http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWWYk...layer_embedded

50's Ford "wrist twist" technology never made it to production, but todays drive by wire technology just may bring these types of designs back in the light one day.

 

Are you kidding me?

If it didnt make it back then...why would it work today?

 

How much of todays crap you think they'd put up with back then?

THINK.

 

I grew up with 60's-vintage cars, and learned to drive on them. Back then, steering systems on American cars were almost exclusively the recirculating-ball type, with slow ratios and some free-play across the center of the wheel.....in other words, pure slop. On Ford products like in the video, that was made even more so by the notoriously soft Ford chassis/suspension systems that allowed even more sponginess (Chrysler products had firmer torsion bar/leaf suspensions). So, it is not surprising that Ford looked for a different way of steering.

Today, with comfortably-padded steering wheels, rack-and-pinion steering systems, radial tires, responsive chassis/suspensions, etc.... joysticks, IMO, are not needed, except, perhaps, for some handicapped people who can only drive with one arm...or hand. Even back in the 60's, though, that problem was addressed by having a big **** on the steering wheel that you grabbed and rotated it with. It took some getting used to, but worked.

 

LMAO!!! You would be surprised at just how many truckers STILL use this method to drive these big rigs down the road. I personally never liked it. Just could never get used to it.

 

The standard steering wheel will never be replaced. I'm very open minded but any other design doesn't make a bit of sense in comparison.

Think about an emergency maneuver situation. Do you think grabbing two small wheels such as these will keep you in control in a sudden maneuver? Or how about a joystick? No way. You need a FULL 360 degree wheel that you can grab any any point and with natural intuition that you don't need to think about. There's a reason all these concept steering controls never make it past the auto show floor.

 

Oh, I know it is still in use, to a limited extent. But on most cars, today's advanced power-steering systems, steering-wheel designs, and suspensions have generally made it less necessary, even for handicapped people. Truckers, as you note, may be a different case.

 

You are probably correct, but (partially) for different reasons....see the rest of my post below.


The REAL reason (and you have partially hit on it) that steer-by-wire systems have not gotten into production cars is the lawyers. Steer-by-wire systems pose a serious risk if they malfunction. If the engine stalls and/or conventional electric or hydraulic power-steering pump malfunctions, or a belt breaks, you still have SOME control over the vehicle, although the wheel may be quite difficult to move.
Not so with joysticks....you can't manuver a 3500-lb car around with nothing but a 3 or 4-inch piece of plastic and no electronics.

 

So very true with today's technology. Even trucks of today have benefitted from the advances in technology. I have found that alot of truckers who still use the ball on the steering wheel primarily do so out of convenience, not necessity. For example, here are pics of the interior of one of my trucks I drove awhile ago for a company.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/1969895-post13.html

Honestly that steering wheel, really, was no bigger than what we have in our own cars. There are others that are wayyy bigger, and more "traditional" in size, but you can still spin them around with just the tip of your finger. Just depends on the model and make of truck I was driving. The pics in my thread are from a Freightliner Century class.

 

That's a very good point as well. Only a traditional wheel can provide mechanical safety backups (physical gears, ect.) while these other concepts rely completely on wires and electronics that do nothing when power is lost.

So that's TWO major reasons why we will never see the wheel replaced (as long as humans drive automobiles).

 

A mechanical steering tiller, like on very early cars, might also work in an emergency, but they were phased out in favor of steering wheels because of increasing vehicle weight and because steering wheels were less awkward to use.

 

It's interesting, but I don't see this 'wrist-twist' thing being useful if you want to do anything precise at higher speeds.

 

Good lord yes, they could never replace the steering wheel. Why, that would be like removing the wire rigging from airplanes and having them fly by computer controlled electrically wired flight controls! Imagine the mayhem if one of those computers died in the middle of a Transpacific flight. Oh. Wait. This happens every day.

I'd like to have a car with motorcycle controls. Hands are far more sensitive than feet for judging throttle position and braking a car with two fingers would be awesome. Oh, wait, we don't have an cable operated throttles anymore do we? It's all done electronically with pre-programmed profiles for response....gee, what will they think of next? Something more intuitive than a circular wheel that is a remnant of engineering requiring leverage for complex mechanical systems? I can't wait for the day the hardware is completely isolated from direct input by a software controlled hardware abstraction layer. Oh, yeah, that would be every modern PC operating system out there, huh....

You guys are really funny!