In reply to:

There are steer by wire and brake by wire (further away) development programs under way at companies...



Mercedes Benz 2003 SL uses brake by wire. It does have a mechanical backup though.

Nice and comforting, esp since I have seen quite a few reports of throttle by wire going out (on new cars - what happens to people like me that drive 20 year old cars 20 years from now??)