Wait .. . what? It costs $262 for a half day of parking in Europe?

Photo above - Your family's safety matters! Europeans are ditching death-trap microcars. But normal cars can cost $260 to park for a half day over there. Full disclosure: the BMW Isetta got an F-minus on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration crash test . . . .

Sheesh . . . little wonder nobody owns cars in the middle kingdom. It’s $262 to park in the center city for 6 hours. If you think you’ll be 59 minutes (or less) it’s just $21. Forget stopping off for a quick crumpet or croissant on the way home. (see link below)

Of course, those are the parking fees if you drive an “American sized” car. If you opt for one of the micro sized, unsafe-at-any-speed models, you'd only have to pay $90 for your half day of parking. In a land where the median wage (before tax withholding) is $29, half your income goes simply for parking.

Europe doesn’t hate cars. It hates pollution from them. That’s why it imports 60 million tons of coal from Russia every year. Wait . . . that can’t be right, can it? Okay, it is. See the second link below. Europe may not be good, but they have good intentions. They’ve been trying to cut back on their Russian coal habit since Putin invaded Ukraine. It’s a work in progress. Hence, the absurd parking taxes. Leave your car at home – or better yet, don’t even own one – and just say no to communism!

I hadn’t thought of Europe as ground zero for the world’s smallest cars. Italy, maybe. They make some cars the size of a Sears lawn tractor. If you want really small cars, you should shop in China or Japan. Over there, “Kei” cars (pronounced keh-ee) are 10 feet long, and powered by a 660 CC engine. Think “16 hp lawn tractor engine”.

The BBC article specifically demonizes “American sized cars”. They call it “carspreading”. (Similar to “manspreading”). Europe may be addicted to coal, but drivers want safer rides, with adequate legroom adults. In most micro-cars the rear seat is only a glorified package shelf. Well, you won’t need that anyway, if you can’t afford to park while shopping.

I’m just sayin’ . . .

'Carspreading’ is on the rise - not everyone is happy

EU: coal imports from Russia monthly 2024| Statista