MERCURY - 1951 Merc-O-Matic Drive (1 of 2) First Automatic Transmission

[@eduardofs6620]

The first automatic transmission using hydraulic fluid was developed in 1932 by two Brazilian engineers, José Braz Araripe and Fernando Lehly Lemos; later, the prototype and design were sold to General Motors, who introduced the technology into the 1940 Oldsmobile model as a "Hydra-Matic" transmission.

[@kirbywaite1586]

Thank you for that information. I hope they sold it for a lot of money. The 1939 Olds "automatic" required just one manual shift at a certain point. Then in 1940 it was revised and was fully automatic.

[@ramdas363]

There are a couple of different claims, as always. Either way it's amazing how old the idea is. Daimler apparently already had semi-automatic drives in the 1920s! Automobile history is so fascinating, the inventors of all this tech don't get half the recognition they deserve, sadly. Pure genius

[@kfl611]

@@ramdas363 I agree.

[@SuperEddierivers]

My dad had one of those that he bought new in '51 and he drove it until 1965 with no transmission problems at all.

[@thomasnorman4221]

Passed my first California driver's license test at 16...no power steering....DMV examiner was impressed how well I handled this beast...1963..Roseville, California

[@devilsoffspring5519]

"So easy, everyone can start driving while drunk!" I know, but... I wouldn't have been surprised back in those days! :)

[@jerryfacts9749]

The automatic transmission was a breakthrough in the automobile industry. This allowed to make driving a lot easier for people who had left leg disability, and back issues. For city driving a vehicle with an automatic transmission was a terrific innovation.

[@dariusvilla5680]

Jerry Or drivers on the autism spectrum like myself. I can't fathom of shifting and stalling with debates of whether "to ride the clutch or not to ride the clutch, that is the question of what wears the transmission more.

[@re8672]

I remember the first time I heard someone refer to the selector indicator as "The PRiNDLe" -- mind blown!

[@gregambrose2566]

Seen that on green acres

[@joemackey1950]

@@gregambrose2566 Thanks to Lisa Douglas, that's what I call it as well. :)

[@douglasbullet6456]

"Are you referring to the gearshift?" - Mr Mosbey

[@ElectrologyNow]

My dad had one of these Mercs; an improvement for my mother (I was 4-years-old). However, the most important feature, for woman drivers ... as she said ... was power steering. Before that innovation, you needed a lot of upper-body strength to park or navigate at low speeds. (I still have my father's 1956 Continental MKII ... the power steering hydraulics is "Vickers" from the British airplane manufacturer.)

[@peter455sd]

First fully automatic transmission was Hydramatic Drive in 1939

[@quagmiredavis4117]

I have 2 50 Mercury's both in family since new thankfully manual transmission with Borg Warner overdrive ... driving the convertible to west Virginia on the 3rd of July ... 44 k original miles original engine just did a tune and new smithy mufflers all fluids changed. It sounds great gulling thru smoky mountains That distinctive flathead bark ...

[@Nobodyneedsabodyanymore]

Cool. I don't have a car. Wanna hook me up with one of those beauties?

[@Patrick-tf1ri]

It is truly amazing how their engineering was able to make this thing

[@GaryH-pw9cm]

With a lot of help from Borg Warner. But in the film, they give Ford all the credit.

[@gregfaris6959]

I know the film is B&W, but the STOP sign at 2:05 is one of the old yellow stop signs!

[@2010ngojo]

You can tell by the brightness/contrast.

[@trr5291]

The title is misleading. The merc-o-matic drive was not the first automatic transmission. The General Motors Hydramatic three-speed hydraulic automatic was. It was Introduced in 1939.

[@jamesw1659]

The Hydromatic was actually a four-speed automatic.

[@dalemettee1147]

We used to call this transmission 'the neck snapper' because every time it changed gears, your neck would jerk.

[@trr5291]

@@dalemettee1147 My old Ford Taurus had a transmission like that. 😬

[@srinitaaigaura]

Good engineering is always so well thought out.

[@thomasjordan3449]

Borg Warner air cooled, 3 speeds but low not routinely engaged. These were also used in other makes such as Rambler (Flashomatic) and were reliable if not abused.

[@donalddoty5768]

I had one in a Rambler. Drove it like a demon and finally broke the torque converter. Air cooled with a torque tube. Pretty neat.

[@fairyheli2]

It would make no difference, people in England drive manuals and still talk and text on phones, drink coffee, eat food etc.

[@RingoYote]

I mean...realisticly in city driving you're only in MAYBE 2nd or 3rd gear the entire time, and at stop lights just slam the clutch and brake, the only time a street car is going to be doing any real "shifting" is at stop lights to get back up to speed, or on track days for lap times and to keep momentum going, but with that said. i've seen people track day a Toyota Carolla 90's era on a short road course and keep toe-to-toe with a Ferrari 488. not lap times no, but the 488 is GARBAGE in the corners and every tight corner that Carolla was right up the Ferrari's ass.

[@ij2759]

@@RingoYote 488 garbage in the corners LMAO It's universally praised by reviewers as a superb track car with great handling, the lap times that you can look up shows it too.

[@TheRazerGamer02]

@Viktor Turtle no, 5 or 6 is the standard :)

[@wyattnyfeler7270]

@Viktor Turtle 3 and 4 speeds haven’t been common since the 60s and 70s lmao

[@devinthierault]

@@wyattnyfeler7270 in manuals, but automatics are still common in 4 speeds.

[@glennso47]

This configuration became the standard for automatic transmission gear selectors.

[@tomash9116]

Well, they said it was the "natural order", right?

[@jfchonors8873]

Back then GM had the reverse below the low gear setting

[@chuckschafer942]

@@jfchonors8873 THAT WAS REGULATED

[@KDoyle4]

That Borg-Warner transmission wasn't bad. It was later used in AMC, Studebaker, Nissan, Rover, Jaguar, Volvo, and many other applications. Later, in the late 1950s, Ford bought the rights to build their own versions of the Borg Warner automatic transmissions, the last of which were built into the mid-1970s.

[@scotte2815]

EXCUSE ME?!?! GM had an automatic in 1940, it was even installed in a tank like weapon system (one for each track) and advertised as "Combat Tested!"

[@morganbrowning867]

Yes hydramatic was introduced in 1940 in Oldsmobile.

[@kahvozeinsfang6953]

@@morganbrowning867 @Scott E obviously it means the first automatic available to the general public. You know, that way you didn't have to join the military to drive one...

[@morganbrowning867]

@@kahvozeinsfang6953 as I said in 1940 GM offered the hydramatic in Oldsmobile. As in any regular car could be ordered with Hydramatic

[@amauryadams402]

Look at the title (1 of 2) first automatic transmissions

[@harrisionstan3773]

Well, it was Ford. They kept cable brakes well past their use by date, ditto flat heads, and don't even mention buggy springs and solid front axles!

[@wb5oxq]

in 51-56or57 Mercomatic and fordomatic drive was built by Borg Warner for Ford motor company. The Lincoln models however were equipped in the early days with a GM Hydromatic. Low gear was seldom used or needed but available from the gear selector or by flooring the accellerator from a standstill.

[@musicom67]

The beginning of doing your nails, shaving, eating, and reading the paper - and playing with yourself while driving....as you now have a hand free and off the shift lever.

[@TransistorBased]

MUSICOM PRODUCTIONS So you're constantly shifting on the highway?

[@joshuas4228]

MUSICOM PRODUCTIONS I drive a Manuel and quite alot of the time I have a free hand

[@andy16666]

The first fully automatic mass produced transmission was the GM hydramatic in 1939. This was just Ford's first one, 12 years later.

[@musicom67]

@@joshuas4228 be sure to use the free hand to text someone while driving. (loved my stick 10 years ago...). ;-) BTW Who's Manuel? Maybe use your free hand to give him a thrill...

[@za4ria]

j schindler what a dick ! Don’t listen to him

[@scott8919]

Imagine if Chevrolet put out a video like this for the automatic transmission in, say, the Aveo, with as much enthusiasm as this guy

[@czvet9787]

The First Fully Automatic Transmission mass produced was the General Motors Hydra-Matic circa 1940. Eleven years before Merc-O-Matic.

[@frederickwise5238]

Main thing I notice is that Ford/Merc/Lincoln were smart enuf to put Reverse next to park rather than next to Low like GM (54 Buick and 58 Pontiac 62 Oldsmobile anyway).Been there!!!

[@barnettzack]

its so simple that every woman that wears a hat can drive one!

[@MegaFPVFlyer]

As long as you're wearing clean, white gloves you should be fine.

[@shaggydogg3786]

I was wondering if that hat was going to blow off.

[@mistercr0wbar400]

yet, they still can't..... (i kid, i kid)

[@shaggydogg3786]

Mercury had great looking cars.

[@thiemokucharczyk]

...but also men that wear hats as we can see at 8:50 😅

[@E34Benzin]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing. ;) I love automatic transmissions with torque converter and their unique smooth feeling.

[@AJISFREAKENAWESOME]

E34Benzin are you by chance a homosexual?

[@wyattnyfeler7270]

Fuck automatics all my homies hate automatics

[@rocketsupergaming8926]

All you homies in your fucking hick town in Alabama and all you town drives is fucking beater trucks

[@Comrade420_]

Why are y'all so mean? Let him drive what he prefers bruh

[@straightpipediesel]

He's right... that's exactly why they haven't made a manual Rolls Royce since 1955.

[@ShaunsCentral-Maine]

6:12 Only in 1951, was the "rockability" to get out of a rut an actual selling point. lol Shows you how much more urbanized we've become, when the average person has no clue about those tricks, and does no off roading beyond Uncle Ralph's driveway. Nowadays, we have jacked up lifted $100,000 Jeep Wranglers 4wd that dont even leave the city limits and sitting in a garage during a snow storm.

[@ZeroBlackfire]

The "Merc-o-matic" sounds like the name of a gun that a wannabe gangster would use.......

[@jaswmclark]

It was actually a Borg Warner made unit and was also used by everyone but General Motors.

[@theoneandonlyrustyshaklefo6256]

@@jaswmclark Yeah, because GM was actually good enough to build their own transmission.

[@jacquesblaque7728]

Or a device from "the Far Side" to gobble up jaywalkers?

[@kidnamedfinger6323]

Actually true though.....

[@TheEgg185]

Sounds like Troy McClure is narrating this.

[@thejunkman]

Sounds more like Hugh Beumont.

[@scotte2815]

Troy McClure! He owes me money!

[@almostfm]

I've determined that getting your passenger car stuck in mud is much less likely than the old car films would indicate. It's like when you were a kid and assumed from watching TV that you'd be dealing with quicksand on a weekly basis.

[@mindwarp12]

lol, Between Gilligan's Island, McHale's Navy and Tarzan, quicksand WAS everywhere lol I think there was even quick sand in Happy Days, or was that a shark? lol

[@MrRecall200]

I belive I have determined you don't drive an open diff rwd much. They do get stuck on basically anything. My truck from the 90s is basically useless in the winter, stop with a wheel in the tiniest dip in the road and it's over. And the 1950 Pontiac is un godly bad even in the rain with modern tires. I have got it stuck to the point of pushing it out just by backing it in to the the little divet in the lawn next to my driveway on wet grass. You learn the finess of not getting in those situations and they can be great, but overall their actually horrendous. For the bit in this clip I guarantee there was a whole lot of trickery, concrete with some mud on top, welded diff, another car pulling it. Sunk to the diff pumpkin being buried in the mud is enough to stop some 4x4s and ye old bias plys wouldn't help it any.

[@pontiacg445]

There used to be a lot less roads everywhere than there are now. This is from 1951. Interstates weren't even a thing yet. Of course it's not a common thing now, but it doesn't mean it wasn't ever.

[@almostfm]

@@pontiacg445 Even before the Interstates, there were plenty of paved roads. You had the US Highway system (Route 66 being the best know, but far from only, example), you had state highways, and plenty of paved county roads. A lot of the Interstates simply replaced existing US routes, or when a nearby Interstate was done, the US Route was "depreciated" into a state highway. For example, in California, State Route 99 was originally US 99 before I-5 was completed. But it had been paved since the 1920s or 30s.

[@SpecialAgentJamesAki]

Most roads were dirt at the time of filming

[@1704Justin]

I got to get one Merc-O-Matic now...

[@ew1usnr]

The old advertisement pointed out that the Merc-O-Matic was safer than a standard transmission because 1.) It could not be started in gear, and 2.) it has a park setting that locks the transmission independently of the parking brake. Those two safety features probably convinced a lot of people to buy the automatic.

[@straightpipediesel]

Autos are also safer in that you can't accidentally mis-shift, stall and lose power. That's why school buses switched to automatics once they became practical in their size.

[@dglcomputers1498]

@@straightpipediesel It is much easier to press the wrong pedal in an automatic though, do that in a manual and it's much less of an issue.

[@treboris]

@@dglcomputers1498 how is it easier to hit the wrong pedal? Either way you're working 2 pedals with your right foot.

[@pcno2832]

I don't know how well it worked, but this seems about a decade ahead of GM's competing hodgepodge of automatic transmissions which ranged from the 4-speed Hydramatic with only a fluid coupling, to the 2 speed Dynaflow which depended on an elaborate torque converter to make up for its meager speed choices. Not bad for 1951; I suspect that this was a Borg Warner transmission, but I don't know for sure. Some of the early BW transmissions even had lockup torque converters, but I believe they were dropped due to reliability problems. PS: 4:36 It looks as if Mercury was pulling Citroen's suicide door trick: using almost the same door in the left-front as in the right rear and sharing the left-rear with the right-front.

[@GaryH-pw9cm]

Yes the 51 Mercury 4 doors had the "suicide" rear doors. Also the film had Ford taking all the credit for the new transmission when actually Borg Warner did most of the engineering work for Ford.

[@FirstAid1]

Thank god for the invention of the automatic gearbox. In times where cars can do nearly everything automatically, for me it's like anachronism to shift gears. Unfortunatly people in europe don't understand that. And for me, the best AT will always be the one with a torque converter.

[@lc7327]

FirstAid1 people in Europe drive manual becomes it’s more efficient fuels a lot more expensive so economy is at the forefront of the car market

[@DavidEasthope]

​@@phantomsoldier497 Some newer CVT transmissions use less gas than a manual, and most automatics will use an equivalent amount to a manual. For a less-skilled driver, an automatic will use less gas than a manual, because the car will calculate the best gear for them instead of deferring their improper use of the gearbox. Seriously though, go look it up on any auto manufacturer's website. Practically every car has equivalent MPG values between their automatic and manual offerings, with the automatic using even less in some cases. The manuals will give you slightly more acceleration, which is fun if that's your thing, but there's virtually no difference for everyday use.

[@JohnSmith-eu7kd]

FirstAid1 Manual gearboxes are still popular because for a long time they where the symbol of performance and efficiency. It wasn’t long since the auto gearboxes got better and more efficient at transmitting power from the engine to the wheels. At the time that automatics where born, slippage was a big problem since a lot of the engine power was wasted at heat thank to the torque converter slippage. If you do more research about automatics gearbox you will learn more about it.

[@FirstAid1]

Well, I think I know yet something about the technique of Cars, although I'm not a technician. And I'm living in Europe. When you ask people why they don't have AT, they mostly tell you that it's a: unsportive (although the have cars with 75-90hp 😂) b: that they are not so old they couldn't change gears by themselves (like my mother) or c: they don't want to spend the extra money. But I don't care, everybody can do as they wish. And I only drive AT, actually a Prius IV

[@ewcm1878]

@firstaid the best automatic will always be conventional automatic (torque converter and planetary gearsets). CVT Transmissions are equipped with torque converters but not "always will be the best".

[@Aerondighteternal]

Back when cars were art.

[@PaulHojda]

And yet despite all these "innovations" and "magic", manual transmissions are still very much alive

[@dirkturrell6460]

Paul Hojda it's not like you even have to think about shifting or slipping the clutch once you're used to it lol

[@outcast668]

It's quickly becoming a lost art, though...

[@user-gw5rx]

Less than 3% of all sales is not alive

[@user-td3uj8is5i]

@@Alexander-jr8nw lower

[@roshgilluw]

its like 2% of sales worldwide, manual is dying. and when electric cars take over, cars having more than 1 gears would be unheard of to the future generations. just an electric motor to the wheels

[@Gypsy2057]

Ultramatic was the trademarked name of the Packard Motor Car Company's automatic transmission introduced in 1949, Even then car advertisements were lying to you.

[@MrStephen777]

Excellent.

[@had2galsinthebooth]

I learned to drive manual like everyone should back in the day but I always preferred automatic. Back then it was 2 or 3 speed auto with overdrive/4 coming along a little later. Manual is fun for a change but gets old after a while and the ease of automatic shines again. There were still some older cars with the 2-speed auto and "push pump" that could be roll started, had to do it that way with friend's cars a time or two.

[@kfl611]

And being stuck in a traffic jam, where you move ahead 3 inches and stop, move ahead 5 inches and stop - yep in a manual transmission, after an hour or so your leg will feel like it wants to fall off. Your clutch leg.

[@williamg2552]

One of those voices narrating this film, sounds curiously like Hugh Beaumont, Wally and the Beavers Dad.

[@gm12551]

Another Ford man Ward Cleaver

[@charliedsurf1267]

i'm convinced it is indeed Hugh Beaumont.

[@GaryH-pw9cm]

@@gm12551 I think in one episode of Leave it to Beaver, Ward was driving a 57 Mercury. 🤔

[@325xitgrocgetter]

I swear Hugh Beaumont is one of the narrators.....Hugh did do a sales training video for Ford about the same vintage as this video.....

[@MrRecall200]

I like all the people saying accedents by distracted driving wouldn't happen if we had kept manuals. Well I've always driven stuff with a stick and it's so second nature that it really doesn't prevent you from doing any thing else while you drive. On the other hand stick shift cars are way more prone to accidents. Just recently my dad got rear ended stalling his on a right turn. I've seen a corvette roll back on a hill and take someone out. Actually a few in the Harvey's drive through that has a big hill right at the window too. And the biggest one is in the snow, if your someone who is used to it, their really really good. But if your not used to it one bad downshift and it's over. Or in the case of a rwd like my truck you actually have to be aware that the compression breaking with your foot off the gas will put you sideways imediatly, it's a constant thought to keep a nice neutral coast rpm or push in the clutch when it's slippery. And sadly most people don't pick that one up all to well. Anyway I like em both ways, but it's just math that adding extra steps and potential to roll back ect... will cause more accidents.

[@spencerwilton5831]

The statistics don't really support your argument. Here in the U.K. manual cars are much more common. Driving lessons and tests are taken in them- if you pass your test in an automatic, you only get a restricted driving licence and are generally acknowledged to be a bit stupid! Yet we have far fewer road fatalities per driven mile than the US, something like a quarter. Before anyone points out that the US is larger etc please understand that that measure takes into consideration population and distance differences. Of course, the gearbox types isn't the only consideration affecting these numbers but personally I think someone who can drive a manual probably has a better understanding and control or their car.

[@MrRecall200]

@@spencerwilton5831 I'm aware of the stats from over there and I also live in Canada. So quite harsh winters for 8 months a year. What I said had nothing to do with statistics, just life experience seeing people drive. Also here we have 1 universal license, you can pass in an automatic and then just hop in a stick with no idea about it. Probably adds to what I've seen, especially in the snow. Now the great majority of cars I've owned have had a stick and I've never so much as been in a fender bender, had to jump some ditches to avoid idiots on the country highways tho. But the math on the whole thing just works out that there's more ways to screw up with a stick shift, so naturally people will. The fact that their usualy base models here that are a bit older and without traction control, plus people not understanding the compression breaking and generally just being jerky with them really does a lot of people in in the winter. I'm a mechanic and have a lot of buddies that drive tow trucks so I see this stuff all day long. And as far as everyone who drives a stick clearly has a better understanding of cars and driving goes... well I did a clutch on a vw golf for a lady that she just bought and it was smoked. 2 weeks latter it came back in and when I pulled the tyranny down the clutch was basically gone, like pressure plate friction welded to the flywheel bad. So obviously I phoned her up. Turns out she bought the car without the slightest idea what a manual was or how they work. She put the shifter in 4th gear the day she bought it and didn't move it once....

[@OnkelRobinjo]

This is not just a commercial, this is simply the truth. There's not a single transmission out there to this day that is smoother than an old torque converter auto.

[@stephencarrigg4371]

Shall we now go over why the woman was driving a white Mercury that is brand new in the mud?

[@marcosurbina8530]

Ha, ha, ha!!! that was funny.

[@CODMarioWarfare]

I dunno about you but I always take my Grand Marquis off-roading

[@maxpenn6374]

She didn't get the driveway paved until 1954.

[@mike1397]

spinning those wheels floor it baby floor it

[@GaryH-pw9cm]

It was not white. It was yellow. All 51 Mercury convertibles as far as I know came in Vassar yellow only. I have no idea why.

[@kfl611]

I want some of that 'flash' acceleration !

[@ssjlkrillin]

It has to be appreciated how technically thorough these films were back then. Of course they were for dealers and service departments/repair shops but today's youtube generation can't even spell "torque converter", let alone explain its function.

[@gerryswetsky2949]

First automatic transmission my butt! Maybe the first for Mercury, but my 1948 Olds had a Hydramatic Drive and it wasn't the first either!

[@josephwash109]

I agree. The Chevrolet Division also had the first automatic in the low-priced field in 1950, known as Powerglide.

[@ew1usnr]

What do they mean when the talk about the "overdrive effect"? Is that by it shifting into high gear at 15 mph if you start out slowly? I love the Ford-O-Matic that I have in my 1963 Falcon.

[@CrazyPetez]

I was thinking the “overdrive effect” was probably because the cars were fitted with taller rear axle ratios, so when in direct drive, the engine rpm was lower than in the stick shift cars.

[@edgarcook9607]

Yours is a different (2-speed aluminum case) Fordomatic.

[@CrazyPetez]

@@edgarcook9607 I never owned a 2 speed Fordomatic. I just assumed the Mercury had the same 2 speed transmission. I see I was wrong.

[@smooa1889]

i cant wait for self driving car commercials

[@RingoYote]

it will just be a function on cars already made, what the fuck do you think "Lane Assist" and "adaptive cruise control" is?

[@D5301]

Tesla

[@geoffreybradford]

Only starts in neutral makes sense if Merc figured buyers coming from manual transmissions would sort of expect that and find the transition to automatic easier. A guess on my part though.

[@_multiverse_]

It only took 70 years for the automatic transmission to almost meet these insane promises.

[@syxepop]

I KNOW this is a 10-y/o video, but haven't seen a CLARIFICATION on what is STILL THERE as title for BOTH videos... It maybe from Ford's first A/T, but I've remembered reading (and confirmed by Googling) that GM already had a MASS-PRODUCED A/T BEFORE US INVOLVEMENT IN WWII a decade earlier. Oldsmobile (direct competitor to Mercury) sold its' HydraMatic A/T as an option in some 1940 MY cars. After that Cadillac (don't know if on time before civilian production stoppage in early '42) and other manufacturers (those after WWII) bought those GM A/T's for their cars even before Ford got involved in 1950.

[@ddkoda]

I never realized that Mercury's first automatic was a three speed. Was the overdrive mentioned in the film an option or was it a standard feature? It may have been an option since the narration mentioned the final drive ratio as being 1:1 which would not indicate an overdrive unit. No doubt it was much more reliable than the semi-automatic 1942 Borg-Warner Liquimatic of which there are apparently no working models in existance. To me the 1951 Mercury was the best looking of the 49 - 51 models.

[@gui18bif]

Whats the liquimatic

[@jamesw1659]

This was, I believe a Borg-Warner design. It is a second-gear start automatic...unless you floored it or shifted into low with the lever, it starts in second, and up shifts only once. This is NOT an overdrive gearbox. Note that they refer to it as an “overdrive effect”. The high torque converter stall meant good torque multiplication for launch, so they used lower-ratio real axle gearing, for better mileage. This causes the power train to behave more like it has a conventional manual with overdrive, but it isn’t really much different from most other auto boxes. Until the early ‘80s, virtually all automatics had direct top gears, regardless of the number of speeds. This is a function of how the planetary gear sets work.

[@albertcarello619]

ddkoda: This transmission in "D" range normally started in 2nd gear( intermediate) from a standstart and then shifted to 3rd gear( high range). If you floored the accelerator from a standing start in D range it would then start out in first gear( low range) and it would shift to intermediate at about 35 or 40 miles an hour on full throttle. Then at full throttle it would shift to 3rd gear at about 70 miles per hour.

[@albertcarello619]

@@jamesw1659 The Studebaker -Packard FlightOMatic Transmission operates exactly the same way. This transmission used in AMC CARS is called" FLASHOMATIC". It also operated in the same manner used in the 1958-1962 AMC CARS.

[@robertrichardson7116]

thats pretty cool to watch. i work on final assembly line of 9hp transmissions at zf.

[@donalddoty5768]

My mom was born in 1915 she refused to drive an automatic. Said it was too complicated.

[@enterzone3854]

🤣🤣🤣

[@zacksrandomprojects9698]

Man those old cars had style. Unlike the shitbox cars of today.

[@Doppelwhoppermcdonald]

So true

[@jamesw1659]

That is a myth. There are just as many interesting, unique designs today as there were then...and about the same percentage of boring, un-memorable cars as there have always been. Keep some perspective...modern automobiles are superior to vehicles from this era in virtually every respect except price.

[@42luke93]

Imagine how Amazing this was back then? This probably was like driving a Tesla!

[@kfl611]

I know when I was a child in the 1960's, a lot of cars still had manual steering and manual brakes, and NO AC. These features were not standard, and most of the people I knew did not have them. Oh and all the windows were cranked down, so when it was hot we just cranked down the windows and that was that. You were just hot. No one thought anything of it. If you had more money and (people I grew up with did not) you could get ac and electric seats, power steering and power brakes. Personally to me, brakes are brakes, you step on them till your car stops.

[@1940limited]

I much prefer the "13 operations" needed with a conventional transmission. Chevrolet beat out Ford by a year with an automatic transmission. Chrysler messed around with a "safety clutch" until 53 or 54. The independents, even Rolls Royce, bought Hydra-Matics from GM. Today shifting has become almost a thing of the past. In the 50s many people preferred the manual transmission. No one I knew had an automatic. For some reason it took Ford until the late 50s to figure out that is was perfectly "safe" to start the car in Park!

[@demagab]

I was wondering why the car could only be started in N, it's kind of dangerous, the car can roll freely

[@1940limited]

@@demagab Set the hand brake, put it in neutral and start it. Maybe it was a throw back to manual transmission in some way. I think Ford finally woke up in 1959.

[@demagab]

@@1940limited Or just press on the brake pedal. People used to park their manuals in first gear without applying the brake, because especially back then they could easily fail. But really, if park is nothing but neutral with the addition of a mechanical "brake", this decision really makes no sense at all

[@1940limited]

@@demagab I still park stick shift cars in 1st.

[@chuckschafer942]

@@demagabPARK IS A PAW LOCKS THE GEARS

[@SparkOrama953]

AWESOME!!!!

[@bowlampar]

Yes it sounds like you have got yourself a very advance transmission system called Merc-O- Matic which can do no wrong while driving. Hooray ...! 🤗🤗

[@lookeywho1287]

1st automatic transmission for Mercury. GM produced the first in 1939.

[@cheez1012]

Just the name "O - Matic" seems so 50's era

[@geodot595]

like chevrolets use of (motoramic) in lots of advertising.

[@glennso47]

When did Ford get automatic transmission as an option? Also why did Ford products need a different kind of automatic transmission fluid from the fluid used in other makes prior to about 1980.

[@deansapp4635]

Ford used better fluid. It was common to use ford fluid in GM transmissions to make them shift better

[@lookeywho1287]

@@deansapp4635 LOL

[@TehoTarve]

How is it possible to 9:20 tow-start a Merc-o-Matic, as with newer A/T:s it is impossible if the engine is not turning to pump oil pressure in the transmission

[@dethfan06]

+TehoTarve Now I read this in passing looking at ford automatics so it could be fore a C4 and not the trans in the video but what I read is the pump for the trans is near the tail shaft so it spins and creates the pressure.

[@PaisteZildjian]

+TehoTarve Two fluid pumps: front and rear.

[@xaenon]

+Teho Tarve Those early slushboxes had two pumps - one front, driven by the engine, one rear, driven off the output shaft. Later designs eliminated the rear pump as it was deemed to be unnecessarily redundant. I think the only advantage of the dual-pump design was the ability to push/tow-start, but in most cases jumper cables are more practical if your battery is dead. In any case, once the rear pump was eliminated, the only way to start the engine in an auto-trans car was electrically.

[@1960tpk]

Makes me want to go buy a new automatic transmission car!

[@kfl611]

A Merc-O-matic one!

[@noahbianchi1920]

You could push start it! Wow! Can you even do that with a manual transmission anymore these days? I use to park my ranger on a hill when the battery was weak incase I had to roll start it. lol

[@DashMaster5000]

Too bad you cant pop-start automatics on modern cars...

[@RingoYote]

Everything was mechanical back then, everything past 1994 is all controlled by vaccuum hoses and a computer,

[@ryannfodrea632]

It kinda depends on the car too. This isn't quite popstarting, but I had an automatic car (with a CV transmission and a partial zero emission system). When you comes to a stop, it shuts the engine off to save gas unless the battery is low on juice and it turns the engine on when you release the brakes. Well one time I was on a downhill stopped at a light, and when I started moving again, i didn't fully release the brakes cuz the hill was pulling me down so the engine stayed off. Thing is when I got up to about 20 mph, my foot was still partially pressing the brake and the car just shuddered and started up anyways. It could've been the computer, but my theory is that my inertia might have started it since I didn't technically give my car the command to restart (fully release the brake).

[@ewcm1878]

@dusty. They removed the push start capability because of extra cost and electric started is very reliable.

[@mikehagen3785]

If its pulled fast enough, it will...like 50 mph

[@Greatdome99]

Transmissions used to have two hydraulic pumps--one in the front driven by the engine, one in the back driven by the drive wheels. To save money, the rear pump was removed with no loss of performance or economy.

[@brentaudi9354]

Would love to drive one.

[@arthvr3457]

America had automatic cars before Europe even had refrigerators.

[@jack002tuber]

I had a '66 ford with a ford-o-matic, I could drive that even without a hat on

[@edgarcook9607]

Cruise-O-Matic.

[@miffedmax]

Cooling fins? (opens VW engine bay). I'll show you cooling fins!

[@thejunkman]

Is this Hugh Beumont?

[@anthonynelson9136]

Lincoln used GMs Hydromatic for years before developing their own automatic.

[@harrisionstan3773]

Oh yes, that must have stuck in Henry II's craw!

[@jacquesblaque7728]

Nothing new there. Later, when Ford engines output real power, they had a super heavy-duty automatic trans that was a garden-variety MoPar.

[@GaryH-pw9cm]

If the HydraMatic plant did not burn down. in 53, Lincoln would still be using them for another ten years I would guess. Using someone else's transmission is cheaper than making your own. Lincoln had low production numbers compared to Ford and Mercury.

[@davidtosh7200]

Too bad 1951 Mercury did not offered a "Hollywood" hardtop just like a Hudson hardtops. Same thing applied to Lincoln Cosmopolitan for the hardtop models for 1951. Ford did offered a "Victoria" hardtop for 1951 models. Even fender skirts are fitted on a 1951 Ford Custom V-8 Victoria hardtop with two tone paint.

[@tomservo56954]

It wasn't until 1952 Lincoln and Mercury had a hardtop

[@billhinkle1653]

1951, huh? I have a friend who owns a 1940 Oldsmobile, which he says was the first automatic transmission in a car.

[@tuomasheikkinen9251]

Yeah. He's right.

[@frydemwingz]

0:53 Every car company in the world after seeing this- "Yes."

[@teflonpan115]

Best invention in a car. Thanks Americans 😊

[@waynepeterson2175]

If Edsel Ford would have had his way, the '39 Mercury would have had an automatic trans option, and prototypes were built with them. Old Henry vetoed the idea for production though.

[@hoss73ford]

Old Henry constantly overruled his son and made his life and his work very difficult. Its no wonder Edsel developed ulcers and died of cancer at age 49.

[@marcosurbina8530]

that's right... and I watched the movie.

[@harrisionstan3773]

So why wasn't produced once old Henry died about 3 years before this?

[@greenspiraldragon]

And modern transmissions haven't changed much still use torque converter unless you have a CVT.

[@jamesparson]

Tesla: Am I a joke to you?

[@davidgruen7423]

However it is still not eliminated completely today, they probably didn’t figure this out back then.

[@PanaSonyc]

I don't know much about cars, but a car with a manual gearbox can also being started by towing…

[@glennso47]

You can’t do that with present day automatic transmission vehicles. They say it will ruin the transmission.

[@PanaSonyc]

@@glennso47 Yes that's true

[@matthewcox3510]

This video made me want a chesterfield

[@lenisbennett3062]

I had a 51 Ford back in 64 it had v8 and auto trans 0 to 60 in about 3 minutes. That was quicker than a 51 Chevy with a 6 cylinder and Auto.

[@automatedelectronics6062]

Previously, Mercury's and Lincoln could be equipped with GM's HydraMatic automatic transmission.

[@GaryH-pw9cm]

Just Lincoln.

[@automatedelectronics6062]

@@GaryH-pw9cm Then the pre-Merc-O-Matic Mercurys I've worked on with Hydramatics are a figment of my imagination? Some dealers would install Hydramatics, as anyone could buy them, if someone wanted a fully automatic transmission in their manual shift cars.

[@GaryH-pw9cm]

@@automatedelectronics6062 Ok dealer installed. I got it.

[@MostlyBuicks]

The Mercomatic and Fordomatic transmission starts out in 2nd gear and shifts once to high. UNLESS you floor it and a lever is activated, then you start out in low and then it shifts twice. Or you can manually select low and manually shift to Drive to get 2nd and high. There is NO overdrive.

[@rkt88403]

I used to like to start off in low then up to drive and back to low to hold second gear in these BW transmissions. AMC had a D1, D2, and L positions where you had the choice of starting off in second gear with an auto upshift to 3rd or starting off in 1st gear with auto upshifts to 2nd and 3rd.

[@MostlyBuicks]

@@rkt88403 Ford's Cruise O Matic had a White dot and a Green dot drive selector. One started in low the other started in 2nd.

[@gui18bif]

The beginning of the end 😔 This and the end of the handbrake

[@YUSUF-lv1ds]

1951 !!!!!!

[@rzu7120]

First automatic transmission? My parents’ 1950 Chevy had an automatic trans.

[@lukeblackberry8439]

6:35 : Jeremy Clarkson Speeeed

[@jamespriest6755]

Pushed or towed up to 20mph. I choose the tow option

[@pedrourbano501]

I'm so happy that I just discovered that brazilians invented this.

[@gui18bif]

We got them to blame then

[@fabriciomedeiros1873]

pensei que eu era o único brasileiro aqui.

[@ReligiousZombie]

You got that, folks? Do you know what the D and R and N and P and all that means? Is it clear? Maybe they should go over it again.

[@busguy100]

+ReligiousZombie It was NEW then that's why they made the point

[@ReligiousZombie]

***** Indeed. What I find annoying is when the store I'm shopping in is overrun with old people. They are completely oblivious to their surroundings, stopping unexpectedly or parking their shopping cart in the middle of the aisle so I can't get around them. I hope I don't become like that when I'm old.

[@busguy100]

ReligiousZombie SOON YOU will be a old person and some punk like you will bitch about YOU

[@Peter-yg7ze]

What did he say , when you got higher speed on the highway then use R as race gear ? ;-P

[@maxpenn6374]

@@Peter-yg7ze Yes but you must remember to pull the lever rearward before you shift to "R".

[@jaswmclark]

We called these early inefficient transmissions "slushomatics".

[@chuckschafer6728]

THAT WAS BUICK DYNAFLOW

[@GaryH-pw9cm]

@@chuckschafer6728 Dynaslush.😂

[@Porsche996driver]

It’s a pernoodle! PRNDL lol.

[@musicom67]

So on family trips you switched from spotting out of state license plates to making up cute names for transmission gear selectors... hmmmm.

[@NoosaHeads]

Not the first automatic. Hydramatic - which came out in 1939 was the first properly commercial automatic.

[@Audiocrib]

I would be really intrested to know how the shifting device works at this time , i guess this was purely mechanic and without electronics. How did the device know when it was time to shift?

[@Matthew_Loutner]

It has a tube connected to the engine manifold vaccuum. When manifold vaccuum is high it upshifts. When manifold vaccuum is low it downshifts.

[@cako7139]

The first automatic got only 1 shift ?

[@GaryH-pw9cm]

Yes it was a two speed with an emergency low. On the big old heavy Merc, take off at every stoplight was an emergency.😊

[@fairyheli2]

you don't think about that once you've learnt how to drive in the same way you don't have to think about falling over once you've learnt how to ride a bicycle.

[@dbzownz12345]

1:33; she's like.. I feel bad for my kids/grandkids having to drive this way and it being a normal thing.

[@1000guy1]

The easier option is so overrated

[@dbzownz12345]

@Benz1209 I agree. I just wish people would start off learning to drive stick because it actually enchances your senses and make you more self aware. I'll admit I learnt on an Auto and had I learnt on a manual. I can say for fact that I could have avoided an accident or 2. I'm more self aware even when driving an auto now than before. Not by much, but enough to avoid an accident. I've driven my standard when I was tipsy and banging the gears felt fun and sorta like I was in slow motion, lol.

[@dbzownz12345]

@@1000guy1 Facts. I swear I think I'll die driving a manual now. I would honestly only use an my automatic car when I'm taking a girl out because she does look more attrative than my manual set up right now. Aside from that, my manual is my daily and I love the hell out of her. In regards to you comment, I fear for us all. Bad enough cars have auto pilot, auto brake assist. Don't get me wrong they are wonderful gadgets, but when the power cuts off. I'll enjoy pulling up my E-break while watching you (other people, not you, you) roll down the hill, lol.

[@1000guy1]

@@dbzownz12345 well since General Motors is now closing down now so other car companies can do what ever they want with out GM controlling them and manipulating them to do what they want as what they think is perfect but fails in every way so I honestly think manuals are going to be around for a little bit more longer and jeep has just brought out the first manual car that is 100% electric

[@ewcm1878]

@duke it that's was true years ago not now. Over rated? Lol drive a big truck with 18 gears in city then you will appreciate conventional automatics.

[@StumpyVanLife]

You need to correct the title of this video. Merc O matic was not the first automatic transmission. GM Hydra Matic was 11 or 12 years before this and it was not even the first automatic. GM Hydra Matic was the first mass produced automatic transmission first appearing in the 1940 year model.

[@ryanravencaller]

Low maintenance and telling us to shift from reverse to drive while the wheels are still spinning? I mean it’s cool that you can push start it but I’m sure people went through so many transmissions in these

[@almostfm]

Your only going to do that in the rare cases that you're stuck in mud. And you're not going to be flooring it if you've got any sense. Something that you may only have to do rarely (in 40 years of driving, I've had to do it one time) isn't going to put that much stress on the tranny if you do it right.

[@ryanravencaller]

@@almostfm i just dont even bother cuz I’ve tried to rock out of somewhere and the car engine stalled when i switch from drive to reverse while the wheels are still spinning the other direction, i wasnt going any higher than 2500 rpm cause i didnt wanna damage the transmission, but this won’t even work with modern dial turn shift knobs, all you can do if you get stuck is turn off traction control, scary if it gets stuck.