One of the specific external manifestations of different car cultures is the difference in car habits, for example, the pickup trucks that Americans like are not so popular in China. When it comes to driving modes, there will be a lot of differences. For example Chinese like to straighten the steering wheel after parking, while Americans like to tilt it. Why? Let's take a look at what people familiar with this have to say, which says: The reason is not simple!
The first thing to understand is that if you simply compare which of the above two parking methods is better for the car, then it is definitely the operation method of correcting the steering wheel that will win. Because this is not only conducive to the vehicle's steering system in a relatively ideal state for a long time, but also beneficial to the vehicle's suspension system, which is not difficult to understand. After all, if the steering wheel is correct when parking, the front wheelset of the vehicle will be consistent with the front pointing position, so that the suspension part of the four wheels of the vehicle is more balanced than the steering wheel distortion, which is the main reason why most Chinese car drivers like to completely correct the steering wheel when parking.
So why do Americans like to skew the steering wheel when parking, and aren't they afraid of hurting cars? This is related to the car environment in the United States. In the United States, the car user population is not mainly concentrated in urban areas as in China, and car ownership remains at a very high level in the suburbs and surrounding townships and villages. Even in the United States, many of the middle class, which is the main consumer force, do not settle in the city, but choose to buy a house in the suburbs with a better environment. Therefore, for many American car owners, the parking environment is not as flat and horizontal paved as in our country, and many situations are parked on the ramp. Therefore, if you play the steering wheel crookedly, you can better park with the handbrake and P gear and other devices, even if the vehicle slips on the ramp, the vehicle will not accelerate "one slip to the end" due to the crooked steering wheel, resulting in very serious accident consequences.
The above is the main reason why people familiar with the matter have concluded that Chinese like to completely correct the steering wheel when parking, while Americans like to tilt the steering wheel. In short, U.S. car owners will do this mainly to complete parking on the ramp better and safer.