# Automatic Shift Levers

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/automatic-shift-levers/43226>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Created:** [January 25, 2010, 11:27pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/automatic-shift-levers/43226 "2010-01-25T23:27:08Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![oldgold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/b2d939/32.png) [@oldgold](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oldgold)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2010, 11:27pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/automatic-shift-levers/43226/1 "2010-01-25T23:27:08Z")

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Are car manufacturers moving away from shifters in the column for automatics to a console shifter? I’ve looked at several cars 2006 and later and noticed that all, I’ve looked at, have shifters in a console

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**Author:** ![ken\_green](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/ken_green/32/816_2.png) [@ken\_green](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ken_green)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2010, 11:56pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/automatic-shift-levers/43226/2 "2010-01-25T23:56:53Z")

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I’ve noticed that too. Must be the design cut backs. It is a simpler mechanism and probably easier on the assembly line. After all, EVERYTHING they do is to benefit the assembly line like electrical harness plugs, fuel lines, sub-assemblies, sub-let manufacture etc.

To the extreme that I have a shifter in a center console, yet there’s nothing to shift !  
No manual down-shifting or up-shifting is even possible. Why’s it down there ?  
( a CVT trans in a hybrid Escape. Park, reverse, nuetral, and drive, a totally useless waste of valuable space in my car. )

Might it also be that the Nader safety lobbyists have gotten to the designers ( no air bag there ) to keep that third person out of the front seat ?