Copyright © Françoise Herrmann
Contrary to the term parking karma, the term carmageddon refers to apocalyptic, car-related events, whether the events concern mega-traffic jams, car wrecks, collisions or accidents. Originally, Carmageddon (with a capital letter) was a graphically violent, car racing video game, launched in 1997, censored in many countries, including the US.
Exported to the real world (RW), and more specifically to the summer of 2021, the term carmageddon was used in reference to shortages of car rentals in Europe (CNN - Buckley, 2021). Shortages essentially attributed to the preceding year of pandemic lockdowns, when many car rental companies simply sold their fleets (Kunesh, 2021). As a result, it was not only next to impossible to rent a car, in Europe, this summer, car rental prices also skyrocketed.
Below, an image of carmageddon rental lines at Palma de Mallorca Airport, in Spain, during the summer of 2021.
References
Buckley, J. (July 24, 2021). The 'carmageddon' engulfing Europe this summer. https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/europe-car-rental-carmageddon-cmd/index.html
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