Magnesium cross-members and steering-wheel columns are increasingly common, as are aluminium engines and suspension components.
Even though steering-wheel locks, satellite tracking and immobilisers had helped to reduce car thefts, trade in stolen parts remained a problem.
Toyota Corolla owner Li Jianli was hit on 15 September by a protester with a U-shaped steering-wheel lock, causing him severe brain injury.
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Postl says he's pleased with more recent acquisitions, such as Axius, which is bringing out a constant stream of new automotive products, including sunshades, organizer baskets and steering-wheel covers.
Ford's prototype system aims to lessen distraction by taking readouts from biometric sensors and combining the data with information from the car, including speed, steering-wheel angle, and data from radar sensors or cameras used in blind-spot obstacle detection or cruise control.
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Mr. Warming pointed to another picture of the spare, yet modern, steering-wheel column and single large dashboard dial on an old 1960s Mini, the inspiration for the minimalist dashboard of the Mini Rocketman, an even tinier Mini concept car that made its debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March.
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It is, for example, equipped with a rear-wheel steering system (Precision All-Wheel Steer) that allows the rear wheels to be pointed, independently, up to 2 degrees of toe-angle adjustment in either direction (in or out, negative or positive), for 4 degrees of articulation.
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To enable drivers to control its functions without taking their eyes off the road, R-LINK features a large 18cm tactile display, steering wheel-mounted controls and speech recognition.
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The electric-assist steering is tight and responsive with quite good feedback through the small-diameter steering wheel.
On the inside: My luxury package afforded me leather-trimmed bucket seats, a heated and cooled cup holder (appreciated in the heat) and a wood-leather wrapped steering wheel packaged in two-tone dark frost beige and light frost beige.
You may wish the manual tranny had a sixth gear or that there were steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters for the six-speed, dual-clutch automatic.
At least the Model S also features standard steering wheel-mounted controls.
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Songs, albums and folders can be selected through the steering wheel-mounted controls, while devices such as mobile phones, MP3 players and cameras will automatically recharge whenever they are connected.
This gearbox includes a sport mode for slightly more aggressive shift points, along with a manual shift mode, which in the Supercharged version can be engaged via either the gear selector or steering wheel-mounted paddles.
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We have hands-free telephones, voice-activated controls, xenon headlights and four-wheel steering to make towing easier, and I've just heard of rear-seat air bags built into the seat belt.
Each prototype has six-wheel steering, which means that they can turn all six wheels and crab sideways.
Enhanced interior features range from a standard leather-wrapped steering wheel to a new black interior color and sun visor extensions.
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Sitting behind a sensor-embedded steering wheel, I pretended I was taking a short drive from a residential neighborhood to a busy city center.
Inside, the cockpit is clearly oriented toward the driver, with a racing-inspired three-spoke steering wheel, a steel bar and metal cage for the shifter, and burnished metal flourishes throughout.
The new SYNC AppLink will seamlessly integrate apps using the vehicle's voice and user interface controls, including buttons on the steering wheel, increasing eyes-on-the-road and hands-on-the-wheel time.
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In addition, the smart fortwo electric drive can be equipped with a navigation system and a 3-spoke leather steering wheel.
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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.
Run on an eight-inch screen with a similar screen faceplate behind the steering wheel, the Cadillac User Experience allows touch-based feedback (see the demo in the video above), vibration-oriented lane departure warning and (finally) a recognition program that responds to normal spoken requests for directions or music.
The V8 engine gets 767 total horsepower using flywheel technology at the wheels and a six-speed racing transmission with paddle-shifters at the steering wheel.
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Once connected, the phone can be stored away and all functions can be operated using the vehicle's iDrive controller, steering wheel buttons and on-board monitor.
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The DDX370 benefits from being compatible with the ADS iDataLink Maestro RR, giving the DDX370 the capability of interfacing with a factory Ford SYNC and offering command over functions such as steering wheel controls, hand-free controls and external USB device inputs.
At moderate, around-town speeds, you turn the steering wheel which returns the numb weight of a doorknob and then, a half-beat later, the front wheels respond according to one of the EPAS's two "assist curves, " both of which are weirdly capricious.
Functions integrated into the car via an Apple iPhone can be operated using the joystick, the steering wheel buttons or the on-board monitor.
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The steering wheel has a retro two-spoke design that is distinctive.
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