These cars are not "drive by wire," at least as "drive by wire" is usually defined. They have electric assist power steering. Instead of using hydraulic pressure to provide steering assist, they use an electric motor. They still have an actual mechanical connection between the steering wheel and the "steered" wheels. True "drive by wire" would not have this mechanical connection. In true drive by wire, the steering wheel would send an electrical control signal to a steering motor, with no mechnical linkage in between. Electric assist power steeringhas been around for at least 9 years (more probably). I had a 2001 Saturn with electric assist power steering. The usual complaint about electric assist is lack of feel - which was exactly the same complaint leveled against a lot of early hydraulic assist power steering systems. If you have never driven a mid-to-late 60's Chrysler, then you have no idea of what lack of feel is really like. Chrysler did its best to make it seem as if the steering wheel wasn't connected to anything. And when you combined that with the most over bosted brakes of all time, you had a car with controls that seem totally disconnected from the world. The hand held controller in a video car race game provides more "road feel" than the controls of a
1968 New Yorker.Ed