Fluther: Do they have a feature on any car to drive sideways?

Do they have a feature on any car to drive sideways?

Asked by RedDeerGuy1 (24468

) July 3rd, 2020
15 responses
“Great Question” (4

)

To help parallel park.

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Topics: cars, driving, parallel park

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Answers

Not that I know of but snow on the ground has helped me drive that way.

lucillelucillelucille (34325

)“Great Answer” (7

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It has been a while & I don’t remember where I read it, but there was one prototype that pulled up to the parking space & went in from the side. Auto manufacturers were fighting it claiming that it would be cost prohibitive to implement. The japanese have one due out in about 2 years

LadyMarissa (16088

)“Great Answer” (5

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You couldn’t. The tires would need to turn 90 degrees from their current settings, and the axles would get in the way.

I suppose you could build a car with swivelable axles, but then you have a problem with the drive train and exhaust being in the way.

Bottom line: Not feasible.

elbanditoroso (33158

)“Great Answer” (2

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You could build one with mecanum wheels. Though they wear out really quickly, so you would have to replace them often.

ragingloli (51968

)“Great Answer” (3

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You could also add additional sideways wheels that deploy when you want to park. and lift the other wheels off the ground.

ragingloli (51968

)“Great Answer” (1

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Here you go, saw it in use in Los Angeles.

Tropical_Willie (31125

)“Great Answer” (5

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It might not be feasible & they might not last very long & I assume they will be expensive. However, the japanese have come up with one. You may watch it in action here

LadyMarissa (16088

)“Great Answer” (5

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I’ve not seen a feature, but some people know how to drive a car so that it “drifts” sideways. There’s a movie featuring this technique: Tokyo Drift—Part of the Fast and Furious franchise.

give_seek (1425

)“Great Answer” (2

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@Tropical_Willie
WOW, good idea, wonder why it didn’t take off?

Inspired_2write (14486

)“Great Answer” (1

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@LadyMarissa
Also wonder why it hadn’t taken off here as well?

Inspired_2write (14486

)“Great Answer” (1

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@Tropical_Willie That 1951 Cadillac spare tire parking device is brilliant! I wonder why it didn’t take off.
I imagine it had a lot to do with the massive cost and extra weight located behind the rear axles. The car frame has to be redesigned to take such a load.

LuckyGuy (43691

)“Great Answer” (0

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Mercedes Benz in Germany has had this for around 3 years.

@Inspired_2write I would think that it didn’t take off here in the US because it would cut into the profit margin of the auto industry. Their assembly line would need to be completely redone with employees needing to be retrained

SEKA (7109

)“Great Answer” (2

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^ I agree. The Germans & Japanese have them in the works & we don’t. Must be profit related!!!

LadyMarissa (16088

)“Great Answer” (1

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