I'll sit in my car for 5 to ten minutes after a hard, stressful day at work to decompress in silence before entering home, but that's mostly because I want to be joyous and loving to my boyfriend who's waiting for me instead of cranky, not because I enjoy car.

Do people really chill in their cars for an hour? That seems wild.

I mean if you think of a car as a personal privacy pod, many people don’t have those inside their homes. I remember seeing this a lot on our walks during covid. I think some people needed a private place for a phone call or just needed to get away from their family for an hour or so when there was literally nowhere else to go.

Hate cars all you want, but this is hardly indicative of car culture.

I see this a lot too. Based on where I live, I've assumed it's bc there are too many people living in the house and they need some peace and quiet and/or talk on the phone in private. It's common to see 6+ cars in front of 3 bedroom houses here, housing prices being what they are.

I can understand it.
There are hardly any places left outside your home where you can simply exist without spending money.

To be fair, my old Corolla is comfortable, with adjustable seats, climate control, and a sound system. It's a little mobile room that society requires I own, I might as well enjoy it. I'll spend 10 to 15 minutes sometimes after work just watching videos on my phone before / after going home.

My partner and and I will sometimes sit talking in their Prius for a long time after reaching a destination.

from people I've talked to who do that (and me) it's usually to get away from other people before going inside somewhere. like the husband who chills in his car to avoid the wife, or the son who doesn't wanna go in to deal with the dad yet.

the car is a portable bubble, an escape, your own little contained environment in which you can exercise some form of control. a mini home away from home for some.

Are we really THAT car centric now that it’s this normalized to be like “fuck my living room, fuck my TV, fuck my couch, I just wanna sit in my car all day?”

Yes ... that's the problem.

To be fair though, I imagine there's a lot of people just enjoying their own mobile private space away from others. But yea, this is the problem, we've dedicated so much of our city's space to cars and roads, that the car can be kinda all we have left. And then it's infectious. Sure it might be nice to hang out in your mobile space near a park or the beach ... but then there's a car park for all of the cars ... taking up space which could just be more park land or beach front.

My wife does this, and it drives me crazy. She'll come back from running an errand, then when she pulls in the driveway, her notifications will go off (because she's now connected to wifi). She will sit in the car... on her phone... for at least a half hour until I finally remind her that the dog is barking her head off while she sits in the driveway...

I'm the opposite. If I do have to drive, I want out of that damn thing ASAP. I find no pleasure sitting in a metal cage for no apparent reason.

I can’t say that I see this a lot but I can tell you why I and others I’ve spoken to do it. I’ll leave you to ponder and extrapolate reasons.

.

It’s quiet.

.

No other humans are talking to or at you.

.

Quiet = bliss.

I'll drive slower on my way home if there's a good song playing. Just sitting there seems weird. What's up with all the people recording themselves on video while sitting in their car?

I have never experienced this lol I've sat in my car for like 20 minutes when I had to eat lunch in the car before but that's about it.

I've never seen anyone just sit motionless in their car for an hour before though... Maybe that's a regional thing?

I see that a lot when I walk to the local park. People will be sitting in their cars just chillin, windows closed, and parked right next to a set of park benches on a nice, clear day.

I guess it's like sitting on your porch?

Seems bleek. 😞

I've caught my wife doing this on numerous occasions. The typical scenario is we'll meet after work someplace for dinner. I'm on my bike and she's driving. So we head home separately and she arrives first. But as I'm putting the bike away, I see a light turning on behind me and it's her climbing out of the car.

I've seen this also at fast food parking lots and it puzzles me even more. There's a guy just sitting there not eating or doing anything. Did he eat already? Was he not hungry and but his partner was so he's just waiting for them?

Last time I saw one of these guys as I was entering the restaurant. I ate my lunch and sat around for maybe 20 min because I prefer not to cycle again immediately after eating. Then I come out and the dude is still there, staring off into space.