Rules of thumb and experience help but we prefer repeatable experiments. And if you see this and laugh, you're probably not as good as you think you are. Thankfully, the recipe for a one-move parking job is pretty simple. Here's how to parallel park perfectly.

Pull alongside the car ahead of the space you want. Align your rear axle with that car's bumper. Turn the wheel toward the curb at full lock. Back up until the center of your inside rear tire aligns with the street side edge of the forward car. Straighten wheel, continue to reverse. When your outside tire aligns with that same edge, turn the wheel the other way. If all went according to plan, you're in the space, bodywork intact. Get out and admire your work.

Mathematically Proven!

A Vauxhall-backed University of London study recently determined the exact amount of extra space any car needs to parallel park. It depends on your car's turning radius (r), its wheelbase (l), the distance from the center of the front wheel to the front of the car (k), and the width of the car you're parking behind (w).

Road & Track

Or you could just kinda eyeball it.

The Alternatives

Pull the Handbrake >> Two original-Mini-driving English brothers share the Guinness record for tight parallel parking, at 5.2 extra inches. The secret: a precise J-turn (plus a few chrome-crunching failed attempts).

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Press a Button >> Electric power steering and sonar help some modern cars literally park themselves. Ford says its customers' biggest gripe is that they can't get out of spots that the car puts itself in.

Originally posted at Road & Track.

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