STOLEN van!!

and his two disciples Wierdidapurrit and Itsinearsumwier.

 

I had a big box of cables once. All different kinds. Chucked the lot and then, obviously, I needed a couple of them the following year.

 

Always the way...

 

All the houses on our street were build back when cars were much smaller. I could just squeeze my old Ford Ka down the side of the house but I wouldn’t risk anything bigger. It’s such a shame that they are basically unusable for their intended purpose now.

 

Have a word with Carole on the other thread!

 

On a serious note regarding garages, my car HAS to be garaged overnight , if it’s nicked within 0.7 of a mile from home it’s not insured.

 

Too much hassle for me, is it gold plated?

 

When were cars much smaller?

 

What if iyou call for a newspaper and its nicked from outside the corner shop 0.5 miles away

 

80s/90s and before? Cars have become a lot wider in particular. Practically impossible to get one in a garage.


https://haynes.com/en-gb/tips-tutorials/5-reasons-cars-are-getting-bigger


https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/features/investigation-why-are-cars-becoming-so-wide

 

A few decades ago. Not necessarily shorter but definitely thinner. It’s practically impossible to get cars down the sides of houses and into the garages around here unless you have a particular small car and drive very slowly with the wing mirrors tucked in - they just don’t fit.

 

I get that some individual models that still exist are bigger now than they used to be. The mini is the oft given example, although I'd argue it's a bad example as it's not the same car at all. A better one would be a Fiesta which did evolve.

My first ever car was a Fiesta MK3 and I also regularly drove my granddad's MK1. There's no doubt the latest incarnation is much bigger than those two. I've seen and commented on this first hand as a work colleague restores and drives old Fords and we've seen his old Fiestas parked next to the latest model in the car park at work.

My second car was a MK3 Escort. He's got one of those too and although it's a completely different shape to the modern fiesta it's a very similar size. The Cortina from that era, which my friend drove, was miles bigger. The Granada was bigger than that. The Range Rover that my dad had was twice the size.

Almost every car which still has a model with the same name today is bigger now. But they weren't the only cars on the road. I drove small cars because I was young, didn't have much money and didn't have a family. But there were much bigger cars on the road.

 

Apparently if I was buying the mirror, I’d be okay. If I was buying the mail,,,, I’m up the creek!

 

It’s too much hassle for me to be honest. And no, it’s blue!!

 

I think you might be surprised Jay....I probably go back further than you, but when I started driving the biggest selling cars on the road were (roughly)

Ford Escort 62 inches wide
Ford Cortina 62.5
Austin 1100 60.3
Vauxhall Viva 62.5
Mini 56

in 2019 (according to Autocar mag)
Ford Fiesta 68 inches
VW Golf 70.5
Ford Focus 72.0
Nissan Qashqai 72.2
Mercedes A Class 71

then add on another 12 inches or more for the door mirrors.

 

I think the biggest proof is just who the chuff would design and build a house and garage that is almost impossible (and for a lot of cars literally impossible) to get a car into? Logic demands that cars could in fact get into the garage when they were built, surely? The only person who still uses theirs is an old guy with an L plate Fiesta who has perfected the manoeuvre over many years of practice until he’s got it down to a fine art.