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Show of Hands: Can You Parallel Park?

November 8, 2011 By Lena

Mmmkay show of hands:

Do you have trouble parallel parking on your first attempt?
Do you search in a vain attempt for on-street parking that is wide enough to enter front-in?
Have you turned down social invitations from losers friends who do not have curbside parking?
Did you fail your first driver’s test after you sent an orange pylon airborne? (Or worse, hit a parked car?)

If you answered “Yes” to any of these questions, you may have PARKOPHOBIA.

Seriously.

“The fear of parallel parking – or “parkophobia” as it has been dubbed – has been found to rank alongside job interviews and meeting the in-laws as one of life’s most stressful moments.

Almost a third of motorists said they needed more than one attempt at the manoeuvre, with the figure rising to 41 percent for women, according to a poll of drivers by Ford.

One in 10 women said guiding their car into a tight spot was more stressful than visiting the dentist or a key job interview.” – IOL Motoring

There IS a cure. And it goes by the name Active Park Assist, by Ford.

While I don’t suffer from parkophobia, I must admit… this would make my life MUCH easier. Lucky attendees at the ShesConnected Conference in Toronto were able to demo Active Park Assist for themselves, and I daresay that yes, this is a life enhancing (changing?) feature.

Click here to visit Ford Canada.

Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: Ford Canada, parallel parking, ShesConnected

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Diana

    November 8, 2011 at 1:37 pm

    I think this is one of the neatest features. Ever. I sometimes avoid parallel parking if I feel that the spot is too tight or if there is a lot of traffic. But living in Toronto often leaves me without a choice. Wish I had this feature on my minivan.

    • Lena

      November 8, 2011 at 2:00 pm

      Same, I love it. Wish it was on all cars!

  2. Mike

    November 8, 2011 at 2:02 pm

    Cool!

  3. Ella Pretty Blog

    November 8, 2011 at 2:03 pm

    I tried this feature out during the conference, and I could not stop raving about it to my family…It was seriously amazing – from the beeping to indicate a spot with enough space for your car, to the truly hands-free parking – it was so funny when the driving demonstrater just lifted her hands off the steering wheel and let the car do all the work

    • Lena

      November 8, 2011 at 2:07 pm

      Plus, I love that it’s offered on “bigger” cars – the only reason I don’t have parkophobia is because I drive a Mini, LOL!

  4. Shauna MacKenzie

    November 8, 2011 at 2:12 pm

    I loved that experience at #SCCTO! I can hardly park in general – parallel parking is not an option for me! But with a Ford, I could totally fake a perfect parallel parking job :)

    • Lena

      November 8, 2011 at 2:58 pm

      “I can hardly park in general” – LMAO! I was literally rolling on the floor when I read that, ha! xo

  5. SassyModernMom

    November 8, 2011 at 3:02 pm

    Coolest feature ever!! I want this!

  6. Jen

    November 8, 2011 at 4:29 pm

    That is way cool. I had no idea Ford vehicles offered this. Thanks for sharing!

    • Lena

      November 8, 2011 at 7:05 pm

      You’re very welcome Jen!

  7. Joy

    November 8, 2011 at 5:43 pm

    I don’t have parkophobia…..yet. Tomorrow we pick up our first minivan! Onward into the realm of serious parenting, but I actually stressed about how I’ll be able to parallel park in it. Great feature to have on a vehicle!

    Joy
    http://www.PardonMyPoppet.com
    Pip Squeaks from the Mummy-verse!

    • Lena

      November 8, 2011 at 7:06 pm

      Congrats on the minivan! And much luck to you with parallel parking… you’ll have to let us know how it goes!

  8. dannyscotland

    November 8, 2011 at 6:46 pm

    I can, but I’m not great at it.

  9. Cathy

    November 8, 2011 at 7:37 pm

    Ohhhhh. I want!! That is so cool! :)

    • Lena

      November 8, 2011 at 7:48 pm

      Isn’t it? :)

  10. Shivani

    November 8, 2011 at 7:46 pm

    I recently got a Ford Focus Titanium. This is an amazing feature!!! Seriously, I used to make anyone and everyone park for me – like actually jump out of the driver’s seat and say, “no you do it” lol. Best. Feature. Ever.

    • Lena

      November 8, 2011 at 7:51 pm

      Oooohhh… satisfied customer, I love that. And yes, even I admit to handing my husband the wheel when parking our SUV :) Though it’s not technically parkophobia, I just don’t want anyone laughing at me :)

  11. Jennifer

    November 8, 2011 at 3:52 pm

    that really is amazing!

    • Lena

      November 17, 2011 at 9:53 am

      Did you demo it at the conference, Jen?

  12. Melanie

    November 8, 2011 at 7:08 pm

    This is a great feature Lena – what will they think of next??

    • Lena

      November 17, 2011 at 9:52 am

      LOL, they don’t need to think about anything next – just put this on EVERY car!

  13. Lena

    November 17, 2011 at 9:37 am

    I officially did a crap job of parallel parking my SUV last night. Seriously, it was shambles. I think it took me four attempts to get it about 4 feet from the curb, whereby I abandoned my attempt and found a nice, long stretch of free land (about 50 additional metres from my destination). #parkingfail

Trackbacks

  1. Venturing into serious parenthood… says:
    November 8, 2011 at 7:26 pm

    […] attempt it!  So it was perfect timing to run across a post this morning on one of my fave blogs:  Listen to Lena on parallel parking. Wish I had park assist on my new […]

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Lena Almeida

Toronto Blogger, Social Media Strategist for Listen to Lena Inc. Television & Radio Personality, Columnist and Speaker. Family Travel Expert. Star Wars Fanatic. Perfecting the Art of Conversuasion. Read More…

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