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The “fifth wheel” parallel parking tool that never hit it big (2018)

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Re: The “fifth wheel” parallel parking tool that never hit it big (2018)

#21

Post by onionisafruit »

blamazon wrote: post #18
mauvehaus wrote: post #16

Parallel parking just isn't hard enough to justify the expense and complexity (same thing, really) of adding this device to a car. This is a lot of gizmosity to solve a problem that can be solved with a couple hours of practice on a quiet street.

Nowadays automated parallel parking is a relatively commonplace thing ("it's got smaht pahk!"[1]) and we have come full circle. Hardware complexity superseded by software complexity. Kinda neat. Interestingly, automated parallel parking systems are allowed to be used during road licensing tests in the area where I live, to demonstrate parallel parking competency. Same goes for all driver aid systems, including Tesla…

BMW has automated parallel parking, but I never use it because it is so slow. I love gadgets and automation so I tried, but I can’t in good conscience make everybody behind me wait while my car backs in at 2mph.

Re: The “fifth wheel” parallel parking tool that never hit it big (2018)

#22

Post by blamazon »

NoahKAndrews wrote: post #20
blamazon wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nowadays automated parallel parking is a relatively commonplace thing ("it's got smaht pahk!"[1]) and we have come full circle. Hardware complexity superseded by software complexity. Kinda neat. Interestingly, automated parallel parking systems are allowed to be used during road licensing tests in the area where I live, to demonstrate parallel parking competency. Same goes for all driver aid systems, including Tesla…

That's such an awful thing to allow in that context

Symptom of a car dependent society I guess. Driving is a prerequisite for being an autonomous adult here (a state in the northeastern United States) so licensing requirements are mind bogglingly relaxed, and once you've passed the test once you can renew your license infinitely until you die.

This approach really shows when you use our public roads. People largely either do not know all the rules and best practices, or don't care to follow them.

Re: The “fifth wheel” parallel parking tool that never hit it big (2018)

#23

Post by JKCalhoun »

mauvehaus wrote: post #16

Parallel parking just isn't hard enough to justify the expense and complexity (same thing, really) of adding this device to a car. This is a lot of gizmosity to solve a problem that can be solved with a couple hours of practice on a quiet street.

Imagine if a few had gone mainstream though: it looks like they could parallel park so tight that cars in front of or behind might be unable to get out.

Re: The “fifth wheel” parallel parking tool that never hit it big (2018)

#24

Post by JKCalhoun »

salgernon wrote: post #8
dhosek wrote: post #4

There was another idea I remember reading about in the 70s or 80s in (I think) Omni Magazine : Four wheel steering: All four wheels can be rotated. with the steering wheel. Turn the wheels to a full 90° and you can then move the car sideways into a parallel space. A lot more practical than this plan which pretty much destroys all the trunk space. Especially, with an EV where you can connect motors directly to each wh…

Mitsubishi (and others) in the 80s,90s had 4 wheel steering: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steering#Four-wheel_steering https://www.autoweek.com/car-life/a1871191/four-wheel-steering-demystified/ I never drove one; I had a friend that said it really didn't do much for him that he noticed.

Not the same as a full 90-degree rotation though.

I have seen large buses with rear-steerable wheels as you describe/link. It makes a little more sense due to the sheer length of the buses.

Re: The “fifth wheel” parallel parking tool that never hit it big (2018)

#25

Post by pandaman »

blamazon wrote: post #22
NoahKAndrews wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's such an awful thing to allow in that context

Symptom of a car dependent society I guess. Driving is a prerequisite for being an autonomous adult here (a state in the northeastern United States) so licensing requirements are mind bogglingly relaxed, and once you've passed the test once you can renew your license infinitely until you die. This approach really shows when you use our public roads. People largely either do not know all the rules and best practices,…

Watching Russian dashcam videos you'd think people found their licenses in a cereal box yet it requires a stern test with theoretical questions of the form "Here is an intersection, one street has a rail line, there are an ambulance, a fire truck, a military column and a bus on each side, who has the right of way?" (and the answer is that it's a bus because even though the fire truck would have a right of way normally it loses it because it would need to cross the rail line as specified in the Chapter 8.19.75 of the Federal Rules of the Road). And the driving part involves driving a manual transmission vehicle without power anything through an obstacle course.

So I would not correlate the driving test difficulty with the behavior on the roads.

Re: The “fifth wheel” parallel parking tool that never hit it big (2018)

#26

Post by wutbrodo »

daveguy wrote: post #6

I think it never made it big because: 1. Thinking about having to parallel park makes sure you are less likely to bump the cars in front and behind. Moving the front in and then swinging the back in seems like a good way to swing the back into another car. 2. Parking wasn't as much of a nightmare in the early 30s. Then WWII happened and that metal would have been an excess. By the 50s it was a "failed" idea. Having 9…

> By the 50s it was a "failed" idea.

What do you mean by this?

Re: The “fifth wheel” parallel parking tool that never hit it big (2018)

#28

Post by syrrim »

pandaman wrote: post #25
blamazon wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Symptom of a car dependent society I guess. Driving is a prerequisite for being an autonomous adult here (a state in the northeastern United States) so licensing requirements are mind bogglingly relaxed, and once you've passed the test once you can renew your license infinitely until you die. This approach really shows when you use our public roads. People largely either do not know all the rules and best practices,…

Watching Russian dashcam videos you'd think people found their licenses in a cereal box yet it requires a stern test with theoretical questions of the form "Here is an intersection, one street has a rail line, there are an ambulance, a fire truck, a military column and a bus on each side, who has the right of way?" (and the answer is that it's a bus because even though the fire truck would have a right of way normall…

I'm assuming everyone just bribes their way through the test?

Re: The “fifth wheel” parallel parking tool that never hit it big (2018)

#29

Post by pandaman »

syrrim wrote: post #28
pandaman wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Watching Russian dashcam videos you'd think people found their licenses in a cereal box yet it requires a stern test with theoretical questions of the form "Here is an intersection, one street has a rail line, there are an ambulance, a fire truck, a military column and a bus on each side, who has the right of way?" (and the answer is that it's a bus because even though the fire truck would have a right of way normall…

I'm assuming everyone just bribes their way through the test?

Most definitely, which would be the same if something like that had been enforced in the US. We'd have some "Driving Schools", which would "guarantee" your license or something like that. Though people would have likely voted the government out first, but looking at the building codes I am not 100% confident.

Re: The “fifth wheel” parallel parking tool that never hit it big (2018)

#30

Post by whyenot »

aidenn0 wrote: post #10
dhosek wrote: post #4

There was another idea I remember reading about in the 70s or 80s in (I think) Omni Magazine : Four wheel steering: All four wheels can be rotated. with the steering wheel. Turn the wheels to a full 90° and you can then move the car sideways into a parallel space. A lot more practical than this plan which pretty much destroys all the trunk space. Especially, with an EV where you can connect motors directly to each wh…

The advantages of four wheel steering at driving speeds are largely (completely?) negated by active traction control (supplying power and breaking to each wheel independently). You're not going to see a car turn its wheels 90 degrees because of both the large space needed (the cavity for the wheel to turn in) plus the complexity of linkages that can handle that amount of turning. This idea might make more sense today…

Toyota also offers four wheel steering on the LC500 and of course GM will/does have it as a standard feature on the electric Hummer ('crab walk').
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