I am trying to remember a make of car I used to play in, nearly 50 years ago. The car was a two door coupe convertible, with push button shift. The thing is the buttons - as I remember - were on a console between the front seats. Does that sound familiar to anyone?

[image] Triedaq: I also remember the Chrysler and Imperial with the dash mounted turning signal switch. It didn’t cancel after a turn I had forgotten about that design defect! Further proof that “different” is not necessarily…better.

@VDCdriver As I remember the 1955 Plymouth, the ammeter and fuel gauge were on the driver’s side of the dashboard and the oil pressure and temperature gauges were on the passenger side This was done in the interest of symmetry. The glove compartment was in the center of the dashboard. On the far r…

I really liked the push buttons, it seemed to me a simpler and more elegant design that having a huge shift lever that had to move through other gear contacts to get to the one you wanted. It was easier to rock the car in the snow also. Back in the pre power brake days Chrysler’s double leading sh…

@Triedaq After refreshing my memory by looking at images of '55 Plymouth dashboards, I see that there were indeed two gauges on the right side of the dashboard. I assume that, because my father only wanted me to monitor the one on the far right (the oil pressure gauge), the other gauge on the righ…

Yes, thank you. The 1956 Packard Caribbean had push-button tranny to the right of the steering. I could have sworn the Monterey did too, but it looks like that was the radio.

[image] ken_green: Now, these days, with all the electronic controlled transmissions . . why not do that again ? Exactly! For several years, some European models have had a rotary knob for selection of the appropriate gear, so it would be just as easy for auto manufacturers to utilize push b…

Ford’s going to buttons on some, Lincolns in particular.

I always felt that pushbutton automatics were a great idea, technology just had to catch up to them. Versions from the old cars mentioned were mechanical/electromechanical and prone to problems. With today’s technology, automatic tyrannies are operated electronically via the TCM anyway. Reliable pus…

I don’t think anybody wants 12 buttons on the dash of their new car as gear selector.

Cars with push button transmission shifters

General Discussion

ken_green September 29, 2016, 9:10pm 37

Now, these days, with all the electronic controlled transmissions . . why not do that again ?
I have two cars that seem completely illogical to have any lever in a console at all . . I wish it wasn’t there and I could have one more seat and belt there.

1 Like

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Cars with push button transmission shifters

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