The steering wheel that never was
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Suzuka Master
Joined: Feb 2007
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From: Oreland, Pa
The steering wheel that never was
Styling trends come and go, but if there's one thing that has remained relatively unchanged in the past 105 years of personal motoring: the steering wheel.
Although plastics have replaced iron and wood and airbags (1970s) and radio controls (1990s) have been added, the basic design remains the same: a circular ring with spokes connected to a central hub.
Some cars had horns in a ring circling the hub (Mercedes-Benz 300SL), others had oblong steering wheels (Austin Allegro) and a few had only one spoke (Citroen DS). At the end of the day though, they all had some sort of steering wheel... except this car.
At Mercury, engineer Bob Rumm produced this one-off 1965 Mercury Park Lane convertible with so-called "wrist-twist" steering controls. The standard steering wheel has been replaced by two 5-inch, wrist-operated dials, that the promo claims frees up knee room, improves visibility and makes parking easier. Now take a moment to consider why Mr. Rumm is an "ex-"missile engineer at the height of the Cold War.
[HTML]The promo also cheerfully informs us that the wrist-twist can be used by, "a driver who promises to be about as non-technical as they come," by which they mean a woman. Carscoop is reliably informed they can vote now [...].
I suppose we should be thankful that a lot of these concepts, including the wrist-twist, never left Ford's Dearborn proving grounds.
It's the sort of thing that could only have been made in the 1960s, the decade that gave us the laser, manned spaceflight and Astroturf. Like everything else, cars were becoming more futuristic, and by futuristic we mean daft. And by daft we mean Modern Mechanix of the 1930s daft.
It's also the sort of thing the Ford Motor Company was coming up at the time. Just for fun, type 'Ford Nucleon' into Google, and see what other disastrous innovations motorists of the 1960s were spared.
Although plastics have replaced iron and wood and airbags (1970s) and radio controls (1990s) have been added, the basic design remains the same: a circular ring with spokes connected to a central hub.
Some cars had horns in a ring circling the hub (Mercedes-Benz 300SL), others had oblong steering wheels (Austin Allegro) and a few had only one spoke (Citroen DS). At the end of the day though, they all had some sort of steering wheel... except this car.
At Mercury, engineer Bob Rumm produced this one-off 1965 Mercury Park Lane convertible with so-called "wrist-twist" steering controls. The standard steering wheel has been replaced by two 5-inch, wrist-operated dials, that the promo claims frees up knee room, improves visibility and makes parking easier. Now take a moment to consider why Mr. Rumm is an "ex-"missile engineer at the height of the Cold War.
[HTML]The promo also cheerfully informs us that the wrist-twist can be used by, "a driver who promises to be about as non-technical as they come," by which they mean a woman. Carscoop is reliably informed they can vote now [...].
I suppose we should be thankful that a lot of these concepts, including the wrist-twist, never left Ford's Dearborn proving grounds.
It's the sort of thing that could only have been made in the 1960s, the decade that gave us the laser, manned spaceflight and Astroturf. Like everything else, cars were becoming more futuristic, and by futuristic we mean daft. And by daft we mean Modern Mechanix of the 1930s daft.
It's also the sort of thing the Ford Motor Company was coming up at the time. Just for fun, type 'Ford Nucleon' into Google, and see what other disastrous innovations motorists of the 1960s were spared.
http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2010/10/what-were-they-thinking-mercurys-wrist.html
I Skydive, Therefore I Am
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 781
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From: At your right shoulder, no your left!
I had the power steering belt on my 1970 Impala break once. It was all I could do to steer the thing with a giant steering wheel to provide leverage. I would have been screwed with that type of system.
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 2,340
Likes: 249
From: Tucson Az
It hurts to look at the thumb holes, "Steve lost both his thumbs due to a freak pot hole".
I remember as a kid being excited about a saab concept that I saw on Beyond 2000. It was a joystick operated 9000 that used drive by wire. I'm waiting saab.
I like the OH GOD IT'S OUT OF CONTROL Stop everything button.
I remember as a kid being excited about a saab concept that I saw on Beyond 2000. It was a joystick operated 9000 that used drive by wire. I'm waiting saab.
I like the OH GOD IT'S OUT OF CONTROL Stop everything button.
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Can't blame em for trying. That joystick seems really cool though. It also seems like a joystick would be something that could be easily adjustable for preference (resistance or "feel") or for accessibility (less resistance for elderly or "non-technical" drivers 
)
Still, I think the great thing about a steering wheel is how intuitive it is. The problem with introducing something as simple as a joystick for steering would be that while many people would probably have no problems getting used to it, there would be many people who could never get used to it. Going off of that, even if many people could use it just fine, how many people would actually give up a steering wheel for a joystick?
I'd love more options and I doubt any manufacturer would make a joystick or some other non-wheel device as the only choice. But how many would go for it? If anything though I think Saab would be a great mfg to market this sort of thing, with their previous experience in aircraft and all.
)Still, I think the great thing about a steering wheel is how intuitive it is. The problem with introducing something as simple as a joystick for steering would be that while many people would probably have no problems getting used to it, there would be many people who could never get used to it. Going off of that, even if many people could use it just fine, how many people would actually give up a steering wheel for a joystick?
I'd love more options and I doubt any manufacturer would make a joystick or some other non-wheel device as the only choice. But how many would go for it? If anything though I think Saab would be a great mfg to market this sort of thing, with their previous experience in aircraft and all.
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It hurts to look at the thumb holes, "Steve lost both his thumbs due to a freak pot hole".
I remember as a kid being excited about a saab concept that I saw on Beyond 2000. It was a joystick operated 9000 that used drive by wire. I'm waiting saab.
I like the OH GOD IT'S OUT OF CONTROL Stop everything button.
I remember as a kid being excited about a saab concept that I saw on Beyond 2000. It was a joystick operated 9000 that used drive by wire. I'm waiting saab.
I like the OH GOD IT'S OUT OF CONTROL Stop everything button.
Your Friendly Canadian
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 17,447
Likes: 1,506
From: Toronto, Ontario
I actually really like that wrist design thing. Great for regular city driving, I think. Hand over hand turning would be much easier, since you dont even need to move your arms.
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