As I was uploading this rather eye catching Scout II “Rally” (it’s not really) to the Cohort, I remembered I photographed a note attached to another classic that was parked nearby. Both of these cars and more, all belong to the same local collector, who parks them near his flat- most crucially, taking up valuable parking spaces from his neighbors. And they, as you shall see, decided to do something about it.
For now they stuck this note under the wiper of one of his cars:
It translates as follows:
Dear Mr. Shacham,
Your vehicles are charming. However, the amount of cars you park regularly in public parking spaces is high and takes up spaces from your neighbors, especially near yours- and our homes.
Please be considerate and disperse your vehicles around the neighborhood and not just park them on our street, or rent spots in a parking garage.
Thank you,
The neighbors who constantly look for parking, mornings and evenings.
Now, so to fill you in; we are talking about a small street which has some head-on parking, plus a narrow alleyway that leads to dead end (where you can park maybe five cars). And Mr. Shacham holds at least five cars at any given time. I should know because I photographed them and uploaded here (or the Cohort) previously. Here are four more of them (we already counted the Scout):
That’s the dead end I wrote of. This side has two parking spots, one of which is always taken by a classic. In this case this nice 1970 Cougar.
Same place, different day- and car. On the left side (just visible) you can park maybe three cars, no more.
You recognize the spot already. That Renault R15 was the car the note was attached to, though it was parked higher up the street, as in the next photos.
That was where the Scout at the top photo was parked, and on a different day you’ll see this Mustang. Note the Scout is in the background across the street.
And few meters further you’ll find yet another Cougar! Although I have to admit, I think this one replaced the 1970 car you saw earlier.
I personally think the neighbors have some point, being these cars just park there not moving besides on very few occasions. And this particular street does have a serious parking shortage. But what say you, CC community?
I think this Mr. Shacham is rude, selfish, thoughtless, and needs a much bigger spanking than he got with that note. What’s really needed is for him to be made to realize that his addiction is his problem, and he may not inflict it on others. That’s what he’s doing now, and it is not okeh. He’s got options: rent appropriate parking elsewhere, move someplace with ample private parking, or get out of the car hobby because it’s not compatible with his chosen living situation.
Sheesh…some people’s children!
Not only does he hog parking spaces, he consistently parks his cars outside of the lines. It doesn’t take Dr. Freud to know that anyone who does that regularly is a sociopath (ass hole, in other words).
In the case of the Ventura and Renault he appears to actually being considerate by parking outside the lines. Look at the overall layout and that rock wall. By parking at an angle he is able to get the car farther forward freeing up the space that is needed for maneuvering out of the other spaces and around that corner. The space that is taken up outside of the line is space that isn’t useful for maneuvering. Pointing the rear end in that direction is also useful when it is time to get out.
In the case of the Mustang it is a chicken and egg thing as the car on one side is over the line and the other is on the line and who knows which came first. In the picture with the Scout the car next to it is also over the line and in general there are several cars not parked in the lines. So if parking is as tight as indicated you take what you can get even if it means parking outside of the lines.
Sadly, parking outside the lines is a wide-spread disease in Israel, as is the custom to open doors at the vehicle parked next to you, damaging the clear-coat (or worse).
Unsurprisingly, it is also a widespread problem here in Germany with car parks built aeons ago. More and more vehicles have gotten wider, exceeding two-metre width limit. The modern cars barely fit the parking spaces.
Police is so keen on busting so many vehicles at the end of construction section on the Autobahnen, fining the motorists for driving their ‘fatter’ vehicles on left lanes with two-metre width limit. A public uproar ensued…
The worst thing Germans can do is parking in the disability parking space without disability placards. They were just parking for a moment to pop in and out of stores or bakeries. The fine is palty €40 and hardly enforced. One day at the shopping centre in Erlangen, the city could rake in enough fines to fatten its purse, but nothing happened…
40 Euro? cripes, in my city that’s a $150 fine.
Sometimes it looks like I did a crappy job parking when in fact I did the best I could given the surrounding mis-parked cars at the time.
Yeah, if you’ve got them you should also be able to store them without inconveniencing your neighbors.
We live on a court and one house has 4 adults living in it, all with their own vehicles. They have a single width driveway and frequently had 3 vehicles on the street and one, or none in the driveway. So some of us began parking our own vehicles on the street too, and after a couple of friendly “my goodness, doesn’t the court get congested when we all park on the street” conversations they started making an effort to park in their own driveway.
Nothing gets the blood boiling like inconsiderate neighbors. There is also a house on my street with four cars that are constantly street parked, along with a fifth in the driveway. One of the street spaces is permanently occupied, because when one leaves, the other immediately moves to occupy it. Still not as bad as the family who used to Airbnb their four bedroom, bringing several extra rental cars onto the street on weekends.
Homeowners Associations get a lot of crap, but this is precisely why they exist. Some are more militant than others, but all are designed to avoid these “tragedy of the commons” scenarios. The rules at the one my parents live in state: you park in your garage, your visitors park in your driveway, and overflow cars can park in the street but not overnight. It’s a self-selecting policy, since people who object simply don’t buy into the neighborhood.
I once had 3 cars and a motorcycle parked outside the house I was renting with a 4th car under a carport. However, at the time I was living on a farm that had been converted to an impromptu subdivision and there were no parking slots….just empty yard.
Another question that might be asked here is: how many cars are too many for this person to park here?
I guess I am mellowing in my old age, but while it is true this person often parks outside the lines (the Scout is parked correctly), a few of the spots show his car on the end of a row of parking slots so he isn’t (as far as I can see in the pictures) taking more than 1 space per car.
If I were the neighbors, I think I would document the problem and involve the police and/or local zoning regulators. Sometimes, guys like this believe that just one person in the area has a problem with their being a hog.
It’s folks like these that make me wish I had a shitbox beater. I would have no qualms parking ever so close to these types.
To park one classic where it is crowded might be indulged as charming, and the result for others may be regarded as misfortune.
To spreadeagle six looks like carelessness*.
*with apologies to O.Wilde
The parking spaces are not his, nor are they really the neighbor’s, either. However, the fact that he is using more than his share of the spots, it makes one think that he is not being fair or considerate of his neighbors. As the cars are his hobby cars, not daily drivers, it falls on him to find alternate arrangements for their storage or find alternate living quarters that facilitate his hobby. The hobbyist is being a poor neighbor, and I assume that if it went further, the officials would not side with him.
You got “storage” places in Israel? In the U.S. there are places that will gladly rent you space to park your RV etc. I thought about that for my Mustang for those few years I didn’t have a garage.
If you don’t have the space or can’t afford to rent a space, you shouldn’t have it.
Not storage places as in the US, but a classic car owner can get to an agreement with many underground car parks to have a car parked there – usually in lowest of floors, covered and out of sight.
Stout, Mustang, Cougar are probably larger cars than typical local cars, and as such can take up more usable space. So, he’s not only using too much of public space, which is unreasonable, but also the quality of his usage might intrude on other people’s rights.
Then again, after driving a couple weeks up and down Israel, I’m surprised by the kindness of the note. Those are undoubtedly good neighbors, and should be treated accordingly. So, Shacham, you are lucky enough to live in a quite safe country where cars are not systematically vandalized. Take them to the city border, park them, keep your daily driver, and when you need one of your classic, just go fetch it. In most of South America, nobody would leave a prized old car outside, only a well insured daily driver.
Mr. Shacham is an asshole. If he doesn’t comply with the request of his neighbors then it might be time to enact some parking ordinances that would eliminate the problem.
He’s not only inconsiderate to the neighbors, he’s inconsiderate to the cars. Most collectors prefer to keep valuable cars in garages or carports so they won’t be damaged by weather, OR keyed by annoyed neighbors or stupid kids. Maybe his neighborhood needs to import a few stupid kids to help enforce the balance of civilization.
That’s exactly what I was thinking about – never mind the neighbors, it’s his cars that suffer most (especially by the weather). That Scout is full of rust holes.
I had a daily driver TR3 while at an apartment. Not a problem, except I had to work on it now and then which ticked off my landlord. Not to mention the oil leaks.
BTW, I’m likely to retire to Israel in about 10 years. Would you please get me Mr. Shacham’s phone number? I’d buy his ’79 Ventura as a daily driver….
Trust me, you wouldn’t want it. His cars get too much abuse by the weather- I think all pretty much deteriorated on his watch…
I wouldn’t annoy my Neighbors like that, it can lead to flat tires and scratched paint.
Time to downsize —
Just keep the Mustang & Renault.
And put that Scout to work in the Negev desert !
Oh dear.
Part of me, a big part, is very Western Murican Cowboy and wants to lift a giant middle finger to the note writer. Dagnabit I paid fer em, unless theyuns got rules ’bout how many exact spaces I kin have then ta hell with ’em all!! I’ll go right out and buy more cars!!!
And the rest of me would be mortified, and die of shame for being a space hog and inconveniencing my kind and thoughtful neighbors, and disperse my cars as far away as possible.
Sort of like how Gollum had those bipolar self conversations in Lord of the Rings.
“But we’s paid for it precious!! It’s ours classic car to park as we wants precious!! Curse them and smash them!!”
“But Smeagol wants to be a good neighbor, he does! Good Smeagol will moves his Cougar down the roads to be kind to the neighbors!”
“NOOOOO! We hates them!! We hates them FOREVER!!!”
The problem with the logic of that first part of you is this:
Yes, you bought the cars. They belong to you. No, you didn’t buy the roads. They don’t belong to you. They belong to everyone equally (or everyone in that neighborhood, everyone on that block, everyone who has purchased the right kind of parking sticker, etc). This asshole with the multiple cars is illustrating the tragedy of the commons, and a “show me where the law says I can’t! Hah! Toldjya!” type of attitude is…really just wrong, so while I can certainly relate to that first part, I’m glad the rest of us is more of a grownup.
Yah he’s not being a considerate neighbor. What driving me batty in my subdivision is every house seems to have more cars than driveway space and the streets are filled with parked cars. Overnight parking isn’t illegal here, and sometimes cars are parked on both sides leaving room for a car and a half to get through. Add snowbanks and there is only room for one car to get through.
The parking jobs bother me more than anything else. I’m not going to whine about the number of cars though, not as long as it is considered none of my business to say someone has too many kids anyway…
Actually I’m more bothered that the guy would offload that beautiful 70 Cougar for that dreary 71 – what a nutjob!
As I might have mentioned before I once lived on 21st Avenue between Clement and Califorinia, in San Francisco, between 1988-91. At the time I noticed a lot of junkers, all with heavy patina as one would find near the ocean, occupying the block. Roughly about 15 that would move from one side to the other due to street cleaning days. The block is a fairly long block with lots of cut outs for driveways so precious few street spots.
These cars had broken lights, antennas and wipers. Then I saw the fellow who was an elderly Russian man who lived in the big apartment building at the corner of the block. I was able to quietly get across to him that this can’t be done and soon the cars were spread over five city blocks.
The building he lived in is typical for the city in that the first floor, of a four floor building, is parking garages. He died around 2005 and it turned out he used those garages for more junk. My friend counted five 20 foot dumpsters were filled with his debris collection. Most of the stuff was old tires. What happened to the scattered cars I don’t think anyone knew once he died.
He sounds like someone other than the guy who lived on Turk Boulevard between Arguello and Stanyon. Driving through there was like a tour of the Harrah’s Collection in the 90s and Oughts. While his prized car appeared to be a white ‘56 Studebaker Golden Hawk, he had a never ending supply of Exner Mopars and cool Mercurys. For a while, there was a yellow ‘61 DeSoto coupe and even though all his cars outside the Hawk were in pretty bad shape, he always managed to move them around the neighborhood to avoid street cleaning tickets. It must have driven the neighbors crazy, but I sure loved driving through there whenever I could.
He’s got to be more considerate, or else his neighbours will no longer be friends, and you’ll all be paying to park.
But he does have good taste in cars – the Renault and the Cougar especially.
+1 that Renault is quite delicious
Love the 1970 Cougar, looks just like an original Hot Wheels car, just need redline tires for the full effect.
Oh and yes he should be more considerate.
From a purely human standpoint, this guy’s selfish and greedy behaviour is inexcusable and the person who wrote the letter is 100% correct, polite and measured.
From a CC hunter’s standpoint, I wish more selfish and greedy bad neighbours could fill the streets with beautiful and rare cars so I could capture them and write about them.
I’m torn!
I know of that guy and he has something like 5 Cougars and possibly one or more other Fords. I did not however know about his parking habits – I assumed the cars were kept safe at some garage or yard, and I suspect the better Cougars are in fact safeguarded at such a place. He’s an elderly chap and apparently mild-mannered which perhaps explains why the neighbors are being soft on him – this is not typical for Israel and I’m aware of other, similar, situations where people came back to find their tires slashed etc. Personally I’d never feel very comfortable leaving my other car out in the street too long like this and I only have one significant other car…
Thanks for your comments. As pretty much all of you said, this is really a straight forward case of being (in)considerate. Not to mention the cars are deteriorating as we speak.
The good thing about this is that this is maybe a mile from my flat, so I can always come back with updates.
🙂
Ive got four cars here all in my driveway not on the street two Citroens a Nissan and a Hillman I guess the Hillman could be classed as collectable but the others are just cars that get driven.
I’m more than willing to help by gladly taking that silver ’71/’72 Cougar off of his hands 🙂
He should share his cool cars with his neighbors. Let them borrow them for date nights etc.
There you go! Leave the keys in them and just ask the borrowers to replace the gas they used.
Sorry. I know it’s automotive OCD but, that is a 1969 Cougar, a base Cougar with a vinyl roof, not even an XR7. There, I feel better, now.
Hey, aren’t we all automotive OCD here? You just happen to know your Cougars better than most.
We have so many parking regulations throughout SoCal that it is hard to conceive of this situation developing in any neighborhood. My area is permit zoned street parking only after 6PM.
I attended a memorial event at the Glendale, CA Hilton back in 2016 and was shocked to find dozens and dozens of collector cars of all kinds parked on two floors of the hotel’s garage. It was like walking through a museum. Staff told me that the owner pays monthly garage fees to store a part of his collection that is in transit at any given time. This seems to be the best approach, i.e., you can’t afford the cars if you can’t afford to store them properly.
What really struck me is how polite the letter writer was.
The owner seems to have a problem with parking within the lines based on these pictures. Since he owns this many cars, he should be able to afford a place where he can store all of them and bring them out when necessary. This is somewhat inconsiderate.