"She literally dials her way in to this tight spot"
June 8, 2017 7:07 AM   Subscribe

In 1965, there were some strange cars puttering along the track at Ford's Dearborn, MI, proving grounds. Among them were some that flirted with removing the automobile's time-tested fifth wheel and replacing it with two more smaller ones. This is wrist-twist driving.
posted by Etrigan (31 comments total) 8 users marked this as a favorite
 
Imagine what happens when you try to slap a bug.
posted by Annika Cicada at 7:21 AM on June 8, 2017


So it's basically a pair of suicide knobs? I like that they left the giant spear poised to thrust into the driver's heart in an accident.
posted by Nelson at 7:54 AM on June 8, 2017


I remember reading about this in elementary school, maybe in something from Scholastic Books? Wherever it was, even as a little kid I thought this was a dumb idea.
posted by easily confused at 8:16 AM on June 8, 2017


I think it looks pretty neat. I bet it's fun to drive.
posted by so fucking future at 8:39 AM on June 8, 2017 [1 favorite]


So it's basically a pair of suicide knobs?

No I think it's two tiny steering wheels, one in each hand.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 8:41 AM on June 8, 2017 [3 favorites]


At least it would force drivers to keep both hands on the wheel. Which is probably why it never made it into production.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:52 AM on June 8, 2017


It states that you can operate them with either or both hands, so maybe not.

It massively removes the fine level of control you get from a larger wheel, though. Which is probably why it worked as a prototype on an old barge like that (that has no fine level of response, so no biggie). In a modern car it'd be horrendous unless it was 8 turns lock to lock or something, in which case MAXIMUM WRIST STRAIN CAPTAIN.
posted by Brockles at 9:03 AM on June 8, 2017


The Spinner in Blade Runner used wrist-twist steering... sort of. The non-driving interior set had twist-wrist installed, which you can see when Gaff is flying it. The actual drivable cars were also initially delivered with (notionally) functional twist-wrist steering in them but they didn't work quite right so right before filming started they replaced it with a normal steering wheel. Can't recall offhand whether any shots of that end up in the film.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:06 AM on June 8, 2017 [3 favorites]


MetaFilter: as gingerly as a nudist in a cactus patch.
posted by Splunge at 9:28 AM on June 8, 2017 [6 favorites]


At least it would force drivers to keep both hands on the wheel. Which is probably why it never made it into production.

I'm trying to think why a system that demands both hands on the wheel would be a good thing. The linkage and video show that this wasn't the case, anyhow.

I'm guessing the simple answer why it never went into production is that it was a complicated and weird solution to a problem that nobody really had.
posted by 2N2222 at 9:35 AM on June 8, 2017 [2 favorites]


What strikes me as awkward about the wrist-twist steering is that accepting the use of the device begs the question of why it's put where the steering wheel used to be. Why not let the driver steer with hands as their sides? By 1960s safety standards, it's a win-win, because the console is freed up for better visibility and the driver can't get polearmed by their own car in a head-on collision.
posted by ardgedee at 9:58 AM on June 8, 2017 [2 favorites]


At least it would force drivers to keep both hands on the wheel.

But then how would you change gear on a bend?
posted by Dysk at 10:39 AM on June 8, 2017 [1 favorite]


Probably the steering wheel the Batmobile should have had.
posted by lagomorphius at 10:44 AM on June 8, 2017


Hopefully the fact that the pictured one still has a chest-impaling steering column is just because it's a prototype and production versions wouldn't have the main column extending into the cabin.

Of course, Ford is the same company that rather than moving to collapsible columns went with the collapsible spoke "Lifeguard Steering Wheel" which was actually deadlier than a normal one since the force through the column ended up concentrated on the much smaller area of the hub rather than the steering wheel.
posted by ckape at 12:20 PM on June 8, 2017


At least it would force drivers to keep both hands on the wheel.

By the way, I have read that keeping your hands at the ol' 10 and 2 position will result in two broken wrists, if the airbag deploys. Anyone know if that is true, and if so, where should I grip the wheel in order to minimize wrist-breaking chances?
posted by thelonius at 12:23 PM on June 8, 2017


By the way, I have read that keeping your hands at the ol' 10 and 2 position will result in two broken wrists, if the airbag deploys. Anyone know if that is true, and if so, where should I grip the wheel in order to minimize wrist-breaking chances?

It's 9 and 3 now.
posted by Etrigan at 12:25 PM on June 8, 2017 [4 favorites]


thelonius --- my car was totaled last September; damn fool T-boned me, broke the radiator and front axel, twisted the frame, and yes the airbags blew open.... (totaled her car too, I'm happy to say.) Fourteen years driving that car, and that's the only time I ever even saw those airbags. I was taught 10-and-2, but have always tended to drive with my hands at 9-and-3: I can verify that doing so meant I had no broken wrists or fingers or thumbs, no hand/arm damage at all. So yeah: drive with your hands at 9-and-3. It keeps 'em out of the way.

(And hell yes: wear your seatbelt, there's a lot of idiots out there.)
posted by easily confused at 12:42 PM on June 8, 2017 [2 favorites]


(And hell yes: wear your seatbelt, there's a lot of idiots out there.)

Related: Anyone not wearing a seat belt is, by definition, an idiot.
posted by Brockles at 12:49 PM on June 8, 2017 [2 favorites]


The general idea survived with riding mowers, and seems to work ok. At least based on the number of people in my town who do tight circles in their yards with the greatest of ease. Always wondered how it would fare with something more roadworthy and faster than 20 mph.
posted by honestcoyote at 1:48 PM on June 8, 2017


I don't think that's the general idea at all?

My impression is that it's 2 small linked power steering wheels, that you can turn with the strength of your wrist instead of rotating a big steering wheel with your arm.
posted by RustyBrooks at 2:03 PM on June 8, 2017


My mother once explained to me that a lot of the biases about "women drivers" got started because power steering hadn't been invented yet. It used to take a lot of upper body strength to haul the wheel around, particularly at low speed. You'll notice that the video mentions steering while parking as a particular problem for women.
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 2:04 PM on June 8, 2017 [4 favorites]


Having had my power steering go out while making a sharp turn onto a freeway entrance, I can confirm that it definitely requires some hauling if you are trying to turn fast.
posted by tavella at 2:10 PM on June 8, 2017


I dunno about that: I started in cars built pre-power steering, it was the norm back then. Yeah, they took a bit of labor, but not that much physical strength, and I was a pretty smallish and scrawny female teen. The first time I drove cars with power steering felt like the lightest, barest touch on the wheel made huge effect.
posted by easily confused at 2:28 PM on June 8, 2017


Oh, I'm female and could do it, but it was definitely a different dynamic.
posted by tavella at 2:31 PM on June 8, 2017


I dunno about that: I started in cars built pre-power steering, it was the norm back then. Yeah, they took a bit of labor, but not that much physical strength

We have been through this discussion before. A power assisted steering set up is not at all 'the same car I had before just with some motor/pump helping me'. There is zero correlation between the steering weight of a non-power assisted car and that of an assisted (but non-functioning) steering system. The steering weight is *vastly* different between the two. A lot of compromise goes into the suspension geometry to make manual steering effort manageable. With power assistance you can remove those compromises and have that advantageous geometry, but it makes it extremely difficult to turn if the power-assist fails, plus you also have to push the non-functioning assist system around too.
posted by Brockles at 2:45 PM on June 8, 2017 [4 favorites]


The general idea survived with riding mowers, and seems to work ok.

That is completely different. That's just skid steer by differential braking. The system in the OP is two smaller, geared wheels instead of one big one.
posted by Brockles at 2:48 PM on June 8, 2017 [1 favorite]


I learned to drive a real car subsequent to years spent playing video games in arcades and later on home gaming systems. Pole Position and Outrun represented most of my experience using pedals and a wheel to control movement, and because I wasn't as familiar with that type of control interface, my general lack of success at those games led me to cut losses early and play other things.

When I finally got around to driver's training, practicing moving a physical piece of machinery around in the real world really made me long for a joystick or control pad, so wrist-twist doesn't seem as far-fetched or impractical to me.
posted by Graygorey at 9:43 PM on June 8, 2017


The general idea survived with riding mowers, and seems to work ok.

We had an old swather that turned by differential pedal steering on the two drive wheels and a steering wheel for the outrigger. It sounds crazy but in practice you could swing it around in an arc no wider than the header and even "walk" it sideways by alternating direction on the two drive wheels.
posted by nathan_teske at 7:06 AM on June 9, 2017


"Occasionally, during violent full-lock maneuvers, I ran out of power boost."

That happened to me during a speedrun once, but I just rebooted the console and started over.
posted by blue_beetle at 7:08 AM on June 9, 2017 [1 favorite]


With power assistance you can remove those compromises and have that advantageous geometry, but it makes it extremely difficult to turn if the power-assist fails, plus you also have to push the non-functioning assist system around too.

I once had my power steering go out an hour into the outbound portion of a six-hour-total roundtrip drive I was on to pick someone up to bring home. Even though the majority of the drive included no more steering than what was needed for the sweeping curves of the interstate, judging by next-day soreness it was *easily* the best pectoral workout I'd ever gotten in my life.
posted by solotoro at 8:22 AM on June 9, 2017


My beloved old 1973 Triumph 2500S used to have a low and exposed power steering pump - low on the engine and at the front. When the belt was worn and I was driving... spiritedly on some back roads, whenever I went through a puddle it would splash up and cause the belt to slip, resulting in a somewhat solid steering (especially compared to the usual over-assisted steering) which was a touch unnerving and didn't help with driving line.

Vroooom, brake, turn...... *splash* "GGnnnnnnhhhhh!" (veins standing out while holding wheel hard through the rest of the turn till the belt dried out) "I REALLY have to replace that BLOODY belt". Then it'd stop raining, the problem would go away and I'd forget/procrastinate/ignore until it rained again. It made sure you were awake, that's for sure.
posted by Brockles at 10:10 AM on June 9, 2017


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