# Firebird=Can't park? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 4, 2003, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firebird-cant-park/186167 "2003-07-04T02:11:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Klaatu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Klaatu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Klaatu)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firebird-cant-park/186167/21 "2003-07-05T07:39:17Z")
To add some perspective, the Taurus from '91 to '99 ranged in overall length from 192-198 inches. A '98 Trans am is almost 194 in. A '70 Camaro SS is 188 in. A 2000 Camaro is 193 in. A 1970 Caddy coupe is a whopping 225 in. The beloved big- finned '59 is also 225 in. A 2000 Ford expedition is 204 in. A 2002 Honda CRV is 178 in. ---
**Author:** ![CherryBomb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/919ad9/32.png) [@CherryBomb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CherryBomb)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firebird-cant-park/186167/22 "2003-07-05T12:11:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Beagle \* > \*\* > > On preview, **CherryBomb** mentioned this in passing. The hell with it. _submit_ > > C-A-M-A-R-O. Not Camaroe, or Camero (Neil Boortz). If you are going to make jokes about allegedly stupid car owners, please, spell the car correctly. \*\* Ah, the first post of mine that has ever been acknowledged. And I scroll back to find that I, indeed, have misspelled Camaro. Doh! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![zuma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9c0ed/32.png) [@zuma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zuma)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firebird-cant-park/186167/23 "2003-07-05T14:29:44Z")
Firebirds and Cameros are now considered long? Sheesh. When did this happen. True, they’re a bit trashy these days, but I think you could come up with several latter-day cars “longer” than these two. ---
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firebird-cant-park/186167/24 "2003-07-05T14:38:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CherryBomb \* > \*\*Ah, the first post of mine that has ever been acknowledged. And I scroll back to find that I, indeed, have misspelled Camaro. > > Doh! :smack: \*\* If it’s a first spelling offense we can let it go with a warning, this time. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firebird-cant-park/186167/25 "2003-07-05T14:40:54Z")
Turning Diameters, wheel base, and overall length (from [url=http://www.new-cars.com/] here: 2003 Ford Expedition (205.8" long) (119" wheelbase) - 38.7’ 2003 Cadillac De Ville (207" long) (115" wheelbase) - 40.2’ 2003 Buick Park Avenue (206" long) (113" wheelbase) - 40.0’ 2002 Pontiac Firebird (193" long) (101" wheelbase)- 40.6’ This car turns like shit. Shortest wheelbase by far. Largest turning diameter (curb-to-curb). It IS hard to park that beast, but I just work harder at it to get it right. ---
**Author:** ![jesleigh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/58f4c7/32.png) [@jesleigh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jesleigh)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firebird-cant-park/186167/26 "2003-07-05T15:38:22Z")
Uncle Bill, it isn’t THAT hard. I’ve done it plenty of times. You just have to make sure you go into a park and have enough room to back up and go in straight if needed. I’m just saying if you aren’t going to take the nessacary extra 3 or 4 seconds to park it right, then buy a smaller car. ---
**Author:** ![Br\_er\_Lapin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Br\_er\_Lapin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Br_er_Lapin)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firebird-cant-park/186167/27 "2003-07-05T17:43:19Z")
Hey! I drive a firebird, and I can park!! Actually, I can parallel park like a dream, but hell if I can park along a curb with no other cars in sight and not have my rear wheel 3’ away with the front one being 3" away. > [@](#): > > Less lazy F-Body owners park far out where nobody can trap them out of their cars. When it comes to parking lots… that’s exactly what I do. > [@](#): > > Also, if you park right up to the curb and the road is a bit sloped, you can’t open the driver’s door far enough to get out without scraping it into the concrete. So you’re forced to park maybe 8" from the curb. I lost a decent chunk of door this way. The door actually hit the curb itself, somehow. Damn firebird owners who gives us good ones a bad name. Don’t even get me started on Camaros. I refuse to even acknowledge that they are similar. ---
**Author:** ![Mercury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e95f7d/32.png) [@Mercury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mercury)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firebird-cant-park/186167/28 "2003-07-06T00:08:41Z")
Them Tauri are l-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ng, **Klaatu**. I remembered reading the length in the specs of mine, but I didn’t really compare it to anything else! Whee dogies, I got a land yacht! I remember a lot of people telling me that Mustangs were small, which they are, and that you could park them anywhere. You usually can, but you’ll have to get out the sunroof. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firebird-cant-park/186167/29 "2003-07-06T00:50:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jesleigh \* > \*\*Uncle Bill, it isn’t THAT hard. I’ve done it plenty of times. You just have to make sure you go into a park and have enough room to back up and go in straight if needed. I’m just saying if you aren’t going to take the nessacary extra 3 or 4 seconds to park it right, then buy a smaller car. \*\* If you’d care to read my post again, I said > [@](#): > > but I just work harder at it to get it right. I do park correctly. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firebird-cant-park/186167/30 "2003-07-06T02:16:32Z")
Them cars ain’t long. I had one of \*[these](http://w1.506.telia.com/~u50102742/bonne.htm) to park for many years. 124" wheelbase, babes. And check out how the trunk extends back way beyond the rear tires. You could lay your six foot self down in the trunk, front to back, without folding or angling any body parts. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firebird-cant-park/186167/31 "2003-07-06T02:33:45Z")
I CERTAINLY hope you were not in your present location with that cruise ship! DAMN! ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firebird-cant-park/186167/32 "2003-07-06T04:11:26Z")
I _did_ actually park it in Manhattan a couple of times, but mostly I drove it in New Mexico and for awhile on Long Island. Man, that was some creamy-smooth riding car. Solid as a rock at 110. (Can’t say much for it’s high-speed cornering though). ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firebird-cant-park/186167/33 "2003-07-06T04:23:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AHunter3 \* > **I _did_ actually park it in Manhattan a couple of times** I didn’t know ol’ Bannie liked it like THAT… ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firebird-cant-park/186167/34 "2003-07-06T04:32:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GMRyujin \* > \*\*I didn’t know ol’ Bannie liked it like THAT… \*\* With his personality, do you’d think he’d settle for _less_ than long and hard as steel? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firebird-cant-park/186167/35 "2003-07-06T06:15:26Z")
> [@](#): > > Many of my friends and acquaintences back in Buffalo call the act “Italian parking.” When I think of “Italian parking”, I think of the people driving those little Fiats that are about as long as they are wide. Many of them would fail to find a parallel spot and would simply go to one end of the line of cars and pull in perpendicular to them. As for me, I drive a VW Cabrio. I don’t know what’s so hard about this parallel parking thing. 🙂 Dr. J ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firebird-cant-park/186167/36 "2003-07-06T06:21:14Z")
Memory time… My Dad had a 65, White Convertable with Red Leather interior. Gawd, what a Datemobile… ---
**Author:** ![prisoner6655321](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f8ce5/32.png) [@prisoner6655321](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/prisoner6655321)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firebird-cant-park/186167/37 "2003-07-06T07:13:49Z")
I try to park as close as humanly possible to the offending car. Even if the empty space is tight I’ll squeeze in, hopefully making the driver get into his car in the passenger side. I always park so close that they absolutely can NOT walk to the door, much less open it. I don’t want them opening their door into mine. My record is about 5/8", but the guard thought it was 1/4". Funny story, he called me up (at my office) and told me that the guy to the right of me parked his car 1/4" away from my car. I was thinking, “moron, why would a guy park his car so close to mine that he had to exit his car out the passenger door? It twas I who did this evil deed! Hwahahahaha!!!” ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firebird-cant-park/186167/38 "2003-07-06T15:20:16Z")
None of you get it. The way you’re _supposed_ to turn your F-body or Mustang into a parking spot is: 1. Curve away from the spot well before you would turn, and turn away a bit. 2. Crank the wheels hard towards the spot. 3. Light the tires up, and let oversteer swing the rear end around. 4. Countersteer, and hit the clutch (unless you’re in an F-body, since so few of those “performance” cars came with manual transmissions in the 1970’s/1980’s - then you let up the gas and tap the brake) 5. You should now be lined up with the space. Drive in, no worries. (This also works for quick U-turns on roads - I did it with **Fierra** in the car just this last week. 🙂 ) Una, who has done this so many times she ought to post an MPEG of it… ---
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firebird-cant-park/186167/39 "2003-07-06T17:08:53Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. Curve away from the spot well before you would turn, and turn away a bit. > 2. Crank the wheels hard towards the spot. > 3. Light the tires up, and let oversteer swing the rear end around. > 4. Countersteer, and hit the clutch (unless you’re in an F-body, since so few of those “performance” cars came with manual transmissions in the 1970’s/1980’s - then you let up the gas and tap the brake) > 5. You should now be lined up with the space. Drive in, no worries. Finally, someone who understands–as I often note to a screaming passenger–power-on oversteer. I can drift the rear end nicely around corners at about 30 mph (go pedal down) in second gear. It’s a wonerfully floaty feeling, or terrifying in the extreme. It’s great for U-turns. Nothing beats the turning radius of a first gear clutch dump. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2003, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firebird-cant-park/186167/40 "2003-07-07T01:39:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tuckerfan \* > \*\*Reminds me of a stand up comic’s routine about how you can tell a lot about a person by what kind of car they drive. > > Porsche: Asshole, but he’s got a really good coke connection. (I expect **Johnny L. A.** to come in and rebutt this.) > > Camaro: That man has no penis. 😃 \*\* And if they drive a Tucker, they are beyond reproach. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firebird-cant-park/186167.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firebird-cant-park/186167.md?page=3)