Re: [FWDLK] Push Button Tranny

[Bill Watson <wwatson6@xxxxxxx>]

Whatever the reason, it was NOT the American federal government and some 
law/rule/regulation they passed.  In 1964 Washington had no power to pass 
any law/rule/regulation concerning automobiles.  At that time only the 
states had the power over those issues.

The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act and the Highway Safety Act 
were enacted in 1966, the same year the Department of Transportation was 
formed.   And that gave the federal government the power to establish rules 
and regulations concerning auto standards.  The first standards enacted 
under the NTMVSA did not come into effect until January 1, 1968.

As for the PRND21 issue, except for the park lever, that was the order of 
the Mopar buttons since 1960.  And the PNDLR and PND21R layouts were still 
used on cars and trucks after 1965.   Corvairs and Dodge trucks continued to 
use dash-mounted levers.

And pushbutton-operated transmissions exist to this day.   Check out the 
buttons on any transit bus these days.   And the buttons on those units are 
forward, neutral and reverse.  There are two buttons, 'up' and 'down', to 
choose how high a gear you want the transmission to shift (many are 6-speed 
trannies).

If you read the intro material for the 1965 models published in the late 
summer of 1964, the reason given was the resistance to the buttons by 
non-Mopar owners.   No mention of any government rules or regulations, 
basically due to the fact no government rules or regulations existed. 
Actually there was no mention of government safety regulations until 1968.

Bill
Vancouver, BC



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dave Homstad" <dhomstad@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <L-FORWARDLOOK@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, June 05, 2008 7:24 PM
Subject: Re: [FWDLK] Push Button Tranny


> Gary,
>
> I heard the federal government passed regulations to standardize the shift 
> pattern for safety reasons. 1964 was the last year for many GM cars thta 
> used the PND21R pattern, which was replaced by the current PRND21 pattern.
>
> Dave Homstad
> 56 Dodge D500
>
> ---- Gary Runkel <moparfan@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > Does anyone know the REAL reason Chrysler stopped using the pushbutton 
> > trans controls after the 1964 model year? Some people have told me it was 
> > because they wanted to be more conventional to the public. Others have 
> > even said there too many complaints from women breaking their nails when 
> > trying to push the buttons.
> >
> > I'm hoping to hear from people who were employed by Chrysler or Ross Roy 
> > in that era that were in a position to KNOW the reason(s).
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Gary Runkel
> >
> > Canton, MI
> >
> >
> >
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