re dumbest automotive concepts of all time in c hi b c constellation ecn uoknor edu callison uokmax ecn uoknor edu james p callison writes in article apr slcs slb com dcd se houston geoquest slb com dan day writes in article apr acs ucalgary ca parr acs ucalgary ca charles parr writes as a long time motorcyclist i have never understood what posessed auto builders to put delicate controls which must be used with skill and finesse like clutches and brakes on the floor why not hand control it s much much easier in the early days neither of these functions had power assist so only legs had enough strength to activate them since then it s been traditional and people would have a hard time getting used to anything else well where exactly would you put a hand clutch and brake on a motorcycle it s easy the handlebars have a very limited range of turning steering wheels on the other hand turn around and around and around which is fine for electrical relays like your cruise control and airbag but how many of you want to lose your clutch and or brake due to a short circuit shades of the edsel they had pushbuttons in the steering wheel hub that controlled the auto tranny it was very disconcerting to shift into reverse when turning a corner and the wires shorted there are workarounds but there s really no reason to use hand power on a car s clutch or brakes and lightening them to the point that they are finesse controls suitable for hand use would increse the mechanical complexity substantially look at power brakes and non power brakes for an example i saw an experimental car that had a joystick instead of a steering wheel that s about useless imho another automotive oddity is separate keys for trunks doors and ignitions why on earth would you want this i know i don t i want a separate trunk key for security reasons it gives me a totally separate lockable container for door and ignition ehhh the same key s ok i guess james james p callison microcomputer coordinator u of oklahoma law center callison uokmax ecn uoknor edu callison aardvark ucs uoknor edu disclaimer i m not an engineer but i play one at work the forecast calls for thunder t bird sc it s a hell of a thing killing a man you take away all he has and all he s ever gonna have will munny unforgiven
