Tag: parking?

Video: The Parking Lot Movie

Filed under: Videos, Humor

The Parking Lot Movie

The Parking Lot Movie – Click above to watch video after the jump

The minimum-wage job is a rite of passage. If you’ve earned your stripes manning a deep fryer, selling women’s shoes or digging ditches, you likely know that level of degradation and suffering that invariably provides a boundless well of inspiration and perspective for the rest of your employed life. A creative new independent film has attempted to capture the life and times of a group of parking lot attendees in Charlottesville, Virginia muddling through their own private low-rent job hell. Sound about as thrilling as watching paint dry? You’d be surprised.

Any job that forces workers to interact with various strata of humanity on a routine basis is bound to make for good story telling, and judging by the trailer and the host of clips that have been posted to YouTube, The Parking Lot Movie looks to be about as hilarious as can be. The attendees range from grad students to indie rockers and even “middle-aged slackers,” and they all seem have their own take on the goings and comings of the world around the parking lot booth. Hit the jump to check out the trailer as well as a few clips.

[Source: The Parking Lot Movie]

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Video: The Parking Lot Movie originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 24 Dec 2010 20:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Japanese man builds $500,000 house in single parking space

Filed under: Etc., Japan, Videos, Humor

Parking Space House

A house built in the area of a parking space – Click above to watch video after the jump

As Americans, our concept of a normal-sized home has grown by leaps and bounds over the decades. In her book Living Large, author Sarah Wexler says that the average home size in the U.S. grew from 983 square feet in 1950 to 2,349 square feet in 2004, and it doesn’t look to be shrinking any time soon. It’s not like that everywhere. Just look at what ingenious architects in Japan are up to. With both space and funds at a minimum, builders and property owners alike are looking to get the most out of every square foot, even going so far as to build a two-person home on the same footprint as an average-sized parking space.

To make it happen, designers have employed a number of space-saving tricks, including a triangular spiral staircase that decreases the minimum radius needed for going up and appliances that are stashed under counters and in unique cubbies. Doesn’t sound like a bad way to go, if you ask us. Hit the jump to see a video of the house for yourself.

[Source: CNN]

Continue reading Video: Japanese man builds $500,000 house in single parking space

Video: Japanese man builds $500,000 house in single parking space originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 20 Nov 2010 17:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sounds About Right: San Francisco spending $25M to determine how much parking should cost

Filed under: Government/Legal

If you reside or frequent a large metropolitan area, you’re probably all too aware of the cost to park your vehicle. In cities like New York or Chicago, you can pay upwards of $30 or more for a full day of parking. To make matters worse, even with astronomical costs many drivers can’t even find an open spot.

San Francisco is looking for a permanent solution to its parking problems by going high tech and paying big bucks to do it. Frisco is investing $25 million on a new electronic parking system that will constantly gauge demand for spots and raise or lower pricing accordingly. So why go to all this expense and trouble to set parking prices?

Parking that’s too cheap may lead to spots getting filled too quickly, which will lead to cars circling around waiting for spots, clogging streets with unnecessary congestion. The goal of the $25 million project is to make parking cheap enough for people to afford it while at the same time expensive enough to ensure spots are always available.

The electronic parking system will work as a network, setting prices between a quarter and $6 per hour depending on demand. The high-tech solution will start with 190 new meters in the Hayes Valley area of San Francisco and in two years end with 6,000 metered spaces and 12,250 spots at the city’s 15 parking garages. The system will eventually make it possible for advanced planners to go online to find where the most spots are located. Distracted driving aficionados will be able to search for spots on their smartphone, making it easier for multi-taskers to park and harder for pedestrians and other drivers to avoid getting hit.

[Source: NPR | Image: Ingrid Taylar – C.C. License 2.0]

Sounds About Right: San Francisco spending $25M to determine how much parking should cost originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Next generation Hyundai Elantra caught practicing its parking?

Filed under: Budget, Sedan, Videos, Hyundai

Next generation Hyundai Elantra parking – Click above to watch video after the jump

The next Hyundai Elantra was revealed a few months ago at South Korea’s Busan Motor Show. It’s been revealed again, this time outdoors, in a parking lot where it appears to be practicing parallel parking maneuvers. Hyundai’s small four-door has grown in size, which helps it wear those stretched ‘fluidic’ design cues rather nicely. Once a portrait of anonymity, the Elantra’s now as good-looking as its big brother, the Sonata.

When the restyled Hyundai Elantra arrives next year, we expect it to be motivated by a 1.6-liter gasoline direct-injection engine with 138 horsepower. And we have a feeling those new looks are going to make people take a good, long look at the Elantra in liew of say, a Civic or Corolla.

As for parking jobs like this? We have a feeling they’ll be a lot easier than these drivers are making it look. If they had to find street parking in, say, New York, they’d run out of gas before they successfully stashed the car. Follow the jump to see the video, which does nothing to make parking seem any less mundane than it is. Hat tip to Avery

Gallery: 2011 Hyundai Elantra / Avante

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading Video: Next generation Hyundai Elantra caught practicing its parking?

Video: Next generation Hyundai Elantra caught practicing its parking? originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 18 Jul 2010 17:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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