Is it poosible to have a car without the engine and steering wheel?
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 eng
