In 1979, cones were the rage. From the Coneheads on Saturday Night Live to the Snoopy Snow Cone Machine the cone was the shape of the future.

US Steel engineer Morrie Johnson had an idea on how to save weight and use more steel in vehicles, and it came in the shape of a cone.

His idea was to stamp steel into the shape of a bundt cake pan and put wedge of friction material inside. Called the “cone brake”, it was 45 lbs. lighter than a disc brake system and had 88 fewer parts. But, some problems  were never ironed out.

US Steel installed a version of the system on a 1979 VW Rabbit and let the press drive it. This was a big mistake.

The press liked the promises of a simpler brake system that weighed less, but the little car was hard to stop and had a ton of pedal travel. This was due to two factors.

First, the cone brakes hydraulics put force on the steering knuckle and bearings causing them to flex. In a conventional brake system, this force is only put on the bridge of the caliper or the inside of the drum.

Second, the coefficient of friction for steel is lower than cast iron. US Steel had yet to develop friction materials to deal with this problem.  One journalist from Popular Mechanics complained that it was impossible to lock up the brakes.

When the technology was presented to automakers they realized the weight saving were quickly diminished because the knuckle and wheel bearings had to be stiffened up significantly due the way the friction wedge pushes on the backside of the cone. Also, automakers were concerned how well the steel cone could dissipate the heat.

After 1980, the cone brake was never seen again, just like the Conehead sketches on Saturday Night Live.