"As for shifting gears in older cars…My Dad always called it "Three on the Tree!"
The column shifter, or “three on the tree” was introduced in 1938 as an option on a few cars–the 1938 Pontiac being one of these cars. By 1939, it was standard on most cars, although it was an option on the 1939 Chevrolet and I don’t think it was available on the Ford until 1940. At any rate, the column shift was considered a real improvement over the floor shift. Suddenly, in the 1970s, the manual transmissions went back to a floor shift. Yet, there are those that think the automobile industry has made prorgress.