keithb7 Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 (edited) I drove my ‘38 to work today. I parked in between 2 modern trucks. I noticed the parking spots seemed much wider when I’m in the ‘38. Its easier to get out and open the doors too! Also a reminder that my ‘38 is pretty compact compared to modern trucks. Best to pay extra care and attention when driving. We’d be crushed by these modern beasts. Edited July 14, 2020 by keithb7 (see edit history) 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryB Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 Great comparison photo! My son took this photo which also illustrates the same idea. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The 55er Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 When I take one of my old cars to the supermarket , mall, movie theater, wherever, I try to park in a safe isolated spot away from everyone else. It seems whenever I return to the car I'm parked in on both sides and front or back. Fortunately, I've never noticed a mark on any car. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt G Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 I never thought about any old car being small ( with exceptions like the American Austin and Bantam, perhaps the Willys 77) . But with the loss of a full size station wagon from the regular car line - mini vans appeared, these were/are ok but the full size wagon could see the tail gate lay out and longer stuff fit in , with them gone the use of full size ( and 4 door) pickup trucks met the need that an SUV couldn't . I still like full size station wagons - my first two decades of life were spent in a 1949 Pontiac and then a 1960 Plymouth Fury III station wagon. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lump Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 While we're comparing modern full-size pickup trucks to vintage vehicles...has anyone else noticed how darn HIGH the bed sides are on these new trucks? I"m over 6'1" tall, and I can barely reach the bed floor by reaching over the bed sides...and even then I can only reach the first few inches around the edge. I have to keep a small rake in the bed to reach things and drag them out to me. That sure is different from trucks of yesterday! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_S_in_Penna Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 1 minute ago, lump said: has anyone else noticed how darn HIGH the bed sides are on these new trucks? I noticed, and I agree that the high bed sides are undesirable. You can't load something over the side rails any more. I would not get such a truck. Park a 1980's truck next to a current version and the difference is clear. Trucks are meant to be USED. What is so good about a truck whose usefulness is compromised? 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 Driving my 34 Chevy coupe has been an interesting experience. All my previous prewar cars were large sedans and my other hobby car, a 66 Dodge Monaco wagon is more than 18 feet long. This little Chevy reminds me of driving a Honda Civic only in a much more vulnerable way. I live in Texas so you can imagine what most of the other vehicles on the road are. When I had it out the other morning I stopped at a light and had jacked up trucks on both sides and behind, felt like I was in a shipping container! 8 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zepher Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 52 minutes ago, TerryB said: Great comparison photo! My son took this photo which also illustrates the same idea. And note that the Mini is parked in front of a Prius! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 New cars have gotten gigantic. We've had a series of late-model Challengers (Demons and Hellcats) recently and they're HUGE. I mean, my '76 Eldorado felt smaller from behind the wheel than one of these things. Very hard to maneuver around the showroom because you're sitting in a dark hole with gunslits for windows and there's still about an acre of car around you. Impossible to know where the nose is. Everyone gawks and seems amazed by how "big" older cars are, but man, look at the size of this thing compared to mid-sized cars of the '60s: They must have found a way to circumvent the laws of physics, because nothing that big and heavy (~4200 pounds) and bulky should be so terrifyingly fast. Man it's a handful to maneuver around. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 Agree Matt, My wife has a 2014 Mustang Conv. It is a bit larger than my 1977 Trans Am that parks beside it. My Trans Am has a lower rear deck height, lower roof line, lower hood height, they are about the same length though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 56 minutes ago, lump said: While we're comparing modern full-size pickup trucks to vintage vehicles...has anyone else noticed how darn HIGH the bed sides are on these new trucks? I"m over 6'1" tall, and I can barely reach the bed floor by reaching over the bed sides...and even then I can only reach the first few inches around the edge. I have to keep a small rake in the bed to reach things and drag them out to me. That sure is different from trucks of yesterday! I work construction, one of my pet peeves was guys reaching over the bedside to get stuff in and out of the truck, especially with a tool belt on. I told them often that to access the bed of the truck to use the tailgate, if they climbed over the side they were fired! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC38dls Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 (edited) I had my 38 parked in the Home Depot lot where no other cars were parked. When I came out a guy was looking at my fender and told me he saw a White F250 pull out and clip the fender with his front bumper. Then took off. So yes the big guys can easily damage our old little cars, even when they are not too little. The fellow that saw it happen couldn’t get the trucks license plate but was nice enough to wait for me and let me know what happened. Edited July 14, 2020 by SC38DLS (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
58L-Y8 Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 New rule to live by: protect your sheet metal, park way, way out on the far side of the parking lots where no one else will and get more walking exercise! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_S_in_Penna Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 (edited) 4 hours ago, TerryB said: Great comparison photo! My son took this photo which also illustrates the same idea. Here's a remarkable parallel--a similar picture taken decades ago showing a 1947 Crosley parked between two standard-sized cars. Both pictures even show palm trees lining the street. (I got the picture from the files of the AACA Library and used it to illustrate a Crosley article.) Edited July 14, 2020 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 (edited) Only touching on a real problem. I had to quit driving Fieros because the roofline was under the windowsill of the behemouth next to me. They would look over and see an empty lane on the right. AirHorns were a survival necessity. 'verts have the same issue with the top down but at least an SLK is more visible than a Fiero. Can't imagine trying to drive a super low exotic in today's traffic. ps when I bought the CTS coupe I looked at the Charger/Challenger line but were just too big. At least the CTS was originally designed for european roads. Edited July 14, 2020 by padgett (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Wetherbee Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 3 hours ago, TerryB said: Great comparison photo! My son took this photo which also illustrates the same idea. This looks like the equivalent of an American Austin parked between Cadillacs... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W_Higgins Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 Everything is relative. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 This picture amuses me. I don't think of the Lincoln as a big car since it's on the "short" 136-inch wheelbase, but... 5 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalef62 Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 Crosley FOR vs. a Mack truck. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Byrd Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 Speaking of small and large. Our real Mini beside our 1st pretend Mini, our later pretend Mini convertible and our "full-sized" Studebaker beside our "mid-sized, used to be usable compact" Ranger. I can rest my chin on the tailgate of this thing...grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ply33 Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 I’ve had my '33 two door sedan for a few decades now. When I first got it back in the 1970s I could park it in any shopping center parking lot and when I came out of the store it was clearly visible above all the sedans and station wagons. Nowadays it is invisible, hidden by all the oversized pickup trucks and vans. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huptoy Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 It’s all in your perspective. Our Daughter has a Toyota Car & when her 15 year old daughter saw our 1967 Mustang the first time, she commented how big it was. My wife attempted to explain that in the 60s it was a small car. As for parking, It is nice that people usually park away from us. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 I posted this picture on a BMW group and one of the European guys said my Buick made the 7 look like a 3. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zipdang Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 Yes, those big trucks can dwarf our old cars. . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8E45E Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 4 hours ago, Mark Wetherbee said: This looks like the equivalent of an American Austin parked between Cadillacs... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 Here's one more... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hidden_hunter Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 I dunno what you guys are talking about 5 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95Cardinal Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 Even trucks were smaller... I like this picture. It's forced perspective and really emphasizes the difference, but my 1969 C10 is a LOT smaller than my 2018 Ram 1500. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Kingsley Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 I am another who thinks that modern trucks are too large. I was on the Ford lot ogling the F150s but they are huge...seem to be about the size the F350 used to be or maybe a bit bigger. There's no small pickups now...even the Ranger is too large. I generally like being higher up, seeing more out the windows. But this is too much. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zepher Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 (edited) One of the few times I have been able to park my Pierce next to something like a Ford Model A I never seem to have my camera or a phone handy. Sitting next to my Pierce, a Model A roadster looks like it would fit in the back seat of my Pierce. I can see over the top of the roof of a Model A coupe. No way that is happening with my Pierce. But today's trucks are getting bigger. They are not only taller than they used to be but much wider as well. Edited July 15, 2020 by zepher (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithb7 Posted July 15, 2020 Author Share Posted July 15, 2020 Seems that the big 3 that survived (at least somewhat) have a captive market. Big trucks. They are done competing for any compact market share. The Asian car manufacturers have won that war. Asian manufacturing are even trying to take a stab at big trucks. The Toyota Tundra, Nissan Titan, etc. They are not having much effect. So the big 3 just keep making them bigger. It keeps them in business it seems! Me? I still prefer old Detroit iron. Very old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 We have an Enclave and three Reattas. When I drive the Reatta cars pull out all the time, not so with the Enclave. Bigger car more intimidation... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcdarrunt Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 Know what you mean. My friend has one of those HUGE International XT pickups; 9 feet tall and 14 thousand pounds. When he pulls into a Walmart it seems like all the "jacked up" Big 3 pickup drivers are stunned to realize someone else can pee a foot higher up the wall. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KongaMan Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 14 hours ago, 58L-Y8 said: New rule to live by: protect your sheet metal, park way, way out on the far side of the parking lots where no one else will and get more walking exercise! I park like that all the time -- and I drive a beater most days. Still doesn't work. I parked in the back 40 of the Home Depot lot some time ago because I knew I was coming out with a load of lumber and wanted room to load up. When I walked in, there wasn't a vehicle within 20 spaces in any direction. Sure enough, some jackwagon parked his lifted truck right next to me (so now there was one vehicle within 20 spaces). I mean right next to me; I couldn't even squeeze between my quarterpanel and his (yeah, he was at an angle and his rear wheel was in my space). So I contorted myself into the door, pulled up a few feet, got everything strapped in, took back the cart, grabbed my valve tool from the console, unscrewed the core in his front tire, and left to the dulcet tones of hissing air. 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 18 hours ago, lump said: While we're comparing modern full-size pickup trucks to vintage vehicles...has anyone else noticed how darn HIGH the bed sides are on these new trucks? I"m over 6'1" tall, and I can barely reach the bed floor by reaching over the bed sides...and even then I can only reach the first few inches around the edge. I have to keep a small rake in the bed to reach things and drag them out to me. That sure is different from trucks of yesterday! You can order a factory lowering kit on Fords, that drop the entire truck down three or four inches. I agree that they are getting very tall, which is a result of larger load and towing capacity ratings. The fifth wheel guys are getting over the top in size and weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve_Mack_CT Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 When we had the TR-6 in the mid 80s, the huge SUV, truck thing was not the rage, and it didn't seem quite do small. Tiny though, for sure. The SL is giant compared to a TR, I know they are different types of car but both two seaters. That said, one on my service guys is into "baby birds" and when our SL was parked next to one of those it made the SL look tiny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldcarfudd Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 Zepher - You mean like this? 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
30DodgePanel Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 21 hours ago, John_S_in_Penna said: I noticed, and I agree that the high bed sides are undesirable. You can't load something over the side rails any more. I would not get such a truck. Park a 1980's truck next to a current version and the difference is clear. Trucks are meant to be USED. What is so good about a truck whose usefulness is compromised? I don't understand why some buy huge trucks that don't ever get used. I have a 2018 Ram that sits pretty high and like all the other trucks I've owned over the decades I find I always have to climb in and out of the bed to load or unload no matter what year the truck was/is... And no matter what, there's always that one damned tool or part that gets stuck in the middle of the bed that I can never reach from the ground... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Gariepy Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 7 hours ago, KongaMan said: I park like that all the time -- and I drive a beater most days. Still doesn't work. I parked in the back 40 of the Home Depot lot some time ago because I knew I was coming out with a load of lumber and wanted room to load up. When I walked in, there wasn't a vehicle within 20 spaces in any direction. Sure enough, some jackwagon parked his lifted truck right next to me (so now there was one vehicle within 20 spaces). I mean right next to me; I couldn't even squeeze between my quarterpanel and his (yeah, he was at an angle and his rear wheel was in my space). So I contorted myself into the door, pulled up a few feet, got everything strapped in, took back the cart, grabbed my valve tool from the console, unscrewed the core in his front tire, and left to the dulcet tones of hissing air. KongaMan - sorry. But that is vandalism. He may have been an ass for parking so close, but you were a bigger ass for leaving the guy with a flat tire. 4 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 As Sheriff Buford T Justice said: "You can think about it, but DON"T do it." 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now