Parking Sure is Hard
to Do Properly!
It seems that
the concept of parking is a difficult concept for many people to grasp. Here
are examples of where people typically screw up:
Supposedly illiterate people who shoehorn their monster-sized
vehicles into parking stalls clearly marked "Small Car". First, by being
too wide, it makes it difficult to get in and out of a vehicle without leaving
a door ding. Second, by being too long, newer shopping malls seem to be coming
with narrower and narrower parking lot aisles which sometimes leads to the blocking
of traffic. Ugh.
People
who don't seem to take notice of the hundreds of other cars in parking lot
stalls of a mall parking lot, and proceed to park right in front of a
store entrance where signs and yellow painted curbs scream "No Parking!"
People
who use up two parking spots—because parking straight or between the lines
seems to be too much to ask for. Of course, there are the people who think this
is okay because they see that the parking lot is almost empty—but fail to
realize that the parking lot may get busier later that same day.
People
who back into parking spots. Well, there is nothing wrong with backing into a
parking spot, except that most people can't do it properly. I've seen people
bump other people's cars, crush shopping carts, flatten bushes, and more. When
the person parking manages not to do any of this, they still tend to park
crooked (making the adjacent parking spot unusable). Sometimes they block the
flow traffic as they stop in the middle of the parking lot aisle and back ever
so slowly into place.
Finally, there
are the dimwits who insist on idling their engine in the parking lot for
ten or more minutes, while waiting for their significant other to complete
their shopping. It seems that the bigger the vehicle, the more likely that a
person will choose to idle their engine—diesel pickup trucks seem to be the
vehicle of choice here. Having a male driver helps as well. In the past, I've walked
into a supermarket and noticed a truck idling in the parking lot. When I saw
the truck again 10 minutes later, two shopping carts of food are being loaded
into the truck. So that's, oh… at least half an hour of unnecessary idle
time. It wasn't even cold outside! I guess that when the fuel economy of
your vehicle is hovers around single-digit miles-per-gallon levels, zero
miles per gallon doesn't seem like a big deal, right?
The flawed
logic if the engine idler typically goes this way: "Well, most engine wear
occurs during a cold start, and I want to make my engine last longer".
Okay then, they're
indirectly implying that ten minutes after they turn off their engine, all
traces of the oil rushes to the bottom of the oil pan, leaving all internal
engine components bone dry. Apparently, the engine turns stone cold as well. If
people wanted to reduce the "cold start" damage to their engine, they
should consider letting their engine idle overnight after they come home from
work—sparing the engine from being restarted 12 hours later. This is a
period of time when a "cold start" condition is actually possible.
Of course,
letting your engine idle for twelve hours isn't good for it, either. First, there's
a tiny amount of friction since 1,000 idling RPMs of add up over time. Second, it
seems that some people don’t notice that when their vehicle is standing still
for a long time with the engine running, the temperature needle usually rises
higher than when the car is being driven down the street. Read your owner's
manual, folks. The manual says not to leave your engine idling for excessive
periods of time. It will also suggest that you should change your oil more
often if you let your engine idle for extended periods of time. Can this be a
hint?
The owner's
manual should supersede what your father and your father's father told you to
do when it comes to car care. Didn't your father tell you in the days of carbureted
engines that you have to pump the gas pedal a few times and "give it gas"
when starting the engine? Didn't he also insist that you idle the engine for a
few minutes before driving away to prevent stalling while on the road. And didn't
he also tell you to drive slowly for the first few miles on your bias ply tires
to allow them to warm up during cold weather? Didn't dad also say that he
had to get new piston rings installed after 80,000 kilometers (50,000 miles)? You
may have even once overheard Grandpa mention something about
"de-coking" his engine.
Reality is: times
have changed and cars are now easy to start and drive away in. We have fuel
injected engines and radial tires. Engines typically last longer before needing
to be rebuilt, too. So why do people idle their engines for excessive periods
of time? Because "that's that Dad used to do!", not what you have
to do!
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