i guess , such a car is surely to come in future
2007-06-12 19:34:17 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cars & Transportation ➔ Car Makes ➔ BMW
Many jurisdictions do NOT allow a car on the road unless the steering is directly connected to the wheels. I suppose you could have a tiller like the 1900 model cars used to - but the steering wheel gives you more precise control.
The fear is that if you use a "fly by wire" type system - i.e. a joystick and electric or hydraulic motors - there are a lot more parts to go wrong. A failure in anything, the wire connections, power, the part that read the control - suddenly you have a huge heavy piece of equipment going in a straight line or veering into oncoming traffic, with no way to control it other than brakes.
Even with today's power steering, if it fails, you can still control it enough to aim where you want - such as pulling over to the side of the road. The connection is made with big thick bolts and gears that don't easily break.
As for the engine - something's gotta make it move. Maybe you can have a floor of batteries and electric motors in the wheel hubs, so that there's no engine compartment to get in the way of how you want to design the interior layout...
In a few decades, maybe this could be combined with computer control, so that you have something like a Disney ride, where you get in, tell it where you want to go, and the computer does the rest. But, that's a long way off; we want to be able to trust the guidance and computer control to recognize simple obstacles. Humans can recognise debris in the road and steer around; or children who run in front of the car, and brake. Computers cannot yet do that. They can't even reliably drive the street unless it's specially marked with something like reflectors or a buried cable. (Reflectors - yeah - all traffic comes to a halt because the reflector post blew over...or it's raining too hard, or there's a light in the distance that looks like a reflection.
2007-06-13 06:25:50 · answer #1 · answered by Anon 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yeah but good luck getting it around.
You may have to push it and no idea how you are going to turn.
Why not just take wheels off too?
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No realy, you aren't going to be able to have a car with out an "Engine" because an engine is something that powers. We will have cars in the future with a different means of an engine, but they will still need to produce power. We will surely replace the gas engines we use now.
Steering can be done with out a wheel how ever. But you would need to use another type of control or something to that effect. Other wise you wouldn't be driving at all.
2007-06-13 02:44:14 · answer #2 · answered by Rinjaa 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There already is a car without a steering wheel, I believe it's a Mercedes concept car. It steers with a joystick. And they have cars without engines - they're electric, and run with batteries and an electric motor. (A motor and and engine are different.)
2007-06-13 02:43:48 · answer #3 · answered by TitoBob 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No that's the car of the past, the Flisntones foot powered mobile. ie you're the engine and steering. Also the breaks if you don't have a spare brontosaurus rib bone anchor.
2007-06-13 02:45:52 · answer #4 · answered by Mr None Applicable 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, why not. If you take a Hydrogen-Electric hybrid, there is no IC engine in it and a car with out steering is also possible, I have done a project and i used a joystick intead of Steering......
2007-06-13 02:42:53 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Um.... I have an 82 Subaru wagon with no engine or steering wheel. Makes it hard as hell to drive though :)
2007-06-13 08:02:48 · answer #6 · answered by sakotgrimes 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Shopping car....t in safeway you will see it, Not future, long time ago.
2007-06-14 04:22:56 · answer #7 · answered by Tyler Luu 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes in a junk yard
2007-06-13 02:38:56 · answer #8 · answered by Far Away ( Almost there) 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋
try toys R us.
2007-06-13 02:42:28 · answer #9 · answered by oldmanwitastick 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋