June 2018

“Everything is marked compact car,” said Mr. Massoudi, 41. “This vehicle is a tank compared to a compact car.”

He does boring loops looking for spaces large enough for his Climbing, all measuring 17 feet long and almost 7 feet wide. He often relegates himself to the outer rungs of parking lots, where the stalls are bigger and he can comfortably monopolize two places without annoying other drivers.

Otherwise, said Mr. Massoudi, you “come back to the people ringing and breaking down your doors.”

America’s love affair with giant vehicles continues to grow, as do the headaches associated with trying to park them.

Many downtown garages and parking lots sprang up in the late 1970s and 1980s when sales of small cars were on the rise. The standard US parking spot – about 8 to 9 feet wide and almost 18 feet deep – has changed little since then.

Compact car spaces, typically 7-8 feet wide and 15.5 feet deep, are becoming more common in some congested cities as manufacturers try to park more.

Meanwhile, the vehicles themselves are swelling in size, with many models getting wider, longer and taller with each new generation.

“You have two trends going in opposite directions,” said Trent Lethco, a consultant with engineering firm Arup who works with cities and planners on parking and other transportation issues.

Amanda Collins, a Michigan native who lives in New York City, said she once had to climb out of the trunk of her Jeep Wrangler to get to the driver’s seat because her SUV was so well propped up.

“I was so close to the wall on the right side. It was 1 or 2 inches, ”recalls Ms. Collins, 25, who at the time parked her Wrangler in a garage in Birmingham, Michigan. “Then, on the left side, someone pulled up 2 inches from me.

She said she ended up leaving a note on the other vehicle – a Jeep Grand Cherokee, a bigger SUV – berating the driver for pulling into a place that “you knew was too small.”

SUVs began to gain popularity in the late 1990s, and sales of heavy-duty passenger trucks held steady from the early to mid-2000s. When the economy collapsed later in the decade and As gasoline prices soared to over 4 gallons, many buyers have abandoned their SUVs for smaller, more fuel-efficient cars. Now the pendulum goes back the other way.

Ford Motor Co., which recently announced it is phasing out several low-selling car models, expects nearly 90% of its sales in North America to come from SUVs and trucks by 2020.

Automakers say new parking assist technologies, such as rear view cameras and warning systems that can detect a potential collision, are helping drivers of heavier vehicles navigate tight spaces better.

Marcel Ralbovsky, owner of an F-150 pickup truck living in Las Vegas, is taking no chances. He said he kept a white bulletin board in his garage with “77 inches” written in big numbers on it. It’s the height of his truck.

“It’s a constant reminder to read the signs if I happen to take the truck to the track,” he said.

Mr. Ralbovsky once drove a Ford Expedition SUV in Seattle and had to park in “boonies” because the vehicle would not fit in the hotel’s underground garage. Now, when he hits the coast, he does so in his smallest Ford Edge crossover.

Drivers of smaller rides are also frustrated with pinching the parking lot. Taller trucks and SUVs block the view, park at odd angles, and make it difficult to get in and out. Bumps and dents are common problems, these drivers say.

In Detroit, where big trucks and SUVs dominate the roads, jostling for parking is a morning ritual in downtown garages where spaces are tight and the turning circle tight.

“You don’t have to have a Hummer to be affected by this,” said Michael Davis, 47, who owns a compact Mazda 3 hatchback.

Often times he will see drivers blocking traffic trying to force trucks and SUVs into undersized places, a process that can take multiple attempts. “It literally becomes a line of 20 cars,” Mr. Davis said.

Alondon Richard, 25, who parks his Chevy Malibu sedan in the same garage, said the seats are so thin and the cars so tight that the disembarkation is a “kind of limbo”.

He should carefully crack his car door the right amount and then sneak in from behind without hitting the vehicle stuck next to his car.

“It’s stressful,” said Richard, who is 6 feet tall. “The other car is dirty and it’s getting over your clothes.”

About a month ago, he returned to his car to see a one inch long gash in the fender. “After a long day at work, it’s like someone is hitting me,” he said, “and now I have to deal with that too.”

Write to Christina Rogers at [email protected]