

Ours is noticeably worse at the moment due to clearing out his late dad's garage and storing all his mum's garden furniture. It will improve. Hopefully at some point we'll be able to get to the freezer in the back thats currently buried

It's definitely going to be fun moving house!

[Cyclone]

I'm not going to follow a dailyhate link if I have a choice Tim.

 

---------- Post added 08-03-2017 at 08:40 ----------

 

http://www.zeroto60times.com/2013/03/cars-bigger/

 

Some have increased by a full 10 inch width (Honda roadster).

[L00b]

Ours is noticeably worse at the moment due to clearing out his late dad's garage and storing all his mum's garden furniture. It will improve. Hopefully at some point we'll be able to get to the freezer in the back thats currently buried

You just want to hope it's not packed in by then, or you may have to call the Environmental Agency

 

(had that happen to us on a building site in Germany many years ago, a college refurb, they'd turned off power to the walk-in freezer in the catering section at the start of the summer holidays but forgot a full-size deer hung in there...the smell was eventually seeping through the 2 foot thick door, and after we opened it to check what was the smell and where was it coming from -skip the instant choking, followed by a collective and extended vomit session- I eventually had to bin my clothes as I could never wash the smell off ).

 

Know what you mean re. clearing relatives' accumulated stuff. About 4 years ago we spent the summer holidays clearing the attic in our family home in France, 150-odd years' worth of dusty junk accumulated in there. And it's a big-a55 attic, up 3 flights of steep and narrow stairs. Took us a good week and 12 trips with a full-size van (filled each time) to the local skip. Gimme a ground level garage with a nice wide overhang door any day

Edited March 8, 2017 by L00b

[NigelFargate]

I know that it sounds counter-intuitive, but a relative told me recently that it s actually 'healthier' for your car to be left on the drive rather than to be put in the garage.

 

He explained it in technical language which I can't remember, but I think it had something to do with potentially damaging particles being washed or blown away rather than being allowed to accumulate in a dry space.

[Bob Arctor]

It really is time that British properties were marketed by the square metre rather than number of bedrooms and double or single garage. People think "4 bedroom house" sounds big when the total floor space can be anything but.