Better steering with fine gloves
05/07/2016
When steering wheels were still wafer-thin and slippery, leather gloves were used to ensure a firm grip.
Even today, Japanese cab drivers still wear snow-white fabric gloves. When you switch from your current car to a classic, especially now in spring after a long absence during the long winter, you are always amazed at the huge and thin steering wheels. No matter how heavy the car is, you carry it through the bends with a delicate, thin, slippery and, above all, huge ring. Even racing cars were no different back then. They also made do with a thin wooden ring. As there was no power assistance for the steering back then, the steering force had to be reduced with a large steering wheel diameter.
In order not to lose the grip and thus the car, expensive custom-made leather gloves were used for years. These were available in different colors and, for the hot summer months, also with half-cut fingers.
Back then, hardly anyone drove without these gloves, which were always placed on the dashboard ready to hand when stopping.
To symbolize sportiness and presumably also lightness, they were usually marked with both large and small holes.
Of course, they still exist today - just like the old cars - but they can only be found in specialty stores for classic car accessories.
