in france and mostly paris, cars park bumper to bumper when parallel parked, people would shove parked cars with their bumpers to make space to park and to get out.
how would american and canadian car culture change if this practice became acceptable overnight? would it mean less people would be motivated to buy nice cars because they can get damaged? would more people install things like bumper protectors and bash bars to give their car an edge? would people start driving even bigger and tougher truck/suv’s, or smaller and cheaper cars? would it mean the cost of the car hobby would go up, since you had to spend more money and effort to be more protective of your enthusiast car? would the public respect that we enthusiasts want to keep our cars nice and free from damage?
and finally, in this new world, what type of car would you be daily driving and would you be modifying it to suit these new circumstances?
American here, lived in France. French are typically appalled that anyone would spend one euro more than they needed for transportation. My French colleagues didn’t know a thing about proper car maintenance and were bewildered when I expressed my love of cars. They drove their cars into the ground and then bought a new one. And playing bumper cars is a real thing. It’s nuts. I’ve seen cars pealing out, trying to get in and out a street spot. Ah but alas, c’est la vie.