• zergtoshi@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    The 5 square meters are no accurate display of the pavement covered by those cars, because they’re much longer than just their wheelbase.

    • sparkyshocks@lemmy.zip
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      3 days ago

      Has the average ratio changed over time?

      I would’ve expected the ratio to actually shift the other way, where the wheelbase represents a larger percentage of the overall length/width of the vehicle, because American fuel economy regulations actually rewarded vehicles for having larger wheelbases. This killed small cars like the Honda Fit and small trucks like the Ford Ranger.

      Also, it seems to be much easier to park vehicles whose front wheels are as far forward as possible. The greater the ratio of wheelbase to overall dimensions, the easier it is to maneuver, and anecdotally it seems easier to maneuver modern cars than cars from 25 years ago.

    • Tja@programming.dev
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      4 days ago

      About double. American cars tend to be bigger so 5m long and 2m wide is probably a fair approximation. Hell, even in Europe the average car is probably something like 4,5m by 1,7m