Normally, I enjoy helping to give you new information, interesting facts you can roll about in your mind and savor and enjoy. This time, though, all I really have for you are more questions, more confusion, and a bit of genuine bafflement. It has to do, like so many of the things I bring to your attention, with a minor detail, really a footnote in the automotive world, but one I nevertheless think is important. It has to do with where Ford moved their horn controls on most of their cars from around 1980-ish to 1984. Most of us instinctively expect horns to be, ideally, in the center of the steering wheel, where it can be smacked or pounded by an unskilled, panicked, or wrathful fist. That’s where The Almighty Himself decreed it should go.
Unfortunately, humans being imperfect as they are, sometimes that horn control gets moved. On many old cars, it’s activated by a chrome ring; on later cars, buttons on the steering wheel activate the horn. And, sometimes, if we stray far enough from the Lord’s healing light, that horn control can end up perched on the end of a silly stalk, sticking out of the side of the steering column, shared with more natural stalk-dwelling controls like turn indicators or headlight dimmers.
And that’s exactly what Ford did. Really, look at this stalk from an ’83 Mustang:
…or an ’82-’84 Escort:
They really did this. Ford moved the horn from the steering wheel center to the turn signal stalk, where you had to push it sideways to honk the horn.
This decision is incredible and baffling to me. Why did Ford choose this? Precisely 0.00% of Americans wanted this change, and if you don’t believe me, I’ll be the first to hop in the seat next to you in your time machine to go back to the ’80s and prove it. We can kill baby Hitler on the way back, it’ll be fine.
The only explanation I’ve ever heard for the change is that Ford wanted their cars to feel a bit more European, and, in that sense, it barely makes sense, because, yes, if you were going to find the stalk-horn anywhere, it’d be on European cars. The French especially seemed to like it; here’s a diagram of a Renault Dauphine’s controls, and it has a (two-tone, even) horn that is sounded by pushing the stalk towards the steering column:
I have owned a car with the stalk-horn setup, my old Reliant Scimitar. I loved that car, but I was never able to get used to that dumb horn-honking method. It never felt right! Of all the controls on a car, the one that inspires the most visceral and physical reactions has to be the horn. You go for the horn in moments of alarm or distress, when some idiot is about to sideswipe you changing lanes or some dummy on a scooter almost bolts out in front of you, and in these moments you just want to smack something and make a loud sound; hence why the center-of-steering-wheel horn setup remains the ideal.
The small fussiness of the turn signal stalk coupled with the strange action of pushing it sideways into the steering column makes this horn-honking method terrible. Sure, it’s fine for calm, controlled, friendly tootles, daintily done with fingertips, but that’s not when you need your horn the most.
I just don’t get this strange decision. And Ford didn’t just keep it to their affordable brands; even Lincoln was forced down this dark path:
… but Ford, at least for those couple of years, did seem to be really leaning into the horn stalk, since it ended up on so many models of their cars (think Panther-platforms, Mustangs and other Fox platforms, Escorts, Fairmonts, and more) and trucks.
By 1984 it was gone, as quickly and mysteriously as it appeared, I suspect screamed out of existence by frustrated owners brandishing snapped-off horn/signal stalks at their local Ford dealers.
I’d love to know the actual reasons why Ford made this decision, but so far I haven’t found anything. I reached out to Ford and see if there’s any further insight to be had, and, if there is, I’ll be sure to update everyone. Was it preparation for airbags in the wheel? Maybe, but there were many other solutions for that, and, besides, none of these cars actually had airbags in their steering wheels.
At this moment, the origin of the horn-stalk remains a mystery, but I’m hopeful for some spirited discussion in the comments that may help us understand this odd choice a bit better. Also, if anyone actually prefers a horn on the stalk, now’s the time to speak up, because I sure as hell would love to hear a defense of this madness.
Everyone knows the horn belongs on the touchscreen!
I’ve been trying to find this answer since the 80s. A local news station in Detroit did the teaser once with “why Ford is moving it’s horn from the steering wheel” or something like that, but I had missed the actual story. In the end, I never found out why. Fast forward to the internet era where I thought that old question that still haunts me could be easily answered, but I was very wrong. Now, I see this story here, and even you guys can’t sleuth the real answer into existence.
Thanks for nothing 😉
This allowed me to pull a little prank. Being long of leg, I could beep the horn by moving my knee sideways. So would raise both hands high and make a friendly, little toot with my knee. I did this to a salesman at work, and he almost died laughing because he said it looked like I was honking the horn with my wiener.
This allowed me to pull a little prank. Being long of leg, I could beep the horn by moving my knee sideways. So would raise both hands high and make a friendly, little toot with my knee. I did this to a salesman at work, and he almost died laughing because he said it looked like I was honking the horn with my wiener.
My dad’s first car in the early 70’s was a Ford Escort, and IIRC, the horn button was on the turn signal stalk. Very different from my grandfather’s Fairlane that had the big chrome half-ring that was more fun to push.
My dad’s first car in the early 70’s was a Ford Escort, and IIRC, the horn button was on the turn signal stalk. Very different from my grandfather’s Fairlane that had the big chrome half-ring that was more fun to push.
Our ’77 MGB has this, too. Sometimes when I try to beep at someone I know, I end up turning on the turn signal. Oops. Kind of a dumb idea.
But not as dumb as getting a RHD Diahatsu while in the Cayman Islands back in the day. It was a 5-speed. Driving a stick shift from the opposite side from what I was used to wasn’t all that bad. However, I found it maddening that they didn’t also swap the stalks on the column. If you were steering and needed to shift, you had to keep your right hand on the wheel and shift with your left. But… The signal stalk was still on the left side of the column. So, you guessed it. When I went to use my turn signal with my non-shifting hand, I inevitably ended up turning on the wipers (usually on a nice sunny day) Every Single Day I was there.
Dumb.
Our ’77 MGB has this, too. Sometimes when I try to beep at someone I know, I end up turning on the turn signal. Oops. Kind of a dumb idea.
But not as dumb as getting a RHD Diahatsu while in the Cayman Islands back in the day. It was a 5-speed. Driving a stick shift from the opposite side from what I was used to wasn’t all that bad. However, I found it maddening that they didn’t also swap the stalks on the column. If you were steering and needed to shift, you had to keep your right hand on the wheel and shift with your left. But… The signal stalk was still on the left side of the column. So, you guessed it. When I went to use my turn signal with my non-shifting hand, I inevitably ended up turning on the wipers (usually on a nice sunny day) Every Single Day I was there.
Dumb.
Want a modern equivalent? When automakers get stupid-cute with their transmission selectors. I’m looking at you especially, Mercedes-Benz. Nobody asked for it to be on a little stalk!
I got a GLA 250 as a rental once and had to google how to put it in gear. I also couldn’t find the #$(&ing AC, interior lighting options, exterior lighting options sure, but no AC!
Want a modern equivalent? When automakers get stupid-cute with their transmission selectors. I’m looking at you especially, Mercedes-Benz. Nobody asked for it to be on a little stalk!
I got a GLA 250 as a rental once and had to google how to put it in gear. I also couldn’t find the #$(&ing AC, interior lighting options, exterior lighting options sure, but no AC!
So lap dances can be honk free.
So lap dances can be honk free.
For me it was my ’84 Mercury Lynx, which somehow managed to have the horn on both the stalk and the steering wheel center!
For me it was my ’84 Mercury Lynx, which somehow managed to have the horn on both the stalk and the steering wheel center!
“…look at this stalk from an ’83 Mustang”
“…or an ’82-’84 Escort”
This is a trick question, isn’t it?
That’s the same thing you took two pictures of – Right?
“…look at this stalk from an ’83 Mustang”
“…or an ’82-’84 Escort”
This is a trick question, isn’t it?
That’s the same thing you took two pictures of – Right?
The horn stalk and the white button underneath the steering wheel that had to be pushed to take out the keys. GMs square key, round key they stuck with forever. Some of the decisions the Big 3 made in the 70’s and 80’s still baffle me.