Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Big cars in Honolulu

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Big cars in Honolulu

    I was not old enough to drive, when the streets of Honolulu will filled with big cars. When my time came (80s-90s), cars were a lot smaller.

    Often time I feel there is just enough space for small car. It don't matter if I'm finding parking in Downtown, Waikiki, or at Ala Moana center, everything is just so tight. The buildings, the streets, the parking structures, are all the same.

    So how did the old-timers do it? Cars from the 60s-70s. How did you cruise around the same places I used to (I'm on the mainland now) with my small car?

  • #2
    Re: Big cars in Honolulu

    Originally posted by cabanalane View Post
    I was not old enough to drive, when the streets of Honolulu will filled with big cars. When my time came (80s-90s), cars were a lot smaller.

    Often time I feel there is just enough space for small car. It don't matter if I'm finding parking in Downtown, Waikiki, or at Ala Moana center, everything is just so tight. The buildings, the streets, the parking structures, are all the same.

    So how did the old-timers do it? Cars from the 60s-70s. How did you cruise around the same places I used to (I'm on the mainland now) with my small car?
    I don't think all the places have the same sizing. While the same parking structure, I do believe the size of each parking stall has shrunk (think compact written on those stalls). I do not believe those existed in the 60s-70s. And I am aware that with the additional lane created on the H1 between Liliha and Pali, they shrunk the width of lanes and used some shoulder lane space to make it happen.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Big cars in Honolulu

      I am certain that parking stalls have gotten narrower at the same time as some vehicles have gotten wider... and even longer. There are some pickup trucks out there that have no business trying to squeeze into a "compact" stall, let alone some of the SUV monstrosities out there. In the building where I work, there's a long-bed pickup that is easily two feet longer than most cars... which wouldn't be a problem, except the driver loves to park in the last stall on a row, next to the exit lane. People always struggle to get around that turn, and I'm surprised the truck hasn't lost its bumper yet.

      Fortunately, as with the early 80s, gas prices has driven many people to smaller vehicles. "Smart cars" are picking up. It's just a little troubling that we're basically mixing hulking masses and little metal eggs on the same road.

      That said, I was a big fan of "big American cars" from the 60s and 70s. When I lived in Waikiki, I drove a '79 Oldsmobile Cutlass. As improbable as it was, I got pretty good at squeezing that thing into parallel parking spaces and other not-quite-legal patches of curbside. Of course, I also got towed a few times.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Big cars in Honolulu

        For one thing there were probably half the amount of cars on the road back then, also the length and width of a car was about the same as a pickup truck. Jeep's were the only four wheelers around. Other than the Nash Rambler the "small" cars were the Ford Falcon, Chevrolet Corvair, and maybe the Plymouth Valiant. Parking stalls were definetly wider.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Big cars in Honolulu

          I had a 1988 BMW 735i. Considered as BMW's flagship fullsize luxury sedan, it was the same length as my then co-worker's 2002 Toyota Camry which is considered to be Toyota's popular mid-sized sedan. I was shocked.
          Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Big cars in Honolulu

            Originally posted by pzarquon View Post
            That said, I was a big fan of "big American cars" from the 60s and 70s. When I lived in Waikiki, I drove a '79 Oldsmobile Cutlass.
            You think the '79 Cutlass was a "big car?" The previous generation Cutlass was a good deal bigger, over a foot longer in length. At one time, I had a '76 Chevy Monte Carlo, which was something like 15 inches longer than the downsized '78 models. The hood compartment on that bomb was long and deep.

            The combination of the American Big 3 downsizing their cars and the explosive increase of sales of Japanese imports in the late 1970s naturally led to the phenomenom of smaller average size of vehicles on the road. This trend lasted well into the 1980s. Then in the '90s, the size started getting bigger again..... but it wasn't due to the sedans and coupes. It was the large-sized trucks and SUVs. Mini-vans also began replacing station wagons as the vehicle of choice for soccer moms during this time.

            I don't remember parking stalls decreasing in size, as much as establishments introducing "compact" sized stalls, which the folks with intermediate or full-sized vehicles ignored anyway. (The kind of people that didn't care about getting dents and dings on their doors.) The one parking structure that seemed to cater to compact cars was the one at Ward Warehouse. The ramps and the stalls were narrow. It was built just at about the time in the '70s when cars were getting smaller. But when Ward Center opened up in the '90s, the parking garage there was bigger, which was a good thing as it gave the guys with the Broncos and 4Runners a place to park their barges. If they tried to use the Ward Warehouse garage, they would have ended up hogging two stalls.
            This post may contain an opinion that may conflict with your opinion. Do not take it personal. Polite discussion of difference of opinion is welcome.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Big cars in Honolulu

              I've always thought that compact cars parking in regular stalls instead of compact stalls should be towed out as they leave no space for larger vehicles.
              Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Big cars in Honolulu

                I used to drive a 1972 Chevy Malibu, 1980 Ford Granada and 1973 Mercury Comet. The Chevy was quite large but at the time considered a mid-size. The Granada and Comet were "compacts" but are rather large by today's standards. The Chevy and Mercury had V8 engines that ate gas like there was no tomorrow... the Granada was underpowered with a small 6 cylender.

                I learned to park those cars fairly well.

                I moved on to smaller cars as time went on... Ford Tempo, Toyota Corolla.

                The biggest vehicles I remember driving are Dodge Caravan, Chevy Impala (1980s model), and Saturn Relay (van)... Long ago when we visited Kauai I drove this huge Steve McGarrett Mercury Grand Marquis for a few days.

                Those big vehicles are fun if you are out on the open road with not too much traffic. But to fork over $$$ to fill their gas tanks... um.. forget it.

                On the other hand I am not a big fan of those tiny smart cars. You get into a serious collision with those and you'll be dead. I caught one in the wild last week with my camera.

                I'm still here. Are you?

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Big cars in Honolulu

                  Originally posted by mel View Post
                  On the other hand I am not a big fan of those tiny smart cars. You get into a serious collision with those and you'll be dead. I caught one in the wild last week with my camera.

                  I swear you could pick it up with one hand, like those 24-pack Buds.

                  I'm guessing it's for people who can't ride/balance on two-wheeled scooters.

                  I hope when I'm in my 80's I still get to drive in a "young boy" car, like a Honda Civic.
                  Beijing 8-08-08 to 8-24-08

                  Tiananmen Square 4-15-89 to 6-04-89

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Big cars in Honolulu

                    So here's a before and after smart car photo. Not much crumple zones anywhere
                    Attached Files
                    Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Big cars in Honolulu

                      Originally posted by mel View Post
                      Long ago when we visited Kauai I drove this huge Steve McGarrett Mercury Grand Marquis for a few days.
                      That was the thinking behind my post. I was (continue) to watch Hawaii Five-O on DVD, and was just thinking, how did they drive those big cars in the same place, same buildings, I did with a small car?

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Big cars in Honolulu

                        Not only were lanes and stalls wider, but there just weren't as many cars around.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Big cars in Honolulu

                          Originally posted by craigwatanabe View Post
                          So here's a before and after smart car photo. Not much crumple zones anywhere

                          O U C H !
                          I'm still here. Are you?

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Big cars in Honolulu

                            Originally posted by craigwatanabe View Post
                            I've always thought that compact cars parking in regular stalls instead of compact stalls should be towed out as they leave no space for larger vehicles.
                            I can agree to that so long as bigger cars that force themselves into compact spots can treated the same.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Big cars in Honolulu

                              Originally posted by craigwatanabe View Post
                              So here's a before and after smart car photo. Not much crumple zones anywhere.
                              As usual, a fake but popular e-mail forward. The car was a Ford Escape SUV, not a Smart Car... and frankly, any car vs. trucks like that would come out badly. For the most part, modern cars are much, much safer than the giant steel tanks we think were invincible from the 60s and 70s.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X