ZF might have killed the 3-point turn

Every driver has faced this challenge. A U-turn isn't possible so a three-point turn is the only option. This is usually because the car's turning radius isn't up to the challenge.

The average turning radius of a car is about 10 to 11 meters (33 to 36 feet). The lower the number, the easier it is to turn without having to use reverse.

ZF Friedrichshafen on Thursday showed a solution that would make the three-point turn obsolete. It also has the potential to eliminate the nightmare of being sandwiched into a parallel parking space.

The German supplier's Easy Turn Strut is a strut suspension axle system that reduces the turning radius to 6.8 meters on a car without rear-wheel steering and shrinks that number to 5.7 meters if the car has rear-wheel steering. In the latter, the wheel angle can go as high as 80 degrees.

A small group of journalists got to test the system, along with a range of the supplier's best-and-brightest solutions that are looking for a customer, at ZF's test track in Friedrichshafen, which is in southern Germany, near Lake Constance.

There is a catch with Easy Turn: It works best in a rear-driven, full-electric car. The system cannot reach its full potential if there is an engine or other mechanical parts in the way of the two front wheels.

ZF said the "affordable" solution will take another two and a half years to bring to market. So far, there are no contracts for Easy Turn, but the supplier said the automaker executive who have seen it were positive. The supplier sees it fitting best on small cars and delivery vehicles.