A Brief History of the Steering Wheel & Power Steering Fresno CA
A Brief History of the Steering Wheel & Power Steering
It's 1956 and the 20-inch-diameter steering wheel on a Chevrolet Bel Air or Ford Fairlane provided the leverage to steer the wheels. But, it was especially difficult to turn the steering wheel when the vehicle was stopped. Turning the wheel required a certain amount of upper body strength that was given by God to truck drivers of the day. When the Saginaw recirculating ball steering gear was introduced on the 1940 Cadillac, it provided a little more mechanical advantage, but it was still hard to turn the wheel when the vehicle was stopped. If the car makers of the era were going to sell more vehicles, especially to the new suburbanite homemakers, they were going to have to be easier to steer and shift. The premium vehicles, Cadillac, Lincoln and Chrysler, were adding power steering to their optional and standard equipment lists, but they were still the most expensive cars in the dealers' showrooms. The age of power steering |
