why “drive” instead of “forward” in a car with auto transmission?
Back in the '60s, Jack Paar made a joke about his band leader, Jose Melis. He said that Jose got a new Chrysler, and the first time that he wanted very strong acceleration, Jose pressed the “R” button because he thought that it meant “rapido”.
Because cars are not used in cavalry charges: Foward, Ho
In a Roman Galley R was for ramming speed.
I recall seeing my first Mercedes, sometime back in the late '50s. It must have been brought back from Europe by a returning GI, rather than being officially imported, because the controls were labeled in German.
The dashboard button to activate the starter was marked “Fahrt”. When I got home, I consulted my mother’s German-English dictionary, and discovered that this translated to “drive”.
Possibly for the same reason they use reverse instead of backwards… lol
Found this and it sounds about right…
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The selector position is called Drive (D) because it puts the transmission into its normal operating mode. In Drive, the transmission automatically selects the appropriate gear ratio—1st, 2nd, 3rd, and so on—as you accelerate and decelerate. The transmission is “driving” the vehicle.
If it were labeled Forward, it would only describe the direction of travel. But several other selector positions also move the car forward:
- L (Low) – Forward, but locked in a low gear.
- 2 – Forward, but limited to first and second gear.
- 3 or D3 – Forward, but won’t shift into the highest gear(s).
- S (Sport) – Forward with a different shift strategy.
- M (Manual) – Forward with the driver selecting the gears.