Goodbye at the wheel: the last taboo falls, the very symbol of driving. Waymo – a company of Google’s Alphabet group – has just announced that its self-driving car will be a “no steering wheel” model.
The first car in the world without a steering wheel, Waymo will build it
A drastic choice, which comes just at a time when in America the controversy over the steering wheel of the new Tesla Plaids is going crazy (customers complain of obvious difficulties in maneuvering because without the top and bottom pieces when it is necessary to do two or three steering turns everything is more difficult).
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But Waymo goes on its way and to beat the competition launched by Alphabet’s Lyft / Uber it has announced that its will be the world‘s first vehicle without a steering wheel. An abrupt but effective way to demonstrate the absolute reliability of its self-driving cars, even if – as unfortunately often happens in this sector – a precise date of marketing is missing. Waymo only declares that “this future driverless electric vehicle will be available on the roads of the United States in the years to come.” A little bit. Also because from what we know the legislation for cars of this type will provide for special licenses, for “non-drivers “Able to understand what the car is doing and (possibly) regain control of the vehicle in an emergency. But what control can you take back if you don’t even have the steering wheel?” Mystery.
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Waymo, however, explains that in the making of his car he has a close collaboration with Geely, a Chinese car company that has several subsidiary brands such as Volvo, Lotus and Smart. And that the car in question will be designed in Sweden, therefore precisely by Volvo. “It will be a model – explain the technicians – that will give priority to comfort, practicality with a flat floor and record accessibility, while the habitability will focus on seats that can be adjusted in a thousand positions”. Another big news is the absence of the B-pillars (the central one) so when the doors are opened there are no obstacles to get on or off. And, of course, the space: without the steering wheel and pedals, the entire front part of the passenger compartment was redesigned as a small living room. The passengers, all because the pilot is no longer here, thank you.
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