power steering

NeVeR

just wondering, when did power steering start in cars? what year i mean

i'm looking to buy a second hand car,. and i would like power steering in it,

any info is greatful

Stephen

It varies from model to model.
Some very recent cars at minimum spec still have no power steering also.

Seth Brundle

depends on the car!

ds20prefecture

NeVeR wrote:

just wondering, when did power steering start in cars? what year i mean

i'm looking to buy a second hand car,. and i would like power steering in it,

any info is greatful

The 1956 Citroën DS had power steering fitted as standard (with brakes, suspension and gearchange powered from the same system). The DS was by no means the first. I think it was some of the American manufacturers who were the pioneers in this field - probably Studebaker or Cadillac - both were seriously inventive from the 30s. If I had my LJK Setright book to hand I could give you the make and model of the car that introduced power steering.

The DS raised the bar for luxury cars in the 60s and 70s, but bear in mind it was a very expensive car, and hardly representative of the market at large.

Power steering became a common fitting in medium sized cars during the late 70s and throughout the 80s, although often is was "optioned" for the Irish market because of our stupid excise duties at this time.

Only in the late 90s did power steering come as standard on all but the very cheapest or most focussed cars. For example, the original Lotus Elise did not have (or need) power steering. Nor did the '97 Seat Ibiza or VW Polo.

I would say you would struggle to find a post-millenial car without power steering.

Hope this helps.

bazz26

Depends on the size car your talking about. Obviously the bigger and more expensive the car the more chance it had it from new.

Cars such as Carina, Primara, etc would have had power steering since late 1980s.

Cars such as Corolla, Sunny, Civic, Astra and Golf had it since the early 1990s.

Micra had it since around 1993, others of this size such as Fiesta, Punto, Corsa or Polo got it as standard towards the end of the 1990s.

NeVeR

cheers everyone,

shagman

Preety much every feature most people associate with MODERN cars are in fact old hat (30+ years old). Power steering , 4 wheel drive, ABS ,traction control, even those brand new "adaptive" lights on the new ford fuc*us will be familiar to anyone who's watched the film "Tucker".
Cars like the Citroen DS and the Jenson interceptor were way ahead of their time and if you'd be gobsmacked at the features on old yank tanks. A lot of the ideas that were tried in the 50's 60's and 70's are just being rehashed now and sold as new eg lights that steer around corners, variable cylinder engines (V8-V4 on cruise)
OK airbags are new and engine management computers too ................mmmm great. Whether airbags have saved or taken more lives is often debated ,don't know myself but they're hardly universally
acclaimed, as regards computers ya can keep them, I see them as devices installed to ensure dealer revenue and stop people fixing their own cars.

Point of this rant=respect where respect is due, to the old duffers of yesteryear in their flat (thinking) caps experimenting and failing and trying again, and now and again coming up with a gem of an idea. Not to the companies rehashing their ideas and calling them their own.

Leinsterlad

Am I to take it then that all 1998 Golfs would have power steering? Just wondering cause I just bought one and forgot to check :eek: (although I drove it and I never noticed any extra streering needed)