Can someone tell me what the 4 next to Drive is?

Not that know of , but in the Navy days someone put some in someone elses underwear. The screaming and yelling told a scary/funny story.

 

Yeah, my old Ford did that. When the shifter was put into 2nd, it actually started in 2nd and not 1st. It was actually pretty good for starting on ice or snow. Not sure if the Taco does this or not, guess I should crack open the Owners Manual.

 

Almost. The original Jeeps of the government issue variety (Truck, Utility, 1/4 ton, 4X4) had three shift levers on the floor right beside one another. One was the regular shift lever for the three-speed transmission, another was to put the thing in and out of 4-wheel drive, and the third was to select between high range and low range.

I think all the gears were square cut, and getting it into 4-wheel low was quite a chore. Getting it rolling about 5 to 10 mph often helped, along with having a good buddy in the motorpool platoon who could put the pieces back together when things didn't quite work out right.

And people have the audacity to complain today that they have to wait a few seconds after turning the switch before the little light quits flashing.

 

When the Edsel first came out, the automatic transmission was controlled by push-buttons all clustered together in the hub of the steering wheel. Ford quickly learned that they should have put in some kind of lock-out to keep the tranny from going into reverse when the driver accidently pushed the "R" button while going down the road at 70.

And before you say only some kind of idiot would do such a thing, the one confirmed case I know of was the dad of a friend of mine who just happened to be a nuclear weapons engineer. He used to joke that the bang he heard from under the car had to be at least half a kiloton.

 

HOLY CRAP YOU CAN DRIVE WITH BUTTONS THAT'S SO COOL

Sorry, I'm too young to have known about pushbutton trannies.

 

rumor has it Chris's first ride had a leather strap for an accelerator and a wooden pull brake.