"Se Usará Grúa"
 

I saw the above posted in "no parking" zones everywhere. I assume it conveys the message that violators will be towed, but I am having trouble understanding why "Grúa" which I understand to mean "crane" and which seems to me to be more appropriate for referring to a type of construction machinery.

Is the word also routinely used to mean "towtruck" or have I completely missed the point?

You are quite right. It is used routinely for that here in Tenerife, and they do in fact look like a crane fitted on to the back of the lorry.

They also use the word pala = spade or shovel for a JCB which should be excavadora. I suppose they only look at the bit that matters. :lol:

Edit: It is illegal to tow a vehicle in Spain, so I guess that the first gruas were indeed cranes to lift cars onto the lorry.

Aquí en Valencia también.

Pero eso no aquí.

@twballard: You're right. The message means cars parked at those areas will be towed.

"Grúa" is a crane and also the truck equipped with a crane to lift and tow cars. New towtrucks don't have an obvious crane, but they're called so as an extension of the original name for those vehicles.