What was the first car to NOT have a manual transmission as an option?

[KentTeffeteller]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

There is plenty of EXCELLENT cars to be had inexpensively...Especially if one keeps a careful watch of the used market.

For what a new Suburban costs I could get several used Escalades that would collectively outlast and outclass it...I could also get ~5 nice classic cars that fit my tastes for that money.

The only reason to spend the max money possible on a nice car is to show off wealth (or to obtain rarity). I rather have fun trying to get the most satisfaction/value for my money.

What does an Escalade do which makes it more durable than the same year Suburban? Answer, Nothing. If anything, the extra luxury junk on one will cause it to fail sooner. Escalade= Tahoe or Suburban. aka GMC Yukon or Yukon XL. High trim versions of either pretty darned close to the Escalade for less money. Why not get several, nice but well equipped Chevy or GMC and maybe have enough left over for a third? P.S. they haven't made real Cadillacs since 1967, newer ones mainly tarted up cheaper GM cars of like era.

[Electronic M]

Originally Posted by KentTeffeteller

What does an Escalade do which makes it more durable than the same year Suburban? Answer, Nothing. If anything, the extra luxury junk on one will cause it to fail sooner. Escalade= Tahoe or Suburban. aka GMC Yukon or Yukon XL. High trim versions of either pretty darned close to the Escalade for less money. Why not get several, nice but well equipped Chevy or GMC and maybe have enough left over for a third? P.S. they haven't made real Cadillacs since 1967, newer ones mainly tarted up cheaper GM cars of like era.

You missed the words SEVERAL and COLLECTIVELY in the post you quoted. I'm fully aware an Escalade is an up trim Suburban....A new suburban costs around 60k. For that money I could get atleast 3 decent used Escalades (possibly as many as 8) and 3 used Escalades would collectively out last 1 new suburban...the same way 3 Suburbans will outlast one if you only have one of them in service in a given season and the rest stored.

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

You missed the words SEVERAL and COLLECTIVELY in the post you quoted. I'm fully aware an Escalade is an up trim Suburban....A new suburban costs around 60k. For that money I could get atleast 3 decent used Escalades (possibly as many as 8) and 3 used Escalades would collectively out last 1 new suburban...the same way 3 Suburbans will outlast one if you only have one of them in service in a given season and the rest stored.

Every time I see a new Cadillac or a Escalade, I think about P.T. Barnum!
There is one born every second!
Then they make a glorified Chevy pickup with the Cadillac badging that has to be registered as a truck.
I don't think that you can buy a Cadillac passenger car that has a V-8 engine.

[Electronic M]

Originally Posted by dieseljeep

Every time I see a new Cadillac or a Escalade, I think about P.T. Barnum!
There is one born every second!
Then they make a glorified Chevy pickup with the Cadillac badging that has to be registered as a truck.
I don't think that you can buy a Cadillac passenger car that has a V-8 engine.

They do sell V8 sedans yet....the station wagon version of one actually can out accelerate a Ferarri!...A friend has one and says at lights on roads with 50mph speed limits he can get it up to the speed limit before he has crossed the intersection.

[KentTeffeteller]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

You missed the words SEVERAL and COLLECTIVELY in the post you quoted. I'm fully aware an Escalade is an up trim Suburban....A new suburban costs around 60k. For that money I could get atleast 3 decent used Escalades (possibly as many as 8) and 3 used Escalades would collectively out last 1 new suburban...the same way 3 Suburbans will outlast one if you only have one of them in service in a given season and the rest stored.

And I was also thinking used Suburbans and used Yukon XL by the way here. As in those are also often cheaper than the Escalades, and simpler.

[Electronic M]

Originally Posted by KentTeffeteller

And I was also thinking used Suburbans and used Yukon XL by the way here. As in those are also often cheaper than the Escalades, and simpler.

I know. There's nothing wrong with wanting a simpler vehicle. Depending on the year used escalades aren't much more complicated than a Yukon Denali. Given even my simple suburban has needed it's fair share of of maintenance on all fronts stuff will need to be fixed no matter what you drive. The nice thing is the common parts on the drivetrain and chassis of all vheicles in that family are pretty good solid designs...the luxury features I don't regularly use or need to use can sit broken till/if they ever become important enough to bother...my suburban came to me with an AC leak that would bleed it out in a week or two. Being used to Florida summers but living in Wisconsin now I only would charge the AC for long hour+ drives or on the worst day(s) of summer (windows down is usually all I need to feel fine) and 3 years of using 134 with stop leak has gotten it to the point it will now hold charge for months. I honestly don't know if the rear headphones based radio even works since I never had a desire to use it.

[AdamAnt316]

Getting almost) back to the subject of this thread, I'm surprised that I haven't seen much mentioned in the way of pushbutton controls for the early automatic transmissions. Here's the unwieldy-looking button panel for the mid '50s Packard Touchbutton Ultramatic:

First Row: Neutral, Low, High
Second Row: Park, Reverse, Drive

Probably the most famous was Chrysler's pushbutton-controlled PowerFlite and TorqueFlite transmissions, offered between 1956 and 1964. Here's the button panel from a PowerFlite-equipped car:

(the parking brake was engaged using a separate lever)

Less well-known was the Teletouch system used in the ill-fated Edsel line. Inexplicably, they chose to place the pushbutton controls smack dab in the center of the steering wheel, which probably caused some interesting transmission acrobatics when someone not well-acquainted with the system tried to honk the horn as you would on most other cars. Here's a photo:

Closer view:

[Electronic M]

Originally Posted by AdamAnt316

Getting almost) back to the subject of this thread, I'm surprised that I haven't seen much mentioned in the way of pushbutton controls for the early automatic transmissions. Here's the unwieldy-looking button panel for the mid '50s IMG]

I wasn't familiar with the Packard push button control for the ultramatic (you don't see a lot Packard's outdoors in my neck of the woods). I wonder what Packard used for a linkage?

The Edsel used an electronic pushbutton system and supposedly some cars developed steering dependent shorts in the shift wiring causing the transmission to freakout on turns...That had to be fun. IIRC horn rings not on the hub of the steering wheel we're more common up to the time of the Edsel so there probably we're more accidental honk shifts when the got to be a few years old than when new.

Chrysler used a standard shift cable with the push buttons pulling the mechanical shift cable to the same points a shift lever would. It was a very reliable system from what I understand. Mopar had atleast one other bezel and button mech during their pushbutton automatic days.... one of my favorite big fin cars is the 60 Plymouth Furry and they have the that other style. Coldwarmotors on YouTube rebuilt the pushbutton mech on the 60 furry he is splicing together.

[AdamAnt316]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

I wasn't familiar with the Packard push button control for the ultramatic (you don't see a lot Packard's outdoors in my neck of the woods). I wonder what Packard used for a linkage?

According to Wikipedia article I linked to above, Packard's pushbutton Ultradrive, like Edsel's Teletouch, used electronic methods to select gears. Unfortunately, the motor they used (a modified starter) was not well-suited for the task, often having difficulties shifting the transmission out of park while the car was parked on a steep hill, popping its circuit breaker and leaving the driver stranded.

Originally Posted by Electronic M

The Edsel used an electronic pushbutton system and supposedly some cars developed steering dependent shorts in the shift wiring causing the transmission to freakout on turns...That had to be fun. IIRC horn rings not on the hub of the steering wheel we're more common up to the time of the Edsel so there probably we're more accidental honk shifts when the got to be a few years old than when new.

Yes, contact issues were one of numerous issues Edsel ran into with their pushbutton transmission, including many of the same problems Packard had had with their system (Ford used a modified wiper motor instead of a starter, which didn't prove much better). One of the oddest aspects of the Teletouch system has nothing directly to do with the transmission itself, but the promotional mask seen at the bottom of this page. I have no idea what they were thinking..........

Originally Posted by Electronic M

Chrysler used a standard shift cable with the push buttons pulling the mechanical shift cable to the same points a shift lever would. It was a very reliable system from what I understand. Mopar had atleast one other bezel and button mech during their pushbutton automatic days.... one of my favorite big fin cars is the 60 Plymouth Furry and they have the that other style. Coldwarmotors on YouTube rebuilt the pushbutton mech on the 60 furry he is splicing together.

Yeah, Chrysler's system worked far better than the electronic method Packard and Edsel/Ford tried. There are many theories as to why it went away for the 1965 model year, including that government regulations regarding standardizing driving controls made them illegal, though some folks dispute this. Anyway, this is probably my favorite version of their pushbutton panel:

[compu_85]

Originally Posted by KentTeffeteller

What does an Escalade do which makes it more durable than the same year Suburban? Answer, Nothing. ... P.S. they haven't made real Cadillacs since 1967, newer ones mainly tarted up cheaper GM cars of like era.

I thought the same thing, then I rode in a few of them, and in some Tahoes while the Tesla was in for service. The Cadillac was much quieter, and had a smoother, more controlled ride (even though it had bigger wheels). The difference was quite noticeable.


You can get the CT6 with a V8 - and a V8 with twin turbos

Of course, I might be biased since my daily driver is an ELR...

-J