Bradan Donaldson
The debate continues on: how should you park your Corvette to protect it from those who have no respect for other people’s property?
For decades now, nothing gets people’s blood boiling more than seeing a car taking up two parking spaces in order to keep other people away from it who don’t share the same value you have for other people’s property.
As Corvette owners we’ve all been faced with that situation. If we park our Corvettes in such a way that we take up two parking spots, we’re considered douchebags. And if we park all the way at the end of the lot away from everyone else, every now and then some idiot comes along and intentionally parks super close just to try and prove a point.
The latter happened to me several years ago when I pulled into a strip mall and parked my Z06 all the way at the end of the lot in a single parking space where there were no other cars. It was a nice day, I didn’t mind the walk and liked the exercise. When I came out from shopping and walked back to my car, I found some jackass had parked their truck on my driver’s side with about a foot of space between the doors.
Instead of climbing through the passenger side, I waited…patiently for the jackass to come back. A short time later, he walked up pretending I wasn’t there and refusing to look at me. I had a few choice words for him as he climbed into his truck giggling.
Now, if we take up more than one parking space, we run the risk of someone intentionally causing damage to our Corvettes. Initially, this appeared to be the case in Sioux Falls, South Dakota as the leader image above shows.
Recently, a staff member of KSOO AM radio station out of Sioux Falls wrote an op-ed about people taking up multiple parking spots in busy downtown Sioux Falls. The picture in our leader image, is a picture he took in a shopping center parking lot located at 2715 W 41st St, Sioux Falls. There’s a few anchor stores in the shopping center including a well known pancake house and Jo-Ann Fabrics. On weekends, it’s exceptionally busy which is when the author took the photo.
credit: Google Street View 360
As I pulled into a parking spot last Saturday, preparing for a delicious brunch at the Original Pancake House, I couldn’t help but notice the way this Corvette had parked.
In what world is this considered acceptable, especially in a busy parking lot on a Saturday afternoon? The answer, of course, is it’s never acceptable. Was the driver in a hurry? Did they feel entitled? A little bit of both? And did they hit the vehicle next to them? Or maybe, the Kia intentionally parked up against the Corvette to prove a point?
Apparently, the Corvette owner came out a short time later and backed their car up which revealed a large scratch in the driver’s side front-end.
In an update to the story, it turns out the driver never intended to park the car like this at all. According to Martha Huisman, who was coming out of the boot barn at the time, the Corvette was in neutral, was moving in the direction of her vehicle, but then veered into the KIA after driving over a bump. Had the parking break been engaged and the care put in park, it appears this all could have been avoided.
The point is, when you’re parking, keep others in mind because it’s not all about you. For the safety of everyone else, obey the rules and park properly. It only takes a few extra seconds to ensure you’re parked inside the lines, making sure your vehicle’s park break is engaged as well, as this is a crucial component of parking.
While the Corvette owner apparently didn’t intend to park like this, the author of the op-ed took it upon himself to assume the Corvette owner was an ass. In this situation, that wasn’t the case. However, if we do “obey the rules and park properly”, so to, should others – AND respect other people’s property.
If you see a car taking up two spots in a parking lot, drive around it and find another spot. Don’t be a douche just to prove a point.
And, for the love of God – don’t be lazy and bring your shopping carts back to their proper “parking spaces”. Don’t just leave them in the middle of the lot, so a breeze can catch them and send them sailing into someone else’s car.
So dear readers – what are your thoughts? How do you protect your own Corvettes from being the victim of someone else’s ignorance and lack of respect in a parking lot? Tell us what you think below!
5 comments
I’m sorry, but the premise of the article assumes that Corvettes are “special”. This is exactly why people both park wrong or feel the need to do the above retaliatory actions. Park like everyone else. Park away from everyone. Part is a spot that is blocked on one side, but DO NOT take up two spots. If you do, you are asking for whatever you get. I have Porsche’s and would never take the chance of pissing someone off because I didn’t want a ding or a scratch. I would be worried about much worse retliation. Be a human..park right.
I always attempt to park my Corvette and all of my cars as safe a possible in a large lot. Sadly I had a car keyed when I parked it by itself, using only one space at the far end of a parking lot. Bottom line there are some nasty envious people in this world who just will not respect the property of others. I would never take up two spaces as that will enrage someone that will harm your car. The best thing you can do if try to find a “No Ding” parking spot and pray your car will be okay.
So last year I parked at our local HomeDepot, in a spot bordered on the left door by a grassy island, on the right by two parking spaces. The place I had parked in has two spots nose to tail, and I parked straddling the two, so no one would bump the nose or the tail of my car. This is at 8:00 in the morning, so there are maybe a hand full of vehicles on the lot, all no closer than twenty feet away. When I returned 15 minutes later, some ditz with an ancient rusty red Nissan Xterra had deliberately jammed his front bumper into my rear bumper. I was furious, moved my car forward, and discovered a small scratch in the paint. This fool sauntered over a short time later with a stupid grin on his face, saying something about how it’s not my personal parking lot. It took everything not to rip this ignorant ass in two, I gave him a few choice words as to why in an empty lot he has to park here. I took out my phone, called the police, gave an explanation of the situation, as well as a description of his vehicle and the plate. As he realized that I was talking to the police, the smirk fell from his face, he jumped into his car, and violently jammed it into gear, racing off across the lot and down the street, running a stoplight while doing so. The patrol car showed up 5 minutes later, I showed them my car, the pictures I had taken on my phone, and they took a report. I did not press charges, but I insisted that some action should be taken. About an hour later, I received a call from the department, stating that they know this guy, his car, and his address, and that they were going to pay him a visit. What happened after I don’t know.
The lesson is, don’t take your Vette anywhere where there is the potential for someone to damage it, accidentally or intentionally. If it is out of your site, it is out of your control. I’ve parked at the far end of a lot, only to return to find the car surrounded, thankfully no damage. There are people who appreciate your car, there are ones who are jealous, and there are just stupid people. Try to avoid the latter two.
I’m sorry but if this is how we were supposed to drive our Corvettes, we would drive them twice a year…
1) Do not attract any more attention than the design of your car already generates, i.e: do not double park.
2) Park well away from other cars if you do not want to subject to normal parking lot wear and tear like door dings and the like. Alternatively, if you are avoiding targeting, but can tolerate the regular abuses of car life in a parking lot, park just like everyone else. If you park between two properly spaced vehicles, just like everyone else, the chances of someone purposefully blocking your doors are greatly reduced, because the other cars are already parked.
3) Park behind the shopping center near the loading docks where most people never bother looking for parking. Some potential increase in theft risk here, though.
4) If your vehicle is special, do not treat it like a common grocery-getter: ie, consider not parking in a public parking space at all. Even without targeted behavior, a parking lot is an unpredictable place at best.
5) Ultimately, you cannot prevent people thinking and feeling what they will think and feel. Some see your vehicle as a statement of superiority over them, deserving of being taught a lesson. It isn’t true, it is unjust, but you have only so much control over the crazy that goes on in people’s heads. The only way to avoid it 100% is to never use your vehicle. otherwise, you need to factor these things into your purchasing decision when buying an attention-catching car.