TODAY'S TRANSPORTATION IMPONDERABLE.

A Guardian article laments autobesity.

More than 150 car models are now too big to fit in average car parking spaces, according to analysis conducted by Which?.

While the size of the standard parking bay has remained static for decades, cars have been growing longer and wider in a phenomenon known as “autobesity”.

Natalie Hitchins, Which?’s home products and services editor, said: “Cars are getting larger and larger, and while this might mean a more comfortable driving experience, it could be a problem when it comes to squeezing into a parking space.”

British petrol prices have long been much higher than those in the States; as far as I know, there are no corporate fuel economy standards that outlaw station wagons, the way Our Progressive Betters did in the United States, let alone any carve-outs for light trucks at the behest of the White Van Men, the way the rent-seekers and the farm lobby did Stateside.

And yet, Britons are buying "Chelsea tractors" in ever larger numbers.

The trend of “autobesity” is forcing car park providers to think of new ways to accommodate larger cars, such as introducing wider bays. However, the British Parking Association (BPA) told Which? that adapting to the trend of bigger, wider cars was not always easy. Multistorey car parks in particular provide challenges to growing car sizes, as they are not easily adaptable and rebuilding is too costly.

“While some car parks are introducing wider bays it won’t be the case everywhere, and some drivers might struggle getting parked up in certain locations – particularly multistorey car parks,” said Hitchins.

Predictably, the sob sisters are attempting the predictable deplorable-shaming.  "Campaigners have questioned why drivers need such large and dangerous cars in the city, particularly when dropping children off at school, with some going to extreme measures to get their message across."  Ah, so the drop-off line at the grade school has also become a thing.

Perhaps, rather than engage in lamentations or attempts to guilt-trip motorists, people ought ask what incentives are present leading to widespread ownership of larger motor vehicles, even in the absence of the policy errors that have shaped the residential fleets in the United States.