Car controls

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Thu 18 Jul 2019 20:20
Car controls - johnnyrev
We seem to be moving more and more towards electric cars now, but what really struck me is that despite a new means of propulsion, all cars still have the conventional steering wheel and pedals.

Has nobody tried a joystick (I remember a Saab with a joystick on Top Gear many years ago?), or a PlayStation controller to appeal to the youngsters who aren’t so interested in driving?

There must be other ways, even better ways to control a car, especially electric cars. Why have no different methods of controls ever caught on? Even secondary controls like indicators and lights seem to be controlled in a similar way in most cars.

Is it just convenience? Or overly cautious manufacturers? Will we ever see anything really different in car interiors or controls?
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Thu 18 Jul 2019 20:31
Car controls - bathtub tom
Will we ever see anything really different in car interiors or controls?

Yes, EPBs. If ever there was a solution looking for a problem that must be it.

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Thu 18 Jul 2019 20:58
Car controls - Metropolis.
If you’re looking for something to replace the steering wheel, then you’re literally looking to reinvent the wheel ;)

Interesting topic though, and I have seen mobility adapted vehicles with a playstation style little joystick fitted near the drivers’ right elbow and somehow tilting that made the wheels go round. I suppose if you wanted to you could get those adaptations without having to be disabled!
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Thu 18 Jul 2019 21:25
Car controls - RT

Rolls-Royce experimented with joystick control but abandoned it - maybe in the modern era where kids use them all day, it may be more acceptable now.

Some modern aircraft use joystick control instead of a control column but in civil aircraft there are issues as pilot and co-pilot need to use opposite hands.

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Thu 18 Jul 2019 22:43
Car controls - FP

I remember the first "car" I had - a three-wheeler Messerschmitt "bubble" car - was steered by handlebars which felt more like steering a bike than driving a car. And the gears were selected by a push-pull lever on the right - push down to change up, pull up to change down - an extension of a pedal gear control on a motorbike. (The thing had a motorbike engine and transmission.) The pedals, however, were conventional.

Edited by FP on 18/07/2019 at 22:44

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Thu 18 Jul 2019 23:47
Car controls - bathtub tom

I remember the first "car" I had - a three-wheeler Messerschmitt "bubble" car - was steered by handlebars which felt more like steering a bike than driving a car. And the gears were selected by a push-pull lever on the right - push down to change up, pull up to change down - an extension of a pedal gear control on a motorbike. (The thing had a motorbike engine and transmission.) The pedals, however, were conventional.

Yup, I had the British equivalent, a Hunslet Scootacar. A horrific mimicry of the Messerschmidt, but a damn site drier and warmer than a motorbike. Birds in the '60s found it so much more appealing than a motorbike, found SWMBO as a result..

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Thu 18 Jul 2019 22:57
Car controls - alan1302

Rolls-Royce experimented with joystick control but abandoned it - maybe in the modern era where kids use them all day, it may be more acceptable now.

Some modern aircraft use joystick control instead of a control column but in civil aircraft there are issues as pilot and co-pilot need to use opposite hands.

99% of youngsters will never have used a joystick to play a game - all phones/touch screens and game pads now.

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Fri 19 Jul 2019 00:14
Car controls - RichT54

Rolls-Royce experimented with joystick control but abandoned it - maybe in the modern era where kids use them all day, it may be more acceptable now.

Some modern aircraft use joystick control instead of a control column but in civil aircraft there are issues as pilot and co-pilot need to use opposite hands.

99% of youngsters will never have used a joystick to play a game - all phones/touch screens and game pads now.

That reminds me, a few weeks ago I saw a guy in a neighbouring street using his phone to manoeuvre his Tesla on his drive. That could be useful if you have a garage that is too narrow to open the car doors to be able to get in or out.

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Fri 19 Jul 2019 10:21
Car controls - catsdad
was he using left thumb braking? :-)
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Thu 18 Jul 2019 22:50
Car controls - RichT54

I think there is likely to be more investment in self-driving cars rather that alternative methods for manual control.

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Thu 18 Jul 2019 23:41
Car controls - drd63
Bring back reins or string for steering like a go cart, that would make life interesting.
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Fri 19 Jul 2019 01:45
Car controls - Avant

"There must be other ways, even better ways to control a car, especially electric cars. Why have no different methods of controls ever caught on? Even secondary controls like indicators and lights seem to be controlled in a similar way in most cars."

It's a fair question, but alongside it one should also ask 'Is there something the new idea can achieve that the current one can't?' Maybe my imagination is limited, but for the life of me I can't see what a joystick or tiller can do that a steering wheel can't.

It's the failure to ask that question that leads to answers to non-existent problems, such as the EPB.

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