Folks in here seem unaware of the history of steering technology experiments. All sorts of radical things have shipped over the years and been deemed safe. Some examples:
-
Four wheel steering - this has been an option on many vehicles on and off for decades. It feels markedly different than “normal” cars. It was experimented a lot with in the 1980s
-
Nissan 300ZX High Capacity Active Steering - this is a non-proportional steering geometry. The steering “accelerates” the more you turn the wheel rather than remaining a linear relationship to the wheel position. In the 90s it was done with rear wheel steering, but I believe in the 1980s it was all done hydraulically on the front wheels only with a nonlinear proportioning valve. My mom had one and it could catch you off guard at the limits.
-
BMW Active Steering. This is a current system whereby the computer has input into steering via a double planetary gear system spliced into the column. The computer adjusts steering ratio on the fly and in emergency situations will even countersteer against your input if you’re doing the wrong thing (which most people will be)
-
Non-round steering wheels are not new. Chrysler and Cadillac experimented with square, rectangular, and round-with-a-section-removed steering wheels all through the 1950s and 1960s. The idea was to improve visibility and leg clearance.
On this scale, the Tesla thing is a little out there, but not crazytown. The point is, there are lots of cars that feel completely different to steer than what you are used to. Heck- ever driven a ‘70s era pitman arm steering box car? They feel like death traps compared to modern rack and pinion steering.
Times like this I am reminded there are not a lot of car people on BB.
Nothing wrong with that, of course.