All things considered, one could make the case that automobiles hold no great surprises anymore. The internal-combustion engine, for example, has remained relatively unchanged (save for constant incremental improvements) ever since its invention. Today’s cars are four-wheeled metal boxes just like their precursors, just with 100 percent more computers per mouthful.
But what about a five-wheeled car? Such a thing was pioneered decades ago, as you can see in the video below; the 1951 Cadillac shown actually uses the spare tire at the rear of the car, mounted perpendicular to the four run-of-the-mill wheels, for parking. At the pull of a lever, the driver can lower this wheel to the road, so that the rear of the car pivots along a very small turning radius for easier parallel parking.
Okay, to be fair, no; we don’t actually believe that innovation in the automotive industry has stagnated. It’s simply been a good while since we’ve seen anything so wacky and unique make its way to the forefront. The big automotive breakthroughs of tomorrow – electrification, autonomous driving, hover cars (please?) – are not small steps forward by any means. But none of them quite have that punch-you-right-in-the-face-with-their-oddness je ne sais quoi that this 1951 Cadillac’s parking wheel offers.
Well done, postwar American innovators. Well done indeed.
Comments
No they still have cheap parlor tricks like this with self parking.
If you have a proven system you don’t need to F with it and that is why the basics have not changed much.
You refine a product over 100 years with no major break through and you are not going to see a lot of goofy ideas.
Add to that the cost of investment you can afford to mess around too much.
…but they didn’t say anything about being able to see the corners as the rear end swings around “WHACK!!” O.o
Was this an actual GM product or something sold by an aftermarket manufacturer?