In real world
terms, this allows a Silverado or Sierra to do a u-turn on a regular four-lane
street without using reverse. And when you consider trailering in low-speed
situations, Quadrasteer reaches even greater levels of utility.
For the near
future, GM will have the monopoly on Quadrasteer, but Delphi insiders
say that it will be turning up on two other pickup models in due course.
Since Ford has essentially taken a pass on the technology for the new
F-Series (they saw how slowly it was selling for GM and decided it wasn't
worth the effort), that only leaves the Nissan Titan and the next version
of the Toyota Tundra. No one at either company will comment, of course,
but what other large pickups are there?
It's possible
that whatever other vehicles come with the Quadrasteer four-wheel-steering
system, it will be the enhanced version that Delphi recently announced.
Robert J.
Remenar, president of Delphi Saginaw Steering Systems, says his company's
engineers have taken this electronic steering system to the next level
by ''closing the loop'' and allowing the sensory inputs (vehicle speed,
hand wheel position, vehicle yaw rate, and lateral acceleration) to be
continuously fed back into the controller so that the steering system
can actively respond to the vehicle's actions.
In addition, Remenar says, Delphi has integrated this closed loop version
of the system with its brake-based Traxxar stability control program.
''The electronic
integration of these two vehicle systems helps take safety to a new level,''
Remenar says. ''Until now, brake-based systems have been the standard
for achieving vehicle stability control. However, these systems react
only during emergency driving situations, applying the brakes to help
maintain control.''
Loss of directional
control is a primary cause of rollovers, Remenar points out, ''so by bringing
rear steering into the equation, the next Quadrasteer constantly helps
reduce loss of directional control before the driver even realizes the
vehicle might become unstable.''
Stay tuned
to this website for more information on what Delphi is doing with Quadrasteer
and in which pickups it will be deployed.
