Automotive Headaches: Parking Is More Concerning Than Car Theft, According to the Internet

The study by Vanarama looked into 5.1 million search patterns from the world's first fifty countries by population. The results are interesting, to say the least. Based on the finds, over half of the countries analyzed generate "cosmetic damage" as the primary worry when owning and using a car. A scratch, a bent fender, or cracked paint is feared more than car theft, breakdowns, or other misfortunes.

If we investigate the results from a numerical perspective, the United States yielded more than 813,000 internet searches on how to parallel park. It may seem surprising, but not all cars are of the newer, "intelligent" kind. Therefore, older automobiles, without self-parking, rear-view or side cameras, parking assistance, sensors, or user-friendliness are challenging to put in a tight spot. And let's not forget that American cars – by which I mean U.S. brands – tend to be larger than other vehicles from other parts of the planet.

The same applies to the northern neighbors of the United States of America: almost 200,000 Canadians searched for instructions, tips, and lifehacks for engaging in parallel parking and getting it done right. To conclude the North American continent driving nuisance listing, Mexicans are primarily concerned with the looks of the automobiles they drive. Still, to a far lesser extent than other countries on the list: just a little over 9,000 people sought the digital forum to learn about this matter.

Across the pond, on the other hand, the Brits have other things on their minds, chief of which is a car breakdown. Four hundred eighteen thousand left-lane European drivers requested assistance from search engines. In all fairness, it happens to most of us at one point or another. Surprisingly, only seven other countries on the list of 50 returned mechanical failure as the first trouble on their automotive priorities. Three are from South America (Argentina, Peru, and Venezuela), two are from Africa (Algeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo), and two are from Asia (Mongolia and Nepal).

There is more about parking than the dreaded parallel type: reverse bay parking is also on the list of things people dislike about motoring. Not to the same extent as the first maneuver, as only half a million internet searches are related to backward parking. Curiously, the African nation of Zambia is the only member on this list who turned to online advice about this feat more than other particularities.

For some mysterious virtual reason, only three countries in the study have drivers concerned about grand theft auto over the other aspects in the research. Italians, Ethiopians, and Angolans care more about not parting ways with their vehicle through thievery than they are about the vehicle's beauty of handling.

In this perspective, Americans care far more about how good the car looks – or doesn't – than if the vehicle is still in their possession. More than 600,000 people want to know more about how to fix minor damage, and 177,000 are interested in protecting their cars from burglars.

You will notice one crucial absence from this list – China, the world's largest population and the most prominent car market. According to the surveyor, "the 50 most populous countries according to World Population Review are covered, excluding those with no available search data or those with search behaviors impacted by external factors."