Where oh where is that bloomin' car?

July 16, 2009 3:55 AM

How do I find my black car by moonlight in a field of 1000 irregularly parked cars? Lo-tech solutions preferred.

So I went to a festival last year for just a day and parked my car, as directed, in a nearby field. I *thought* I had a reasonable idea where it was in relation to the gate. On leaving the festival, gone midnight, that same field looked totally different -- more cars, only moonlight to see by, a handful of trees as landmarks. Took me about an hour to track it down. I'm going to the same festival this weekend and would appreciate any & all suggestions, thanks.

posted by freston to travel & transportation (39 comments total)

Perhaps leave a big white piece of paper on the dash, so that it can be easily seen through the windshield, by moonlight, as you're walking down the rows of cars..?
posted by Jinkeez at 4:01 AM on July 16

1. reflective tape and a good torch?

2. park facing a landmark (a distinctive tree) and count the number of paces to the tree.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 4:01 AM on July 16

Does your car have remote locking? Just keep hitting buttons on your key-fob until you find it.
At work, when I need to find a car in a parking lot of identical cars, I just hit the "panic" button on the key. The lights flash and the horn sounds and, bingo, there's my car.
posted by Jon-o at 4:02 AM on July 16

Also ... it's a big field (as I found out last year) and I have no say where to park -- I'll be directed by a steward to the next available "slot" of grass.
posted by freston at 4:06 AM on July 16

some glow sticks on the dash....
posted by fozzie33 at 4:07 AM on July 16 [1 favorite has favorites]

Hikers GPS to mark coordinates and get back to +/- 30 ft (or whatever it is these days) radius. Then use Jinkeez's or le morte's methods.

You could also get a blinking LED light and put it on the seat or dash - though that might attract unwanted attention to your car.
posted by Kevin S at 4:10 AM on July 16

A flag affixed to the antenna can be very handy for this; you can even extend the antenna with a dowel or rod. This need not be a permanent addition to your car, either; I've seen people putting these flags on with rubber bands before concerts, raising them (via dowel) high enough to be seen above other cars.
posted by koeselitz at 4:13 AM on July 16 [2 favorites has favorites]

Got an iPhone?
posted by nineRED at 4:15 AM on July 16

Do it like Theseus.

Get a ball of bright-coloured nylon string, tie it to your car's bumper bar, and unroll it after you've parked it, towards some other landmark. Tie it off, have a good festival.

When the music's over, find the string-end. Follow it through the mud, ideally, recovering it all so you're not littering. Find your car slay the half-bull half-man beast and drive victoriously home.
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 4:16 AM on July 16 [1 favorite has favorites]

I guess you could also use the iPhone Tent Finder.
posted by Magnakai at 4:18 AM on July 16

Sorry, it's not very low-tech. Glow in the dark paint?
posted by Magnakai at 4:19 AM on July 16 [1 favorite has favorites]

Put a very identifiable antenna topper on your car that includes a light or 3M reflective tape.

I had one from Jack 'n the Box in high school it made it super easy to find the car in the day time. I would think with some 3M reflective tape or GiTD paint on it you could make it just as easy to find at night.
posted by chiefthe at 4:22 AM on July 16

Bring a compass with you. When you arrive take compass bearings of three distant, fixed objects which you will be able to see by moonlight - for example a prominent tree, a flag on a poll, a cellphone mast. Find your car by choosing one of the objects and moving until it is on the correct bearing - then walk until the others are too. This technique is a little complicated and you might want to rehearse it beforehand. However it should still work for enormous car parks.
posted by rongorongo at 4:23 AM on July 16

Uh, on your way to the show count the number of rows and columns between your car and the gate? Even if the cars aren't lined up in a perfect grid you'll get close enough.
posted by mhjb at 4:28 AM on July 16

These are some top suggestions, people.

Sorry, no GPS or iPhone.

But I'm liking a combination of glow-in-the-dark / something tied to the antenna. Last time there were a few cars with a traffic cone on the roof ...

Fiasco de Gama -- love the string idea assuming I'm near enough to a tree.
posted by freston at 4:30 AM on July 16

Yeah, what mhjb says. It isn't very tricky: stewards will always always direct you into roughly regular rows so counting will do the trick. If there are any landmarks - trees, lights, gates, etc - even better.
posted by ninebelow at 4:31 AM on July 16

Breadcrumbs à la Hansel and Gretel?

Tie a helium balloon to it?

Dowsing rod?
posted by XMLicious at 4:33 AM on July 16 [1 favorite has favorites]

Bright yellow tennis ball. Pop a hole in it, top the antenna. Much like the Jack in the Box idea, but allowing for the possibility that tennis balls are quicker to come by than restaurant premiums.
posted by grabbingsand at 4:49 AM on July 16

LED throwies.
posted by rokusan at 4:53 AM on July 16

When I need to find a car in a parking lot of identical cars, I just hit the "panic" button on the key.

I've been in parking lots following concerts and sporting events where at least fifty people have this same clever idea at the same time.
posted by rokusan at 5:03 AM on July 16 [4 favorites has favorites]

Addendum to flag idea:
Use those sectioned, flexible tent poles to get a reflective, bright flag nice & high above your vehicle, strap it on tight to deter casual thieves. Battery-powered flashing LED unit on top. Could work without flag.
posted by i_cola at 5:28 AM on July 16

Second the tennis ball.

You know those balls that they put on car antennas so you can find them in the parking lot? Those should be on EVERY CAR!
posted by Bort at 5:32 AM on July 16 [4 favorites has favorites]

Bike flag on the the antenna + counting rows + taking a digital photo of the row you're in to review on LCD screen later + electronic door-openy-key-fobby-thing.
posted by mdonley at 5:45 AM on July 16

Toilet plunger w/flag suctioned to the roof of your car?
posted by peagood at 5:57 AM on July 16 [3 favorites has favorites]

Helium balloon with LED frog light (the tiny ones), perhaps inside balloon, tied to aerial! The light would last for hours/days but it might attract a bit too much attention and be taken.(Perhaps balanced out by the fact that lots of people would smile happily at a flashing balloon)

A battery-powered alarm clock that has some type of light on it. I have a small one that flashes when it goes off. It's not very powerful, but if it was on your dashboard, and you knew to the nearest hour when you would be leaving, it could work.
posted by a womble is an active kind of sloth at 5:59 AM on July 16

Glow-in-the-dark antenna topper?
posted by the littlest brussels sprout at 6:07 AM on July 16 [1 favorite has favorites]

Balloon with a long tether tied to antenna. Used to see it a lot when we went to huge festival shows.
posted by jerseygirl at 6:42 AM on July 16

Nthing the light-colored balloon tied to the antenna idea. I've seen this done with bikes at triathlons a lot. Plus you'll be doing the people who parked near you a favor as well.
posted by anderjen at 6:47 AM on July 16

I'd go with the LED throwie, or even an LED flashlight pointed straight up sitting on the dash.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 7:02 AM on July 16

I have done this with a cheap Radio Shack portable strobe light. The thing runs for many many hours on one C cell and the strobe is bright enough to make the whole interior of the car flash brightly, especially if the interior is light colored. (Unfortunately, it is possible that Radio Shack no longer sells the strobes)
posted by bz at 7:09 AM on July 16 [1 favorite has favorites]

yeah, I second whoever said you need an iphone because there's an app for that.
posted by krautland at 8:10 AM on July 16

Around Easter, I put a set of costume rabbit ears on my Honda Element (along with a pink nose). My friend derided me over how tacky it looked as we went to Home Depot to pick up a truckload of gardening supplies.

As we walked out of the store, we gazed upon a parking lot FULL of black SUVs. But out there, in the middle, one was clearly visible with a pair of goofy rabbit ears on it... :)
posted by GJSchaller at 8:26 AM on July 16 [1 favorite has favorites]

Easy low-tech solution: walk through the lot from your car to one of the straight sides and count the number of steps, then turn towards the entrance (or another similar landmark that is not in the lot near where the "entrance" is) and count the number of those steps. If, for example, you walked straight away from the back of your car for 40 paces and then turned right and walked another 40 paces, upon leaving you start at the landmark of your choice, walk 40 paces, turn left and walk another 40 paces, and you should be back at your car. At this point, having an identifier like a piece of paper or reflective tape will help...but without a relative idea of where you're parked, you'll still be wandering around for a while trying to find your car.
posted by kro at 9:25 AM on July 16

Oh, and I always count steps instead of rows/columns because a. it's easier to count steps and b. with my luck, they always end up adding extra rows or columns and it messes up the counting anyways. Your steps won't change, though.
posted by kro at 9:27 AM on July 16

I have done this with a cheap Radio Shack portable strobe light. The thing runs for many many hours on one C cell and the strobe is bright enough to make the whole interior of the car flash brightly, especially if the interior is light colored.

In some states, it might be a bad idea to attract so much attention to the car, especially if it has a really nice stereo installed, or if the local bomb squad/antiterrorism unit is twitchy.
posted by zarq at 9:29 AM on July 16

I like the idea of something like glo sticks on the dashboard of the car. If you're going to a festival, tying something neat to the antenna is a good way of providing drunks an stoners something neat from your antenna. Glo sticks are cheap, so you can use lots in a distinctive patterns, and they aren't bright enough to show your stereo or any other theftworthy items in your car. Nor are they worth breaking into a car for themselves.
posted by Jilder at 9:59 AM on July 16 [1 favorite has favorites]

$5 compass-based car-finding keychain: C-Car.
posted by IndigoRain at 3:58 PM on July 16 [1 favorite has favorites]

Cheers, chaps -- I'll be finding me plenty o' glowsticks, plus an old tennis ball, and also counting rows as best I can. Thanks again!
posted by freston at 11:57 PM on July 16

In some states, it might be a bad idea to attract so much attention to the car, especially if it has a really nice stereo installed, or if the local bomb squad/antiterrorism unit is twitchy.

Good lord.... the US is just getting to the antsy anti-terrorist type stuff now, that the UK and Greece and many of the other countries were dealing with for 30 years now. And for the most part, being fairly sane about it. And stealing your radio? I assure you, any thieves in the parking lot will be thinking only about a couple of things: what can I grab quickly, and be able to run away quickly from? I really, really, really don't imagine a thief wandering into a concert parking lot and thinking - "hey, here's a completely normal, unlocked car with a lid of weed on the passenger seat, a cool GPS unit and a new, unopened Pepsi ready for the taking. But what's that mysterious, blinking antenna looking thing on that car way over there? Surely, it is completely safe and I should go try to figure out how to unhook their radio." And, "aww crap, we're in Illinois, a Well Known Safe State. Can't engage in burglary here. I'm going to Indiana, where the misdemeanor is a way of life!"

I was also going to suggest the landmark thing. But a caveat is that the landmark may not be visible at the end of the concert... If it was me, I would probably count rows. The pattern might be relatively random, but the length (or width) of a car is standard enough to get you close.

So, park the car and remember what it's pointing at relative to the venue itself. (Which side of the car is facing the venue?)

Two. Where is the car, relatively, in relation to the venue? Are you lined up with gate #4? Lined up with that big staircase? Pretty much in line with that weird arched gate thing that venues always have? Check. You might not be able to see the landmark once you get to the car, but if you can walk pretty much straight *away* from it, that's good enough. (Also, try to visualize these landmarks as what they might look like at night.)

Then, count car lengths (or widths) as you walk toward the venue.

Four, and this can't be solely relied upon, but worth it, are there any large, unusual cars near you? Did some guy drive his lime-green Dodge Sprinter from work? A rocking RV? A 1978 GMC Van-Dura with an eagle painted on its side? A Mini Cooper?(*)

(Or, if you have this kind of memory, remember a general path through the cars, by type of car. Green Lincoln, Maroon Stratus, Blue Cougar, Orange Challenger, etc)

Chances are fair to middlin' that there will be enough recognizable cars left for you to make your way near enough to your car.

(*) Watch out; people might try to pick up the Mini and move it just to confound your efforts.
posted by gjc at 9:04 AM on July 17