# What's a "Kompressor"?

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/whats-a-kompressor/28966>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Created:** [April 11, 2009, 5:50am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/whats-a-kompressor/28966 "2009-04-11T05:50:59Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/48514_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2009, 11:27am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/whats-a-kompressor/28966/21 "2009-04-16T11:27:37Z")

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I have always been sort of a car nut, even as a kid. My undergraduate major was history. So, if you combine these two interests of mine, you understand why I have researched and internalized a lot of automotive history.

Here’s another little tidbit of automotive history relating to the Dodge brothers–Although the shift pattern for the common three-speed floor shifts of the day were considered to be standardized by the 1920s, for a number of years, the Dodge brothers insisted on using a different shift pattern!

If I remember correctly, reverse was located where 1st gear was located on every other manufacturer’s shift pattern, with a resulting different location for 2nd and 3rd as well. For the experienced Dodge owner, this was not too much of a problem, but when Dodges were taken to parking lots, parking attendants had an unfortunate habit of crashing those Dodges into other cars when they mistook reverse for first gear. After a few years, the Dodge brothers succumbed to a lot of negative publicity and they adapted the same shift pattern that everyone else in the industry used.

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**Author:** ![meaneyedcatz](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/meaneyedcatz/32/692_2.png) [@meaneyedcatz](https://community.cartalk.com/u/meaneyedcatz)\
**Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 1:02am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/whats-a-kompressor/28966/22 "2009-04-17T01:02:48Z")

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I don’t believe I have heard that before but may I add that if I remember correctly it was a Dodge Brothers car that was the first to have rear hydraulic brakes.  
My interest also stems from a love of history and my being involved in the automotive industry for about 30 years. When my buddies were reading comic books I had Motor Trend & Hot Rod.

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**Author:** ![gb241944](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b3f665/32.png) [@gb241944](https://community.cartalk.com/u/gb241944)\
**Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 5:57am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/whats-a-kompressor/28966/23 "2009-04-22T05:57:29Z")

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One interesting item about the early and perhaps later Kompressors on the Mercedes is they actually compressed the air “before” the carb, verses compressing the air/fuel mixture after the carb. Which is best, let someone else make the case.

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