QOTD: Wheely Good Choices?
For an age, car manufacturers were stuck with trying to package an airbag into the centre hub of a steering wheel using technology that — compared to today’s kit — approximated that of what was found on Roman chariots. Most of us will remember the “lunchbox” airbags of the era, especially the enormous rectangular hub from Ford.
Bookending that timeframe, though, there were some nifty steering wheel designs. The acid-trip ’80s provided some good fodder, as does the creative packaging of today’s tillers. What’s your fave? Ours, perhaps predictably, comes from Subaru.
The pistol-shaped hub is just too-perfect, a relic of the time when nobody out-weirded Subaru. Combined with a manic interior and digital gauge cluster (sadly, not shown here) that allowed drivers to act out their deepest Top Gun fantasies, the XT’s cabin took a bit of explaining if your passenger didn’t share your love of odd Japanese design decisions.
Because he is a broken toy, your author also enjoys the upside-down boomerang wheel deployed in FoMoCo products in the mid- to late-80s. With cruise control buttons the size and shape of swizzle sticks, it was certainly better than the enormous thing that followed the brand throughout much of the 1990s.
There are more than a few good ones around today, thanks to advanced tech allowing for the impossibly well-packaged airbags installed in every vehicle. Most of the units in modern Mazdas are just dandy, for example.
What’s your wheely-good pick?
[Image: seller, Ford]
Matthew buys, sells, fixes, & races cars. As a human index of auto & auction knowledge, he is fond of making money and offering loud opinions.
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No mention of the famed Nissan Y31 Cedric/Gloria/Cima fixed-hub wheel? https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/00a0a_5FKPb3baUQT_1200x900-610x458.jpg And the version with the keypad for the cellular telephone is even more famous: https://autoweek.com/article/wait-theres-more/may-be-first-hands-free-automotive-cell-phone-dialing-system
I used to have an old Volvo 140 with an R-sport steering wheel. I'm pretty sure it was a Momo wheel with the horn button replaced by one with a Volvo label on it. Really nice, small diameter, comfortable. Even though it was small, it worked fine with the manual steering (not power steering) as long as you used 9 o'clock/3 o'clock and 12 o'clock/6 o'clock and the car was rolling ever so slightly (10 o'clock/2 o'clock wasn't enough leverage for a dead stop). I should have hung on to that steering wheel because it would have looked nice in my man cave!