Progress is not always practical
05/09/2018
Car manufacturers are of course constantly trying to improve their products and meet the comfort needs of their customers. They are certainly right in many cases, but some solutions are surprising, at least in retrospect.
Chrysler, for example, like other manufacturers, fitted push-button controls for operating the automatic transmission. So instead of moving a lever on the center console or on the steering wheel, you pressed the corresponding button on the dashboard. In the C300 of the early sixties, you had the choice between "reverse", "neutral", "drive" (drive with all gears), "second" (only shift up to second gear) and "first" (stay in first gear). So far so good.
However, the buttons require a lot of pressure and the top button for reverse gear is only just below the edge of the dashboard. Depending on how dexterous you are, you may tear off a finger, sprain one or simply not have the gear you wanted. The selection is also much less intuitive than using the selector lever. At least you can clearly see which gear is selected.
Incidentally, gear selection via pushbuttons was not only available from the Americans, but also from manufacturers in other countries. However, this operating variant was never really practical, but that is probably a matter of habit and taste.
