From the ’60s, a time when almost anything could seem like a good idea, comes Mercury’s Wrist-Twist Steering experiment. See the crazy automotive invention in action here.
Wrist-Twist Instant Steering (formal name) was the invention of Robert J. Rumpf, an aerospace engineer—an actual rocket scientist, if you will—hired by Ford Motor Co. to create fresh and innovative features for passenger cars. With Wrist-Twist Steering, Rumpf certainly succeeded in that mission. It’s innovative, all right. Rumpf received U.S. patent no. 3312123 for his creation, one of dozens he was awarded over the years for all manner of automotive inventions, from seat belt retractors to suspension subframes.
In the video below, we see the Wrist-Twist system at work in a 1965 Mercury Park Lane convertible at the Dearborn Proving Grounds and around the city of Dearborn. MCG is both intrigued and skeptical about the unusual steering interface, in which two small interconnected dials replace the conventional steering wheel. We can’t decide if the setup is useful or just really, really awkward. We suspect it’s the latter, though we’d love to try it out. Looks like fun to play around with in any case.
1965 Chevrolet Turbo Titan III Twin Dial Steering
General Motors was interested enough in the general concept that it employed a similar steering control on its gas turbine concept truck, the Chevrolet Turbo Titan III (above), also from 1965. We don’t know what the GM system shares with the Ford Wrist-Twist setup in background and development, or what eventually became of it, but we’d love to learn more.
While Ford’s Wrist-Twist never made it to production, obviously, we can see from period photographs and materials that units were installed on a number of Ford vehicles, including a four-speed Mercury hardtop, and in several trim styles. How well did it work? We don’t know, but you can see the Wrist-Twist setup in action for yourself in the video below. What do you think?
While not quite as sleek looking as this invention, a steering wheel clamp-on knob had been a common device for one-handed steering for many years but with the advent of safety items including collapsible steering columns, anything protruding from the flat wheel surface became a potential “rib crusher” in a front end collision so – end of any protruding knobs.
Re the GM Turbo Titan III – one day, the powers that be at the Chevrolet Engineering Center in Warren, MI brought the tractor into the building to take it to the second floor product viewing deck. The turbine engine was running as the vehicle was being loaded onto the freight elevator for the trip to the second floor. The hot turbine gases exiting the vertical dual exhaust stacks set off the automatic building sprinkler system and flooded a good part of the first floor with about three inches of water. I was there right after they got the sprinkler system turned off. That was the first and last time the Turbo Titan was brought into that part of the Center…
I have seen steering wheel ‘spinners’ on a delivery truck, a late Corrolla, A 60s Caddy plus ofcourse on a forklift,, this all in the last few weeks.
I feel that twist wrist steering would probably be vaguely functional but probably way more tiring than a normal wheel……it is just reinventing the wheel after all
Throughout the ’60s, I worked at my Dad’s Gulf station just off the interstate-highway (US23) in Toledo, and it was not uncommon for auto-executives/engineers/designers to stop in for a “fill-up” with cars fitted with this type of experimental concept. In fact, I distinctly remember this steering-wheel set-up… but it was in a Thunderbird convertible. Another one that I remember, but have never seen references to in print, was a ’63 Corvette (split window coupe), with periscope rear-view mirror… like a reverse facing scope in the roof.
Pontiac also had an experimental “twrist wrist” steering system. My bosses Brother-In Law was a designer of Italian heritage who worked for General Motors.
One evening he had this particular Pontiac out to test the new steering system on the city streets and decided that he and his family would go to a nice restaurant for dinner. They pulled up to the valet parking area and when the attendant took one look at the “steering wheel” he said,” oh no, I’m not parking that thing! You park it!” And so Dr. Meyers did the honors.
The show interior pictured has a 4-speed (!) which would be quite a control challenge given the relative weights and amplitudes of each movement. She does parallel park in front of the Dearborn Inn rather well. Presumably, she was there to retrieve some of the famous denizens of the Ten Eyck Room bar.
Actually, the system pictured in the film looked low-effort and very ergonomic. Current vehicle control interfaces such as foot pedals and a thirteen-inch steering wheel are somewhat anachronistic and inefficient, considering you are likely connected to the vehicle only through wires and a computer (throttle-by-wire, electric-boosted steering, etc.).
Fine till you loose power steering boost assist pump in an emergency.