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@Bn said:
I’ll take the media bait ….2017 Commodore – 1900mm; 2019 Corolla – 1790mm; 2019 Hilux – 1855mm; 2019 Camry – 1840mm
so actually you have more room than historically to open your doors.
Not so … The standard Australia and NZ parking space width is based on the dimensions of a 1979 Ford Falcon which was 1870 mm wide. At the time, 85 per cent of cars were narrower and the stated expectation was that it was highly unlikely that you would find two vehicles that wide, or wider, parked adjacent to each other. That clearly is no longer the case.
The Top of the line Ford Ranger (the second-best selling crew cab) is 2028 mm wide, the Mitsubishi Triton is 1815 mm, The Nissan Navarra STX is 1850 mm.
Length can be an issue but width is normally the big factor in practical terms (per the article)…
The length may in fact be the main issue, and it’s not just about whether or not the vehicle goes over the line. The boffins who set the current standards did considerable research into turning circles of cars when being parked, working on the basis that not every square centimetre of parking space would be occupied by the vehicle.
Imagine if you came home one day and discovered you neighbour had built a brick wall along the lines of their parking space or put a metal bollard on each corner. If every iota of a parking space is occupied by a nice shiny vehicle, the effect is the same.
For comparison’s sake, the Navarra STX is 5255mm long, the Triton is 5280, the Ranger is 5398 and the Hilux 5330. The 79 Ford Falcon, on the dimension of which car spaces were first calculated, was 4865mm long – a full half metre shorter than the Ford Ranger