Fixed-hub Steering....

[Oxymoron]

Hi,
I see that on the new C4 there will be a feature whereby the steering wheel hub is fixed and just the outer rim rotates!...Leaving audio, ventilation controls etc, fixed in the centre.
Do you think this feature will appear on the next Berlingo?....and will it prove as popular as the 'Quartic' wheel on the 1970's Austin Allegro! :D :D
Cheerz. :blink:

[hertsnminds]

It's not so much how they change the controls but when and if they stop them physically connecting to things.

Accelerators are already fly by wire, as are sensodrive clutches. What if the steering was not connected to the wheels, just an input sensor for a computer! The C5 already knows if it is drifting out of a lane so in theory it could auto correct this with SensoSteer.

Maybe one day you will just take your Playstation controller and plug it into the dashboard, that way all cars will use the same controls and there will be less to impail your body in an accident.


Ian
Orange 03 Senso

[n_olympios]

The C4 also knows when you drift off the lane. :blink:

You can control virtually everything the car has from the steering hub, bar the climate control. When you get over the shock it's a very useful and safe feature, not just a gimmick. :D

[hertsnminds]

[quote]You can control virtually everything the car has[/quote]

That is the question, what do YOU control and what do you just swtich and the computer decides if it will allow the car to do that?

With multiplex wiring the car already decides which controls take priority over others. With traction control and the like the cars computers decide if it will go faster or brake when you press the accelerator.

With SensoDrive the cars computers decide when the clutch is in and out...

So, yes they can give you lots of buttons to press BUT how much do YOU control :blink:

Ian
Orange 03 Senso

[n_olympios]

I think there's something you're missing here. The controls on the steering are not/could not be hardware controlled. Things like the trip computer settings, sat nav, wind-screen wipers etc are software controlled anyway. The multiplex system just gathers these commands and passes them through a main CPU to minimise wire lengths in the car (miles are used in each car anyway).

Traction control and Sensodrive have nothing to do with the Multiplex system. What they do is basically the same in every car they are installed. Sure, their names are different, ESP, ASP, TCS, etc, but their function is the same. Sensodrive on the other hand has purely to do with the semi-auto gearbox (in fact, it IS it).

On the other hand, although I too do not agree with such systems "interfering" with the car, it's what (in most occasions) helps you stay on the road when normally you wouldn't stand a chance. There are ways to make these systems discrete and fully-functional, without stealing all the driving pleasure from the driver. Whether the manufacturers decide to do it or not, it's mostly a matter of marketing decisions. Unfortunately. :blink:

BTW, have you driven a VAG car with electronic accelerator? It's much worse than the C2-C3's. :D

[hertsnminds]

I appreciate that many of the soft functions do not have hardwire equivalents. I agree with you that any systems should enhance the cars safety whilst maximising driving pleasure.

The upside of multiplexing is less wire and in theory less to go wrong. The downside is the car is able to fewer things simultaneously and it relies more heavily on a single point of failure, the central control unit.

I have not driven a car with an electronic accelerator, but I have driven a car with cruise control that pulls the accelerator pedal away from your foot when it is engaged. This is a very strange feeling the first time it happens.

Ian
Orange 03 Senso

[n_olympios]

[quote name='hertsnminds' date='Nov 9 2004, 12:35 PM']
I have not driven a car with an electronic accelerator, but I have driven a car with cruise control that pulls the accelerator pedal away from your foot when it is engaged. This is a very strange feeling the first time it happens.
[/quote]
LOL, I can imagine... Even stranger than when you first drive a car with ABS brakes and feel the pedal vibrating. :blink: