For some reason no matter where I park and how far away I park I always return to find my car literally sandwich in between two cars

Strangely I never experienced this with the other vehicles I have owned

 

Same here, no matter how far I'm willing to walk to get to my destination from the farthest reaches of the parking lot.

 

Yup, I can park the wife's SUV in the boonies and its a grave yard when I return. But park the Jag anywhere and you'd think it was the day before Christmas at the mall!
On the other hand, sometimes I cruise the PL so see if other cars seeking the same isolation are having success and if they are I'll park somewhere a bit farther out.

 

What needs to be observed is the type of car that is parking next to you. Sometimes folks with good cars realize they feel safe parking next to your car. If the quality of the cars that park around you are junk then most likely they were resentful .

 

It is my observation that if the other cars parked safely then they are protection from those that do not.

 

 

It doesn't happen to me now as frequently as it has in the past. Maybe because I park just a bit FARTHER now? I don't mind walking an extra eighty feet if it lowers the possibility of some knob parking their 1997 Accord in the next space.
My wife says it's the "Herding Mentality" that makes people want to park next to another car.

 

You guys are not thinking it through properly.

It's the spirit of spitefulness--everyone knows what's on the driver's mind when they see a nice car parked in the back 40 of a parking lot all alone. There are always plenty of those willing to deprive that owner of the peace of mind he obviously craves by casually invading his car's "personal space".

I remember in my high school days it was no end of laughs for my buddies and I to find a Corvette parked diagonally across two spaces and leave him with only an inch or two between his nose and tail and our old beaters. I have since matured--mostly.

I admit that, if available, I'll choose the space on the end of a row, but I don't bother trying to get away from the herd. If I'm that fearful of inconsiderate door bangers, I'll drive my old Acura RL that I picked up to have transportation for more than two people.

 

I have seen a Lotus Elise park across multiple spots at a busy lunch time in a busy place. There were not other empty spots in the area. I did contemplate trying to squeeze in but the XK was too big. One of those moments a smart car would have been nice.(Well, two of them.)

Parking across multiple spaces like that is just asking for trouble.

 

I need to write a book on how to select a parking space, or at least a magazine article. There's a lot more to it than just parking far from the front door of the building. There's the slopes of the parking lot surface, the wind direction and speed, the angle of the spaces, width of the aisles, the nature of the location and how frequently the spaces turn over, etc. And now the tree-huggers have legislated that local parking lots have 40% tree canopy cover, oh the sacrilege! It was bad enough with the planter bed island at the end of every row and having to look out for sprinkler heads, but when these stupid trees are full grown, 40% of spaces will be off-limits. Don't get me wrong, I've planted lots of trees, they have their place but not in a parking lot. But the point I'm getting to here on my soapbox is considering all of the hazards, sometimes the safest space is up front.

Human behavior is hard to decipher but I don't experience this phenomena with my pickup truck or the XF. I did tho see it somewhat frequently with the XJ8 sedan and my other sports cars. I suspect what you are experiencing with your XKs is mere curiosity. Its a rare car and its exotic good looks garner attention. People figure they won't get a chance to look at another XK up close in the next five years (which they probably won't). If they parked away from it and walked over just to look at it, that might seem suspicious, but if they park their own car next to it, then they have an excuse to get an up-close look at it. Whatever you do, make sure its parked dead-center of the marked space. If you park over the line or right on the line in an obvious attempt to thwart people from parking next to you, then the self-appointed parking police will make sure to punish you by parking their old beater as close to you as possible.

Better yet tho, just get an XF to drive to the grocery store or the mall. Still a Jaguar, but nobody will pay any attention to it.

 

Too right! My ex-father-in-law went one Sunday morning to purchase a newspaper (this was some decades ago!) and found the car park empty apart from one car. He parked next to it and managed to hit it! Obviously, he wasn't driving a Jaguar ...

 

Lol. I must live in a backwoods area! (Well, my county is primarily 'blue collar').
I always try to park far out, and with one side protected. (Normally a island or curb.) But when I come out, there is always a beat up rusted POS pickup next to me! Arrrrggg!

 

Sorry but none of the above is the true reason - It's a Jag, everyone wants to get close to one!

 

Pdupler, when driving a manual transmission car I do take the slope into account.

Should there be an unexpected failure of the battery parking at the highest elevation and having a run downhill from an initial shove off can make a difference in the amount of grunt work required to do a roll start.

 

I think folks want to check out your XK but are to lazy to walk over to it...

 

Simple, inexpensive solution. Just keep 2 in your trunk.

 

It used to be that I would find nicest car and then carefully park next to it as I knew the other guy would not door-ding me the way soccer mom in a SUV would. Unfortunately, this strategy no longer works unless I happen to drive my SO car.

 

 

I was mainly thinking of the loose grocery baskets, but indeed, who needs a battery when you've got a clutch and downhill slope....

 

I have noted that when it is raining or really cold few cars surround me when parked at remote distances though.