Quick Shifts: Parking Spaces vs. Trash Bins In The Big Apple

Each week I bring you the top stories in the auto industry along with my commentary or sometimes amusing thoughts about the craziness that goes on in the world of cars.

Stories you’ll find today:

• The Rats Are Winning the Urban Planning Debate
• Now With Optional Second Amendment Storage
• Please Take Your Trash With You
• The Vatican's Weirdest Fleet Expansion

The Rats Are Winning the Urban Planning Debate. New York City is moving ahead with a plan to replace thousands of curbside parking spaces with large garbage containers as part of its effort to get trash bags off sidewalks and reduce the city's rat problem. City officials estimate nearly 30,000 parking spaces could eventually disappear to make room for the new "Empire Bins," arguing it's a worthwhile tradeoff for cleaner streets and fewer rodents. Drivers, unsurprisingly, aren't thrilled, especially in neighborhoods where parking is already treated like an Olympic event. Supporters point to cleaner sidewalks and improved sanitation, while critics see one more reason to circle the block for another 20 minutes looking for a place to park. The takeaway is simple: New York has officially decided that garbage deserves a guaranteed parking space before your car does. Somewhere, a rat is celebrating while a driver is still looking for an opening.

Now With Optional Second Amendment Storage. Ford is now offering Expedition buyers an optional locking center-console vault designed to keep valuables secure while they're away from the vehicle. The heavy-duty steel insert is built by Console Vault, an official Ford-licensed partner, and fits neatly inside the SUV's center console. While Ford describes it as secure storage for valuables, the manufacturer behind the vault openly markets similar products as a way to secure firearms in vehicles. The accessory uses a combination lock and is available through Ford as a factory-approved accessory for the Expedition. Whether owners use it for a handgun, cash, passports, or other valuables is entirely up to them. The takeaway is simple: whether you love it or hate it, secure storage beats leaving valuables in plain sight. And if nothing else, maybe having to remember a four-digit combination will give someone just enough time to rethink doing something they'll regret.

Please Take Your Trash With You. Waymo's biggest challenge may not be teaching cars to drive—it's teaching people to act like adults. As robotaxis become more common, riders are reportedly leaving behind trash, empty alcohol containers, dog messes, and even falling asleep at the end of their trips, forcing remote operators to call 911 when they can't wake passengers. Some customers have forgotten to close the doors when they get out, while others have treated the vehicles like rolling living rooms instead of shared transportation. Waymo says interior cameras help identify riders responsible for the messes, and the company can charge cleaning fees that start around $50 and increase for repeat offenders. The takeaway is simple: technology can solve a lot of problems, but it still hasn't figured out how to fix bad manners. Because apparently the hardest part of operating a driverless taxi isn't teaching the car to drive—it's teaching the passengers not to live like raccoons.

The Vatican's Weirdest Fleet Expansion. Jalopnik found a way to connect a serious church dispute to the automotive world, and somehow it works. After the Vatican formally declared the Society of St. Pius X in schism following its unauthorized consecration of bishops, the article jokingly imagines what would happen if the split eventually produced an antipope. The obvious question, at least in Jalopnik's world, is: if the Pope has a Popemobile, wouldn't an antipope need one, too? The article then playfully debates which automaker would be willing—or crazy enough—to build an "Antipopemobile," eventually settling on some decidedly unconventional possibilities. The takeaway is simple: only car enthusiasts could look at one of the biggest developments in the Catholic Church in decades and immediately start debating who gets the vehicle contract. Because somewhere, there's probably already a designer wondering if the Antipopemobile should come with optional armored cupholders.