Car controls

Car controls are the components in automobiles and other powered road vehicles, such as trucks and buses, used for driving and parking. While controls like steering wheels and pedals have existed since the invention of cars, other controls have developed and adapted to the demands of drivers. For example, manual transmissions became less common as technology relating to automatic transmissions became advanced. Earlier versions of headlights and signal lights were fueled by acetylene or oil. Acetylene was preferred to oil, because its flame is resistant to both wind and rain. Acetylene headlights, which gave a strong green-tinted light, were popular until after World War I; even though the first electric headlights were introduced in 1898 (and those were battery-powered), it wasn't until high-wattage bulbs and more powerful car electrical generating systems were developed in the late 1910s that electric lighting systems entirely superseded acetylene. The first automobiles were steered with a tiller sometimes on the left or right, sometimes in the centre. The steering wheel was first used when Alfred Vacheron competed in the 1894 Paris–Rouen motor race in a Panhard et Levassor. In 1898, steering wheels became a standard feature of Panhard et Levassor cars. They were introduced in the U.S. by Packard in 1899, and by 1908 were on most models. Power steering helps drivers steer by augmenting the driver's steering effort. Power steering has used hydraulics to reduce a driver's steering effort. However, hydraulic steering is being replaced by electric power steering, because it eliminates the hydraulic pump, and increases fuel efficiency. In modern cars the four-wheel braking system is controlled by a pedal to the left of the accelerator pedal. There is usually also a parking brake which operates the rear brakes only (or less commonly, the front brakes only, as in the Saab 99 and in the Citroën Xantia).