Is backing in more of a guys’ thing?

Life with the automobile is full of fascinating questions. It's often the boring ones, however, that inspire the most debate.

How do you properly refold a map? How do you wash your car in a coin-operated bay and still have change left over for a mortgage payment (we're still working on that one)? How do you eat -- and not wear -- a sloppy burger while behind the wheel?

Reader Gail N. from LaGrange Park, Ill., poses a question that I -- and no doubt millions of other women -- have wanted to find the answer to since the wheel was invented: Why must men back into their parking spots?

"It doesn't matter if it is the garage, the driveway or a parking spot at the mall, my husband insists he has to back in," Gail writes.

"Then I started to notice it was not just my husband but a neighbor down the street as well as our daughter's boyfriend who backs in when they park. As I began to notice this more and more I saw that it seemed to me it was just men who do this. And it is everywhere.

"So why do men have to back in when they park?"

Well, Gail, it might have to do with a lack of directional skills.

My theory is this: When a guy backs into the garage, it's actually because he can't find his way home. So, instead of stopping and asking for directions to his house, he drives around the neighborhood for a while, trying to recall his street, the number of his house, the color of his dog and the style of his siding (or vice versa). This is also why it seems to take him two hours to buy milk and bread. Once he stumbles upon his abode, which he doesn't realize until he is well past the driveway, he doesn't want to look like an idiot. So, rather than backing up and driving in front first, he makes it appear as though he intentionally overshot his target, just so he could back in. And it's a good thing, too, because in the morning when it's time for work, he's aiming right at the road, which he might otherwise not he able to find unless it was staring him in the face.

But, this is just a theory. (C'mon guys, I'm kidding.)

However, Cory, an admitted backer-inner guy, says that's just not the case. He quips that if he "accidentally" drives by his house, he's really contemplating leaving the family and the dog behind and never coming back.

"Some days it's a 50/50 tossup."

Luckily, he said it with a smile on his face, although, for the record, Cory said he would never ask for directions if he forgot where he lived.

"I'm usually in a bigger rush to leave than I am to get somewhere," he says. "Like when I'm leaving for work in the morning, I'm in a hurry and it's just faster to drive out than back out."

Good grief, Cory, does that extra five seconds count for lot in the run of a day?

I'm not buyin' it.

So, one guy says he likes a quick getaway (sounds like a few other guys I know, actually), but Bryan, another guy I caught backing into a spot at the mall, has a different reason for his parking etiquette.

"It's easier to find my car on the lot."

"Most of the cars are parked with the rear bumper facing out, so my car stands out when I back in."

I guess that's in case the color and make and model of the vehicle don't give away where you are? At least Bryan admits that it's entirely possible to otherwise lose a perfectly good vehicle in a parking lot.

That guy you see pacing the sidewalk at closing time? Waiting for everyone else to drive away so that he can find his car? It's not my man Bryan.

I think I speak for Gail and many other women when I say we still don't get it.

Why do you "back-in guys" have to make things more difficult (yes backing into that little spot takes longer that backing out onto a giant road)? Is it the thrill of the challenge, the need to show dominance over your machine, or is it to get under the skin of other drivers stopped right behind you in the middle of the road as you back into your driveway?

After jotting down the notes, I ran into a bored looking Richard and his girlfriend.

"The more time it takes you to park, the less time you have to shop."

Hey, Gail, I think I found the answer.

If anyone else wants to come forward and share the back-in secret, your wives, girlfriends, mothers, sisters (and an inquiring columnist) would love to read your answer.

Rhonda Wheeler is a journalist with Wheelbase Media, a worldwide supplier of automotive news, features and reviews. You can email her by logging on to www.wheelbasemedia.com and clicking the contact link.