Longtime Forbes columnist Jerry Flint, meanwhile, thinks Toyota and other carmakers should scrap their electronic drive-by-wire systems.

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Drive-by-wire has been tested successfully in a Mercedes roadster and on simulators.

ECONOMIST: Drive by wire

One day, the company's engineers hope, drive-by-wire could link to the fancy cruise-control, lane-maintenance and vehicle-separation systems that are already being used in some Mercedes models.

ECONOMIST: Drive by wire

The company also makes a drive-by-wire zero-emission vehicle for Antarctica.

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Drive-by-wire would, for example, do away with the distinction between left-hand and right-hand drive vehicles, since the driver would no longer be tied to the steering wheel and the location of the pedals.

ECONOMIST: Drive by wire

To make this work, regular controls had to be replaced with drive-by-wire, and the accelerator, steering wheel and brake are gone in favor of an aerospace-type yoke that (as in a Segway), is moved forward to move the vehicle forward, and back for reversing.

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The center console area includes the palm shifter (inspired by a PC mouse) for the "by wire" drive selector.

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