4-wheel steering: Can it finally turn the corner?

"Everything dies, baby, that's a fact. But maybe everything that dies someday comes back." — "Atlantic City," Bruce Springsteen

Every so often a technology comes along that you instinctively know is so good that there's no way it can fail.

And somehow it does.

It's been almost 20 years since General Motors introduced a four-wheel steering system called Quadrasteer. It was available on GM's full-size pickups and SUVs. In summer 2002, I paid a visit to the Delphi Steering Division in Flint, Mich., and drove a Chevrolet Silverado Crew Cab with Quadrasteer around a parking lot at the plant, which is now owned by Nexteer Automotive.

I recall being absolutely astonished that a big pickup could turn a corner so precisely and sharply at speed. There was no perceptible body roll as the truck tracked flat at about 45 mph. I also tested it at low speeds with a trailer hitched to the bumper and found maneuverability made much easier. Quadrasteer reduced the pickup's turning radius from 47 feet to 37 feet, about the same as a compact Saturn sports coupe.

Quadrasteer, I felt, was going to be a monster. Turns out it was. It was a monster failure. It wasn't because of any technical issues, and owners praised Quadrasteer. What happened was GM bungled the launch by bundling Quadrasteer with the highest trim packages, making it an option that could add more than $5,000 to the truck's sticker.

You wanted Quadrasteer? You were going to have to buy a leather interior and a sunroof and luxury items that had nothing to do with performance and handling.

Eventually, GM made Quadrasteer a standalone option for $2,000. Just about 16,000 vehicles were sold through the end of 2005 before it died.

But now it's back. Well, a modern version of it.

This time, it's going to be an option on the upcoming 2023 Silverado battery-electric truck that is equipped with 24-inch wheels. You can get an idea of how it will work here.

I asked Chevrolet if the system has any implications for the battery-electric Silverado's driving range. Chevy is not going to answer that question just yet. But I think that four-wheel steering could add some incremental range between charges. If you look at the video, it appears as if the new system, unimaginatively called Four-Wheel Steer, shortens the turning circle by about 25 percent. The smaller the turning circle, the shorter the distance the truck has to travel.

Of course, some of those potential gains could be offset by the weight of the new system. Quadrasteer, which added a separate power steering rack and special pivoting ends to the old Silverado's rear axle, weighed nearly 300 pounds. If you have any thoughts on the efficiencies four-wheel steering could bring to an electric truck, please leave a comment below.

Here's hoping that Four-Wheel Steer fares better than Quadrasteer. A lot has changed in 20 years. Axles are lighter and more efficient. Electronics are smaller, more capable and more powerful. And trucks have grown. Today's Silverado Crew Cab is between six and 16 inches longer (depending on the bed size), about three inches wider and three inches higher.

Even though GM is a different company, its track record for marketing high-tech items remains pretty dreadful. When was the last time you heard about Cadillac's breakthrough OLED screen, for example?

If automakers are going to introduce advanced technology that can make a difference, customer education has to be part of the package. That and sensible pricing.