After a grand total of three days with my new Prius, I'm loving it. One minor challenge when parking has been trying to "guess-timate" where the front bumper ends, since I can't really see anything beyond the forward-most point of the windshield. Has anybody come up with any tricks or techniques to get around this?
I recommended this technique some time ago but have yet to hear that anyone has tried it. 1) Roll forward in your car until you hit a wall. Make a mental note of how far away the wall is from your face. 2) Roll backward until you hit another wall. Again, make a mental note of the distance. Note, the wall is closer than it appears in the passenger-side window. If done correctly, you should have a very solid understanding of he diminsions of your new Prius.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer\";p=\"98180)</div> ... and a questionable insurance claim, too!
Adjust your right wing mirror. I use that to a) align myself to the curb and judge the distance from the curb B) reverse park without a wall and using the parking stall lines This allows me to always shoulder check when I make a right turn or a lane change to the right since the mirror is pointing down.
I found this antenna at an auto parts store, it's a fake phone antenna has a sticky bottom on it and sticks well to the wide part of my license plate holder.. cost was less than $3 bucks... and knowing where the front of my car is... (you had to know this was coming) PRICELESS!!!!! I found a light bulb with HYBRID printed on it as well.. from toothyoda, here on priuschat... For those who ask, "it's my Static Electric Receiver"...stole the whole idea from Capt. Bubba Bob Andersen
The reflections in the windows of buildings are very useful to learn where the corners of the car are. When you parallel park, you can often see the ends of the car in the plate glass windows near you. It's a great way to train yourself, and when you take the car to within an inch or two of the car in front and behind you, you can realty impress passengers that don't you are "cheating"
