A couple of errors...

Published: 03:57PM Nov 18th, 2010
By:

Dear Classic American,... A couple of errors in the August 2010 issue of ‘Over Here’. Chrysler introduced push-button transmission in 1956 (mechanically operated,) while Packard’s 1956 push-button transmission was electrically operated. In 1955 Chrysler’s automatic was operated by a lever on the dash.

There was no clipper Custom in 1954. The Custom wasn’t introduced until 1955. The car pictured is a Clipper Super a new model introduced in 1954. There were three lines of Clipper in ’54, the base Special, next up was the Deluxe, then the top of the range Super. All Clippers were a medium-priced car, but to put things in perspective the mid-range Clipper Deluxe four-door Sedan cost £2750 in 1954!
At various times I have owned a 1954 Clipper Deluxe four-door sedan and a 1954 Clipper Super four-door sedan, both with automatic transmissions and straight-eight engines. One was left-hand drive and the other right-hand drive. Both were everyday cars that I used to go to work in. I got 27 mpg around town, but never had them on a run. Both were better than the ’51 Cadillac four-door sedan previously owned.

Slim Mason
Elm Park
Essex

Thank you for pointing these corrections out Slim: You are quite correct, Chrysler’s two speed PowerFlite automatic transmission was in fact controlled by a lever operating through the dash in 1955 and in 1956 it had switched to push-button control, while later in the year some Chryslers were offered with Chrysler’s new three-speed TorqueFlite transmission.

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