Once upon a time ... the mechanical handbrake
07/15/2022
For drivers who learned to drive a passenger car 20 or so years ago, the mechanical handbrake is as natural as the steering wheel or gearshift. The handbrake lever was usually mounted on the cardan tunnel. When it was pulled up, the wheels braked (usually on the rear axle) thanks to a cable and brake activation.
There were many variants of operation. In some cars, the handbrake lever was located on the outside of the driver's seat, in other vehicles under the dashboard, and in very early cars even outside the bodywork. And then there was also the foot-operated parking brake , which was and still is found on Mercedes-Benz vehicles, among others.
This type of parking or handbrake was and is being replaced by an electrically controlled successor, such as that found early on in the BMW 7-series.
The mechanical handbrake is rarely found in modern cars, which can certainly lead to problems. In the Hyundai Ionic 5 and its brother Kia EV6, for example, the electric parking brakes are said to release in the event of voltage drops due to a software error and thus no longer prevent the car from rolling away. Rally drivers and stuntmen prefer mechanical hand brakes anyway, as they allow them to brake an axle in a targeted and controlled manner. However, this will not slow down the triumphal march of the electric handbrake (welcome repetition of words), which is why one day only classic car and youngtimer enthusiasts will remember the good old mechanical handbrake and the sound it made when you pulled it up without pressing the button.
P.S. Almost every slightly older driver has at least one story to tell that has to do with the handbrake ... If you also know such a story, then simply comment on this article!
