New patents reveal that turn signals and a bunch of other regularly-used features will be relocated to the steering wheel rim.
Volkswagen has filed a patent with the German Patent and Trademark Office for a new steering wheel design with operating elements like turn signals mounted on the inside of the wheel rim. CarBuzz discovered the patent, which extends well beyond a simple task such as indicating.
Volkswagen is proposing a steering wheel with controls mounted on the inner rim of the steering wheel. According to the patent, these buttons could be physical, haptic, or a combination thereof, similar in principle to a design Ford filed a while back. The amount of buttons on the steering wheel also isn't set in stone, which means you could get the complete layout on a high-end car like the Golf R, while a base Jetta will have less.
What we have here might be one of the first steps VW is taking towards simplified interiors, for better or worse.
While the system seems complex, it's remarkably simple in theory. Two sets of controls (physical or touch-sensitive buttons) are mounted on the left and right sides of the steering wheel. Volkswagen refers to the left-side controls as the first operating elements, while those on the right are the second operating elements. We'll call them primary and secondary controls for simplicity's sake.
After activating a primary control, the secondary controls will illuminate, after which the driver selects one of the options. Volkswagen's patent drawings demonstrate it best. By pressing or touch-activating the function (headlights) on the primary side, the steering wheel illuminates the available options on the left. The driver can then choose between the various functions, such as main beams, brights, lowering the lights, or activating the fog lights.
The same applies to the infotainment, which brings up the option of skipping a song. More than one primary control can be combined if there aren't enough functions available, as illustrated by the entertainment and cruise control functions being illuminated simultaneously.
According to VW, this new system is advantageous for three reasons. The first and most apparent is safety. With the main controls on the steering wheel, the driver doesn't have to remove their hands from the wheel to access a wide variety of functions that wouldn't otherwise fit on the wheel.
Secondly, it gives VW's designers more freedom to develop a new series of clutter-free steering wheel designs. Thirdly, and most importantly, from a business standpoint, VW could save millions in development and manufacturing costs.
With the indicators, lights, cruise control, and trip computer functions all contained on the steering wheel, there's no need to design and mass-produce these components. A host of physical controls will be replaced by a single system, which can be adapted to various models.
In the concept sketches, VW's focus is on controls that most cars already have, but we can see the potential for even more. For example, the upcoming Scout models could have a primary button for the off-road drive select mode, activating all available driving modes on the right-hand side. On sportier models like the Porsche 911, you can select the amount of stability control intervention without taking your hands off the wheel.
Conversely, we don't like it when manufacturers remove physical buttons, especially considering VW's poor record with touch-sensitive controls. And while we understand cost-saving, this feels like yet another Tesla yoke moment. Why replace indicator stalks when they've worked so beautifully for over 100 years?
Manufacturers really need to stop trying to reinvent the steering wheel.
Keyword: VW Wants To Get Rid Of Turn Signal Stalks