Easy Parking with 1950s' Tech

Reader Brian Jenions sent in the clip which is sure to bring a smile to the face of any classic car connoisseur - in fact anybody who hates parallel parking - a classic ride capable of deploying a fifth wheel for lateral rotating movement.

The car in the video is a 1951 Cadillac in a tight spot. It's spare wheel is lowered vertically from the boot at right-angles to the rear wheels. This allows the Caddy to rotate on its front wheels and swivel out of the bay.

His tail clear, the driver merely had to retract the wheel, reverse out of the bay and head off, possibly wondering when all cars would have this tech...

Audi and VW's park assist technology has been around for several years now, as has that of several other brands,  but they all need fancy cameras and computers. The deployable fifth wheel is simplicity at its best.

The second part of the video shows how the vehicle is able to make an otherwise difficult 180-degree turn in a narrow space to reverse into a garage. Imagine pulling off a drift like that!