Mercedes announced the other day that it will debut a yoke – in lieu of a steering wheel – along with the the illusion that the driver is in control of the steering – in the next iteration of its EQS device.
The illusion part is the real part of what is called “steer by wire,” which the EQS device and other forthcoming Mercedes models will be equipped with, along with the yoke that doesn’t control it. The yoke is there for the same reason driving simulators have “controls” in that it is all part of the simulation. You move the controls and the simulation responds, but it is the computer that’s really in control.
More than that, really. It is whoever – or whatever – has control over the computer, as via “updates” that you have no control over, that controls the car.
They will market this control differently, of course.
The yoke will free up room! It will give you a better view of the instrument cluster! It will be easier to “steer” the vehicle (steering is so hard) because the system can translate very slight movements of the yoke into proportionately greater “steering” angles . . . And all of that is true. It’s the parts they’re not telling you about that are more . . . interesting.
First, that in a vehicle equipped with steer-by-wire, there is no physical connection between the driver – if you still want to call him that – and the wheels that steer the car. This is night-and-day different than the physical/mechanical connection between driver and steering (via the steering wheel) that has existed since the days of the Model T and even before that – when cars had a kind of tiller. Both till and steering wheel connected the driver’s hands to the wheels that steered the car via a direct mechanical link that was (later on) supplemented via hydraulic assistance; i.e., power steering, to make it easier to steer.
But the car only went in the direction the driver steered it – unless it was skidding and even then, he was still able to exert directional control directly via the steering wheel.
Steer-by-wire severs – eliminates – that connection. The yoke – sensors – sends data about the change in arc (i.e., how much the driver – if you want to use that word – moves the yoke around an imaginary circle) and that data is sent to the computer, which controls the electric motor(s) and actuators that cause the wheels to go left or right, the degree of that being decided by the computer according to the data it receives and interprets.
A sort-of hybrid iteration of this is already in use in most new vehicles.
There is still a mechanical steering column that physically connects the steering wheel (and so, the driver) to the front wheels – but the power assist is provided by electric motors rather than a hydraulic pump and these motors are used to “correct” the driver’s steering – by applying force to countersteer the car in the opposite direction. This is marketed as Lane Keep Assist “technology.” As if the driver – whom this “technology” is working to take control away from – were in fact being assisted.
Arguably, he is being conditioned to get used to not being fully in control of steering the vehicle.
Steer-by-wire being the inevitable evolution if this idea.
But what’s so bad about severing the connection – physically – between the steering wheel and the wheels that steer the vehicle?
Several things.
The first being that steer-by-wire is another expensive cheap-out. Meaning, it is another way for vehicle manufacturers to reduce their costs at our expense. It costs them less to make vehicles that are – as the saying goes – “plug and play.” Meaning, they can eliminate the parts and labor involved in putting a steering column and associated peripherals in a vehicle as it is being assembled. Instead, just plug a yoke into its fitting and it will transmit data to the computer, which will send signals to the electric motors that control the steering angle. The savings translate into increased profits for the manufacturer – at our expense.
Not just up-front, either.
Mechanical steering and hydraulic assistance are more repairable while drive-by-wire is more replaceable. The distinction is important. When electronic things fail, you generally can’t fix the failed component. It just stops working. .
This brings up another – related – important point. Mechanical steering is safer because it’s more failure proof. More finely, it is unlikely you will ever lose control over steering because the steering is mechanically connected to the steering wheel. You may lose steering assist – if the hydraulic system (i.e., the power steering pump/hoses) fail. But you will still be able to control the steering. It is possible the mechanical connection could break – i.e., that steering column could detach from the steering linkage – but this is hugely improbable.
What happens when steer by wire fritzes? What happens when it glitches?
What happens if someone or something else takes over the steering? A system controlled by a computer that is connected (capable of receiving instructions over the air) can be controlled externally via the same technology that enables a car’s engine to be shut off remotely and that can also be used to control a car’s throttle and so the car’s speed can also be used to control its steering when the latter is just another electronically controlled thing.
But – the good news – it’ll be easier to steer soon.
. . .
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Pass. I’m pretty sure I can’t drive without resting a hand at 12:00. What’s next? A damn joystick?
(And get off my lawn!)
“Blessed are the strong, for they shall possess the earth – Cursed are the weak, for they shall inherit the yoke!” – The Satanic Bible, Anton Szandor LeVey
Coincidence?
Yokes are for horses, mules, oxen … and pony girls. 😉
Now crawl on all fours and whinny.
Yokes, yet another bad idea “popularized” by Tesla.
As an analog car guy, I am slowly coming to the realization that I am in the vast minority as a consumer who doesn’t want such contrivances.
There are several Cybertruck owners on my street, I’ve chatted with them, and driven one. All of them told me that the steering by wire is one of their favorite features of the car, since you get such an incredible steering ratio and it varies with conditions, and it involves the rear wheels. The rear wheels turn opposite the fronts when the car thinks you need to turn tighter, and they turn with the front wheels on a lane change.
To me, such unpredictable behavior is terrifying, but to them it’s “awesome”.
If elected to Clowngress, I will introduce legislation requiring eight hours of track training for owners of drive-by-wire, variable-geometry vehicles … for saaaaaaafety.
Spend that dime, do the time.
I took an Uber the other day and the dude showed up in a Tesla. It was a perfectly comfortable car, but the lack of door handles freaked me out. I, too, am apparently too analog for the new hotness.
…and here I thought the doors automatically locking as soon as you put the car in “Drive” was creepy….
There will be no feedback from the road that you get with a mechanical steering wheel. I guess they can make the wheel vibrate like one of those gaming race car steering wheels. Another fake and gay “feature”. Just what we need!
Anyone who has ever played race car video games with one of those gaming steering wheels with force feedback know what it’s like to try to control a vehicle with a disconnected electronic controller. It’s absolutely not the same.
Very true, video game driving is NOTHING like real life driving.
I can see why electrically assisted steering would make sense: if you get rid of the power steering pump and hoses and place an electric motor on the rack and pinion, you can possibly reduce complexity and load on the engine.
But what Mercedes is doing doesn’t make sense: If any of the electrical or electronic equipment goes bad, or the car loses electrical power, you’re in serious trouble.
This is reason #6,789 why I’m through with German cars.
Currently troubleshooting electrical issues with 2012 BMW X5.
BMW is actively suppressing right to repair.
To get any basic info on wiring diagrams or to access their ISTA diagnostic software, you are forced into their subscription model to access information that used to be available via a printed service manual.
$32 /day
$270 / month
$2700 / year
34 modules in that car. New cars have even more.
I can barely wrap my mind around how impossible it will be to keep any “modern” car on the road long term.
Yet, they continually harp on environmentalism. It is not environmentally friendly to have to scrap vehicles after a 10 year service life.
Hi BID,
Yup. I had a conversation recently with my buddy, who is a professional mechanic and runs his own shop. He mentioned the cost of these “subscriptions” to diagnostic services – plus the equipment itself. He can’t justify the expense because he’ll never make enough repairing these vehicles to offset what it costs him to repair them. So he just stops handling certain makes… a list that is growing.
“Right to Repair” laws, which force these things to be disclosed, are one of the few actions of Uncle’s thuggery that I support, as a shadetree mechanic.
BID: “BMW is actively suppressing right to repair.”
BMW is possibly the worst brand for do-it-yourself, including costs. Also, pushed remote start as a “service”, i.e., continuing fee. Even vehicle capacities seem hidden.
And into absurdity, there is no dipstick for engine oil check.
Someone should tell aircraft pilots that yokes don’t work. And F1 drivers. Now steer by wire, dumb. Except in the 11,000 Airbus A320 and 1,700 777s that have it. That’s OK. But not in cars. We’ve done it with mechanical systems since Henry Ford and, damn it, that’s the way it will always have to be done.
One detects a subtle note of sarcasm in Wilbur’s piquant comment. But the cockpits of these A320s and 777s are studded with mechanical switches and knobs, even as auto designers take such controls away and put them behind Clownscreen menu layers.
I don’t want no four-wheeled cell phone, nor a yoke-controlled, fly-by-wire digital appliance that never leaves the ground. Sincerely, Orville
The 777 has a mechanical connection to a spoiler on each wing and the stabilizer trim system. This allows very basic control for level flight if there was a total “lights out” failure – allows time for the RAT (Ram Air Turbine) to deploy for power & getting the flight control electronics going again. The battery on board is only good for a few minutes.
777 also has a switch to kick the “computer” out of the flight control fly by wire system if the pilots decide HAL isn’t cooperating, after a Airbus flew into the trees at an air show. Uproar at Boeing as the Airbus incident was blamed on the controls computer deciding it was in landing mode. Later, found the pilot was really at fault for hitting the throttles too late. As far as I know that disconnect switch is still available for the 777 flight controls.
A few things to mention:
Pilot training and experience
Race car driver training and experience
Average low IQ NPC who can barely tie their shoes
You’re right, it’s completely the same.
WhistlinDiesel bought a helicopter and started in the shop with 20 foot ceilings, probably a 50 by 100 area, 5000 square feet of workspace.
The helicopter was started up inside the shop and at full rpm, the rotation was wicked, the helicopter flew into the ceiling then into the wall.
Not much left of the helicopter, the engine still ran though.
You won’t need a license to do that.
No pilot needed, let ‘er rip. Just stay out of the way.
All cars today require turning at least one revolution or more to make a hard turn.
And you let the car re-center itself with the wheel going through your fingers.
This can’t happen with a yoke. Is it going to knock your hands away?
Or will it be so tuned that a quarter turn goes full lock? That’s gonna be freaky.
Yes, it’s a very cool thing, letting the front wheels’ caster re-center the steering wheel after a turn, as it rotates under your fingers — as in my dad’s 1955 Buick Special, with about 5.5 turns lock-to-lock. It had an 18-inch steering wheel (big wheel for big hands), with a full 360-degree horn ring inside it. Exactly like this:
https://tinyurl.com/msws46kx
For such steering wheels, J C Whitney sold jeweled necker’s knobs. You put your right arm around your girlfriend, snuggled up next to you on the bench seat, and rotated that big wheel with your left as you motored sedately around the court house square, attracting covetous stares.
Car designers always envied aircraft designers. They proved it by putting big fins on late 1950s vehicles. Now they’re putting stupid, ugly yokes in vehicles. A circle has been considered the most perfect geometric form since the days of Pythagoras. Now douchescreen digital vulgarians want to take circles away from us too. How about a 0.45-inch round hole in their pointy heads?
Nice one: “douchescreen.”
There is no reason electronics steering will be inherently less safe than mechanical steering. If it has redundant motors, sensors, and processors, and a fail safe mode, like the controls in a nuclear power plant, it will be effective and predictable.
Mechanical steering is also vulnerable to catastrophic failures. Worn out tie rod ends falling off or breaking comes to mind. Or ball joints letting go or McPhereson struts breaking, or steering knuckles breaking. All of these things are rare but do happen.
Having said all that, this continues the trend of making cars ever more complex and expensive, making mobility a privilege of the rich and connected. Not merely in up front costs but making systems which cannot be repaired by inexpensive mechanical work but by obscenely expensive factory and dealer technicians. And factory parts.
It is a not so sneaky attack on freedom. Those of us who insist on driving older, real cars will be increasingly singled out for attack by the communists’ enforcers. The time to fight back was 30 years ago when they started sneaking this crap into cars. The second best time is right now. The worst is after the commies have won and your choices are submit or die.
Ernie, no offense, but the current E-assist still has tie rods, ball joints, struts etc… The front tires still have to turn and go up and down. Rack and pinon has been around a long time, and was a very good replacement for the old-school way, but it was remotely assisted by a hydraulic pump driven by the engine (very low loads). Now they are attaching electric motors to the rack and pinon.
I just looked up an example: honda civic old rack and pinion – $700. New one with electric motors = $2000.
Hi, Chris. No offense taken. But I am acutely aware of all that, my point was that the steer by wire is quite technically do-able but is still a bad idea for reasons not necessarily technical. Your Honda Civic example actually drives my point home. Making changes which add no useful utility or performance but add substantial cost is a terrible way to do things.
Maybe it’s an F1 car
Yokes came from aviation. Some unsuccessful aircraft had steering wheels, because it was thought that was the logical input device until the Wrights proved that wrong. Yokes (developed by Boeing and Ford) made sense because small inputs made huge changes, just what you don’t need when driving. Aircraft also have elaborate trim systems that allow pilots to adjust for crosswinds and changes in air pressure to insure a steady cruise. Normally there’s no need for that in cars either.
But yokes look high tech and modern, coming from aerospace, so automobile manufacturers (or marketeers), jealous of their permanent second place status, as far as cool goes at least, in the transportation sector steal ideas from aviation, even when not necessary.
This yoke is the 2020’s equivalent of tail fins.
When you build bicycles in your bicycle shop, you need handle bars so you can steer the two-wheeled contraption. The original yoke.
I’ve always wondered why Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is located near Dayton, Ohio.
Institutional largess. If the Pentagon decides that it’s still useful it stays. If someone brings up closing it because there’s no justification for it, the whole of the Ohio political apparatus will come down like Thor’s hammer on whatever pinhead accountant came up with the idea.
When you think about it, a new car is kind of like wearing a pager expecting nothing to happen, then it does. You’re being set up, you know how they lie all of the time.
They’re always pulling that stuff.
I doubt if Janis Joplin would want a new Mercedes.
If memories are all I have
I’d rather drive a truck
But it’s alright now
I learned my lesson well – Ricky Nelson, Garden Party
People should just not buy any of them no matter how much they lower the price and perhaps then manufacturers might clue in. Sadly people will buy them and after the warranty is over quickly discover that the parts are unavailable and they’ll just have to buy a new one.
As for that issue of control I’m wondering what the Canuckistan Governor would have done to the Truckers if he had technology like this to use.
For what it’s worth am I the only one out there expecting a false flag operation where connected cars are used to commit mayhem on the roads?
Hi Landru,
I think the narrative of only the rich will be able to use the roads is still the goal. I will never purchase these cars. The surveillance, technology, and the overall cheapness of the products being used is a line I refuse to cross. I will continue to purchase older, used cars until I am unable to do so.
These newer cars are death traps. I decline to participate.
It certainly appears that way RG. In the old days, used cars were cheap and the next owner could fix it. Not now, used cars, say around 10yrs old, with computer or e-device problems will cost more to fix than the car costs. The lower middle class and lower will not be able to drive. Maybe the plan?
Hi Chris,
I anticipate today’s cars/trucks will have the same useful life of a cell phone or a computer. Cheap and disposable. When Audi or Ford or GM no longer feel like updating the systems the car will no longer be operational and a new one must be purchased. Median auto prices are already hovering near $50k. Keep the pinions in debt. A win win for the banks, but a lose lose for the average Joe.
Hi RG,
You wrote, “Keep the pinions in debt.”
I think in this thread that should read “Keep the pinions racked with debt.”
There…I fixed it for ya’…
Amen, RG — new cars are death traps.
I recently rented a loaded 2024 Wagoneer to drive cross-country (mostly via I-40). I tried out its adaptive cruise control. It seemed to work very well. I crossed half of Arizona and most of New Mexico in moderate to light traffic by steering only — never once touched the brake or the gas pedals for hundreds of miles.
But it almost killed me once.
I was doing 75mph in the slow lane and noticed a very slow-moving car in my lane about a half mile ahead. And I mean really slow — 40mph tops. But I had plenty of room to ease into the passing lane, nobody to my left (yet), so as I casually drifted into the passing lane to overtake the slow-poke, suddenly the Computer crammed on the brakes. It thought (wrongly) that I was going to crash into the slow-poke — even though my Wagoneer’s trajectory was well clear of it. The Computer didn’t know or care about the parade of cars queueing behind me in the fast lane who were also overtaking the slow-poke — and I was about to get creamed by them. So I floored the gas pedal, and thankfully, the Computer granted me maximum acceleration, thus narrowly avoiding what would’ve been a spectacular multi-car pile-up.
These high-tech features lull you into a false sense of security. Had I been what Eric calls a “meat sack” not actively monitoring & driving that day, I likely would’ve been seriously injured or killed on that highway.
Hi Mr. Bill,
They “newer” systems got me on a Cadillac Escalade. Driving 60 mph and the electronic brake system failed. One never realizes how much you miss a physical emergency brake until you don’t have it. Until the auto manufacturers get back to the basics I have no interest in anything they sell.
Hi Raider Girl.
As you said: “I think the narrative of only the rich will be able to use the roads is still the goal.” People are dropping heavy objects off of bridges now onto cars; so what happens when the populace is not allowed to drive? FAFO is what will be happening and the more violent the response from GovCo the more FAFO will result.
Hi Landru,
FAFO is the appropriate response when one can critically think or for those who remember a time when life was different, but this will not occur to those who have been dumb downed and grew up during an era where “safety” was regurgitated and freedom was condemned as an act of selfishness.
March 2025 had a 9.6% increase in auto sales from March 2024, over 1.5 million vehicles were sold. The winner…the freaking Subaru! The official mascot of those who fear everything. 🤬
Suburooers are the worst drivers on planet earth, Stateside and here in safety land. I feel they need something driving for them as they appear to be unable make a decision and if they do it is usually late and wrong. Examples ;
Cannot merge
Never know what lane they need to be in or what lane to turn into
Have no clue in a fuckabout
Assume they have the right of way at all times
Can’t drive a sharp stick in a shit pile.
“When electronic things fail, you generally can’t fix the failed component. It just stops working.” – E. Peters
When it comes to electronic steering the Blue Screen of Death will no longer be just metaphorical.
Hi Mark. I remember hearing that the newer versions of Windows feature a sad emoji when the computer crashes, that should comfort you as your car hurtles over a cliff like “Toonces, the driving cat”.
Or, how about a screen that says “This car has performed an illegal operation and will shut down”!
I work at major two-way radio repair depot, so I resemble that remark. There’s still an electronics industry in the USA. Not like it used to be, nope. What’s repaired is dependent on complexity and cost. That’s naturally always been the case. When I first started at HP back in the 1990s we’d still fix test equipment down to the component level on some boards but not always. Sometimes it was just identify the subassembly and shotgun the board. It’s not really hard to understand, it’s per hour labor and material vs cost to manufacture. Automated PCB pick & place and soldering using highly integrated parts means even very high end electronics are really cheap to make compared to anything touched by a human. Even in a 3rd world country. Here we’re working on fairly expensive things, the radios you see used by public service, so if it costs an agency $500 to fix that’s cheaper than $2000 for a new one. Even small police departments might have hundreds of radios, big city departments could have thousands of radios in their infrastructure. Repairing things for them is very cost effective. I’m not in the offices, I don’t know if cars electronics are repaired and if not, why not. I got my start in the Corps working on radios and avionics, those were definitely either repaired by us or sent back to the supplier for more extensive repair or refurbish.
Here’s the new Blue Screen of Death, with a mocking twist:
https://tinyurl.com/2s6jff9s
THAT’S comedy