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Steering wheel position

Started by Jan CLC#17589, January 14, 2005, 03:34:00 PM

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Jan CLC#17589

Hi,
I have been reading in my newly bought new copy of the book, "Cadillac, Standard of the world".
A funny thing. I saw that Cadillacs up to around 1918 had their steering position on the right side, just like cars made for countries with left hand driving. What could the reason been for that? Any logical explanation ?
Is this a Cadillac only thing, or did other American cars have the same arrangements on cars before 1920?
Regards
Jan

Mike #19861


 This is the way I understand it.

 In the early years of the auto indusrty, no one could settle on which side of the car to place the wheel. Both sides had their reasons for it. The cars that had it on the rt side maintained that it was better so that you could have a better veiw if the side of the road so that it was lesslikely to slip off the road. A very real concern in those days.

 For those that placed it on the left, they argued that it was better for seeing down the centre of the road, and around obstructions like horses and buggies. This one, today, would seem the best arguement.

 What really settled the issue was the Ford Model T. This car was left hand drive, and by sheer numbers, made left hand drive by far the most popular. You have to remember, that in the teens, more than half of the cars on the road were the old flivver.

 So it seems, that the majority rules, and we have had left hand drive here ever since.

  Mike

Bill Ingler CLC 7799

Jan- All the early cars (1900-1910) produced in this country, and there were hundreds of different make cars, had the steering wheel on the right. Remember that the very early cars in this country, before the US really was making cars, were from France, Germany and England. This was about 1898.The early American cars followed the European cars in design and put the steering wheel on the right.Why on the right? Which also ask the question, why drive on the left as they still do in England. It all goes back hundreds of years to when the knights of old riding their horses would approach one another. Not knowing if the approching knight was friendly, they each moved to the left, hence each would pass to the right so each could see the others right hand, did it hold a weapon? This eventuality led to the begininig of the military salute which as each knight approched the other, they would raise their right arm to show they had no weapons. Hence the military salute with the right hand. So as time progressed, the steam carriage of 1796 was invented with right hand drive and then the very early cars from Europe in the 1890s followed with right hand drive.I spent a lot of time over my 30 years in the US Air Force in England and remember many times in London, looking left, as we do in the US, steeping of the curb only to almost get hit from the right by a London cab.

Robt.Vonheck via a drenched SanDiego Calif.

Bravo(with thundering applause & whistling)--  It is so very interesting when such a seemingly elementry question happens to elicit such fascinating explainations, --really enjoyed this...!   ~Bob vH