[lesmore49]

Most municipalities have a requirement that a commercial building provide a minimum number of parking spaces per square foot of floor space available for rent. Then they have zoning ordinances and hearings to negotiate the size of any parking garage associated with whatever building is proposed for a piece of land. Neighbors often don’t want a hulking behemoth parking garage abutting their property and existing commercial office buildings don’t want a new building to be more attractive than their outmoded, half emptty properties.

The two forces - ordinances and zoning review boards - often collide*, and the only malleable item is the size of the parking spaces.

* Standard sizes range from 8’ x 20’ to 9’ x 24’. That extra foot between cars (6” on either side of the line) is the difference between easy ingress/egress and pretzel contortions.

Thanks Monochrome for the details on how parking spaces are configured.

I agree with your assessment of how the real world may work things out..." The two forces - ordinances and zoning review boards - often collide*, and the only malleable item is the size of the parking spaces."

---------- Post added 10-23-18 at 10:29 PM ----------

The early Datsun Z cars have lots of room. At just under 6' tall, I can move the seat back as far as it will go and not be able to reach the pedals. A 7' tall person can fit comfortably, and still have some room to slide the seat back a bit.

They get good fuel economy too.

And they are fun to drive.

Funny you should mention that X 69. Back in the 1960's a boss of mine had a '67 MGB, which I used to drive on occasion...as long as my '67 Camaro RS coupe, 327 V8, 4 speed Muncie transmission equipped ...was available for a swap drive. The MGB for a small sports car had loads of room...I could stretch my legs out...fully...quite easily. Sounds like the early 240 Z had similar accommodations.

BTW, he was pretty fair ice racer and sportscar racer in his own right, back then at local events. He didn't race his MGB at ice race tracks though, ice races cars generally take a beating with all that slip and slide going on.

---

Last edited by lesmore49; 10-23-2018 at 08:31 PM.

[cmohr]

My Mercury Grand Marquis LS died on I-95 coming out of Jacksonville FL, in September. I got this yesterday. It's a 2006 Jeep Liberty Sport 2WD RWD, more photos to follow but so far I love it and my brother helped me get it by making the down payment on it as a birthday present, which is in December.
So far I've found nothing wrong with it. I bought it at a known dealership here.

The only negative I've heard came from my nephew (he found a sewn place on the front seat) and that was because it wasn't his and he paid more for his 91' Dodge Dakota, than I paid full price for my Jeep.

And why do I love it! I didn't have to put a new windshield in before I could drive it down the road. In fact, i don't have to fix anything on it, or in it, or under the hood, as in engine repair before I drove it home.

Love the KJ Jeep, I've had one since 2004, my current one is a 2006 CRD Diesel 6 speed manual, just awesome.

If you need to know anything aboot them, head over to the LOSTJEEPS forum, huge wealth of knowledge there, and some great people.

cmohr

[lesmore49]

Love the KJ Jeep, I've had one since 2004, my current one is a 2006 CRD Diesel 6 speed manual, just awesome.

If you need to know anything aboot them, head over to the LOSTJEEPS forum, huge wealth of knowledge there, and some great people.

cmohr

Great looking Jeep. Looks well equipped to go anywhere. We (North America) didn't get the diesel version in what was called the Liberty over here. Do you know the make and specs of that diesel engine in your Jeep.

[hks_kansei]

Funny you should mention that X 69. Back in the 1960's a boss of mine had a '67 MGB, which I used to drive on occasion...as long as my '67 Camaro RS coupe, 327 V8, 4 speed Muncie transmission equipped ...was available for a swap drive. The MGB for a small sports car had loads of room...I could stretch my legs out...fully...quite easily. Sounds like the early 240 Z had similar accommodations.

From what I remember the MGB wasn't bad legroom wise, but not great for head room.

My girlfriend used to be a mechanic and worked at an MG restoration shop, so obviously the MGB was the bread and butter for business.

I just remember all of them being pretty tight on the headroom, the MGB/C being tight, the MGB-GT being a little better with the hardtop and steeper windscreen.


And I remember the MG Midget (the later ones, not the 40s TA/C/D/F ones that were called Midget in the USA) having absolutely no headroom.
I sat in one with the roof off and remember that the top of the windscreen was at the bridge of my nose....... and i'm not super tall, about 6ft even.


(in saying that, to fit comfortably in my MX5/Miata I've replaced the driver's seat with a fibreglass fixed back one that lowers the squab by about 1.5inches)





Modern cars in general I've found are not great for space.
My GF's mum has a brand new Honda CRV, not a small car at all, and when driving that it's still fairly cramped, legroom is ok, but headroom isn't really that much better than my Miata, and far worse than my GF's Mazda 626.

[lesmore49]

From what I remember the MGB wasn't bad legroom wise, but not great for head room.

My girlfriend used to be a mechanic and worked at an MG restoration shop, so obviously the MGB was the bread and butter for business.

I just remember all of them being pretty tight on the headroom, the MGB/C being tight, the MGB-GT being a little better with the hardtop and steeper windscreen.


And I remember the MG Midget (the later ones, not the 40s TA/C/D/F ones that were called Midget in the USA) having absolutely no headroom.
I sat in one with the roof off and remember that the top of the windscreen was at the bridge of my nose....... and i'm not super tall, about 6ft even.


(in saying that, to fit comfortably in my MX5/Miata I've replaced the driver's seat with a fibreglass fixed back one that lowers the squab by about 1.5inches)





Modern cars in general I've found are not great for space.
My GF's mum has a brand new Honda CRV, not a small car at all, and when driving that it's still fairly cramped, legroom is ok, but headroom isn't really that much better than my Miata, and far worse than my GF's Mazda 626.

When I drove my boss' MGB...the convertible top was always down...and as a result I found the headroom unlimited.

[ThorSanchez]

Most municipalities have a requirement that a commercial building provide a minimum number of parking spaces per square foot of floor space available for rent. Then they have zoning ordinances and hearings to negotiate the size of any parking garage associated with whatever building is proposed for a piece of land. Neighbors often don’t want a hulking behemoth parking garage abutting their property and existing commercial office buildings don’t want a new building to be more attractive than their outmoded, half emptty properties.

The two forces - ordinances and zoning review boards - often collide*, and the only malleable item is the size of the parking spaces.

* Standard sizes range from 8’ x 20’ to 9’ x 24’. That extra foot between cars (6” on either side of the line) is the difference between easy ingress/egress and pretzel contortions.

That's why everyone should drive an Autozam AZ-1.

The early Datsun Z cars have lots of room. At just under 6' tall, I can move the seat back as far as it will go and not be able to reach the pedals. A 7' tall person can fit comfortably, and still have some room to slide the seat back a bit.

They get good fuel economy too.

And they are fun to drive.

Mini (the newer BWM version) used to have a commerical with 7' tall NBA star Dirk Nowitzki driving one. He fit fine, I think he even owned one.

[monochrome]

That's why everyone should drive an Autozam AZ-1.



Mini (the newer BWM version) used to have a commerical with 7' tall NBA star Dirk Nowitzki driving one. He fit fine, I think he even owned one.

I’m 6’1” tall. Getting into and out of my wife’s Mini is an exercise in body twisting worthy of a yoga instructor. With the seat pushed back enough for comfort it becomes a three passenger car. And the gas mileage is only average.

Fun car for the city but not anything eco-special.

[ThorSanchez]

I’m 6’1” tall. Getting into and out of my wife’s Mini is an exercise in body twisting worthy of a yoga instructor. With the seat pushed back enough for comfort it becomes a three passenger car. And the gas mileage is only average.

Fun car for the city but not anything eco-special.

I drove an '05 Mini Cooper S for almost 11 years, and we often had me, my wife, and my two kids in the car. For a while we had two backward-facing car seats. I will admit that we are not large human beings.

One day I will own an old RHD Austin Mini.

[RedRuff]

I have a 1999 Ford Explorer XLT 4.0 SOHC imported from California. It's not too exciting when it comes to imports but I love it, and the column shift auto is hilarious.

I daily drive a 2005 Renault Laguna Sport Tourer 6-speed. Obligatory Pentax photo:

[ChrisPlatt]

I dig snorkels. But what happens when the engine control computer gets flooded fording the river?

Chris

[cmohr]

Great looking Jeep. Looks well equipped to go anywhere. We (North America) didn't get the diesel version in what was called the Liberty over here. Do you know the make and specs of that diesel engine in your Jeep.

Yeah, there are a few CRD's there, I know a few guys that have trhem, but all are auto's not the manual.

I've actually modded it a little more since I got it, It now has 5in of lift, running 265/70/16's, and had the ecu remapped, It now has 113kw at the rear wheels (not the flywheel ) and has 532nm of torque at the rear wheels as well!!!! Thats the torque from a Mercedes 5.8lt AMG, not bad for a 4cyl 2.8lt diesel hey.

I’m 6’1” tall. Getting into and out of my wife’s Mini is an exercise in body twisting worthy of a yoga instructor. With the seat pushed back enough for comfort it becomes a three passenger car. And the gas mileage is only average.

Fun car for the city but not anything eco-special.

Love the Mini's , almost bought a Countryman, 5 door, and a bit bigger. I'm 6'2" myself, and I used to drive a real Mini, I used to look out the the rear passengers window when I looked right

I drove an '05 Mini Cooper S for almost 11 years, and we often had me, my wife, and my two kids in the car. For a while we had two backward-facing car seats. I will admit that we are not large human beings.

One day I will own an old RHD Austin Mini.

I've owned my 1965 Morris Mini Cooper "S" Mk1 since I was 17. Crikey.......... Thats 35 Years!! It's currently being completely rebuilt from the shell, total strip down. Hopefully should have it back on road within a year.

I dig snorkels. But what happens when the engine control computer gets flooded fording the river?

Chris

No problem, ECU in the jeep is sealled unit, and in a pretty good spot, The snokels aren't just for water, they are actually more about clean air getting in, dust when travelling is a big problem , the normal air intake of a vehicle being right at the bonnet line at the front of the vehicle , basically funnels dust in, clogging up the air filter, the position of the intake of the snorkel, puts it just outside the wind stream that flows along the vehicle from the front, all the dust sticks in that wind stream, so the snorkel is picking up clean air from outside that stream. Oh, science , even at work on a 4x4.

cmohr

[timw4mail]

I have a 1999 Ford Explorer XLT 4.0 SOHC imported from California. It's not too exciting when it comes to imports but I love it, and the column shift auto is hilarious.

I daily drive a 2005 Renault Laguna Sport Tourer 6-speed. Obligatory Pentax photo:

Considering Renaults haven't been imported to the US since AMC merged with Chrystler...they are pretty rare in the US. Not sure I've ever seen one.

On the other hand, though, cars from the other members of the Renault/Nissan/Mitsubishi alliance are somewhat common, so there are probably several Renault models in disguise...

[hks_kansei]

That's why everyone should drive an Autozam AZ-1.

They are a cool little car, but my god are they tiny.
It makes my MX5/Miata look like a yacht in comparison.

A friend has one, and main things i've noted:

Headroom... just acceptable for a 6ft adult. (oddly the Suzuki Cappucino is far worse headroom wise, and the Honda Beat is the best of the 3)
Legroom ok, but could do with another inch or two.

Maintenance, parts availability aside, looks to be pretty awful.
Everything is packaged in super awkwardly, the engine, despite being only a 3cyl, is tucked in the back right under a bulkhead.
The oil cap is under the bulkhead, which means you cant even top up the oil without using a funnel with a flexi end.
and yeah, a lot of items like exhaust/turbo etc are accessed via tiny little hatches behind the seats, which means removing the carpet to get to them

But, it does look super cool.

[ThorSanchez]

They are a cool little car, but my god are they tiny.
It makes my MX5/Miata look like a yacht in comparison.

A friend has one, and main things i've noted:

Headroom... just acceptable for a 6ft adult. (oddly the Suzuki Cappucino is far worse headroom wise, and the Honda Beat is the best of the 3)
Legroom ok, but could do with another inch or two.

Maintenance, parts availability aside, looks to be pretty awful.
Everything is packaged in super awkwardly, the engine, despite being only a 3cyl, is tucked in the back right under a bulkhead.
The oil cap is under the bulkhead, which means you cant even top up the oil without using a funnel with a flexi end.
and yeah, a lot of items like exhaust/turbo etc are accessed via tiny little hatches behind the seats, which means removing the carpet to get to them

But, it does look super cool.

I haven't seen one in person, but I have seen old Minis which look microscopic next to modern American cars. The original Mini was about 120" x 55.5" x 53" (length, width, height). The AZ-1 is 129.7" x 54.9" x 45.3. So it's almost 10 inches longer, a fraction of an inch narrower, and almost eight inches (!) shorter. That's very small.

[hks_kansei]

Yeah, the low roofline is certainly striking.

As is how low you sit in the car, you can open the door and comfortably touch the ground without having to lean.


I'll see if my friend has any public images up.


Edit:
he has a few pics here, including one showing the lack of engine space.

http://www.astinagt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21438&page=3

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