Gear stick: Difference between revisions

Gear sticks are most commonly found between the front seats of the vehicle, either on the [[Center console (automobile)|center console]] (sometimes even quite far up on the [[dashboard]]), the transmission tunnel (erroneously called a console shifter when the floor shifter mechanism is bolted to the transmission tunnel with the center console to cover up the shifter assembly when used with a rear or front-wheel drive vehicle), or directly on the floor. Some vehicles have a [[Manual transmission#columnColumn-mounted shifter|column shift]] where the lever is mounted on the [[steering column]]{{snd}} in vehicles with a manual four-speed gearbox such as 1950s Mercedes-Benz cars and all two-stroke [[Trabant]]s, this is actually a manual gear lever connected to the gearbox with a linkage. In automatic transmission cars, the lever functions more like a gear selector, and, in modern cars, does not necessarily need to have a shifting linkage due to its shift-by-wire principle. It has the added benefit of allowing for a full width bench-type front seat (though some models with bucket seating as an option include it). It has since fallen out of favor, although it can still be found widely on North American-market [[pick-up truck]]s, vans, emergency vehicles (both law enforcement and EMS{{snd}} the column shifter is retained where a floor shifter is unfeasible due to mounting the mobile data terminal and 2-way radio), and "full-size" US sedans such as the [[Ford Crown Victoria]]. A [[dashboard]] mounted shift was common on certain French models such as the [[Citroën 2CV]] and [[Renault 4]]. Both the [[Bentley Mark VI]] and the [[Riley Pathfinder]] had their gear lever to the right of the [[right-hand drive]] driver's seat, alongside the driver's door, where it was not unknown for British cars to also have their [[Hand brake|handbrake]]. ([[Left-hand drive]] models received a column shift.)