The automatic transmission is nearly universal today, but the American car-buying public was wary at first. Here’s Oldsmobile’s pitch for the 1942 Hydra-Matic.
General Motors got a sizable jump on the industry in 1940 with the introduction of Hydra-Matic Drive, the first practical fully automatic transmission. Developed by GM engineering wizard Earl Thompson and crew, the feature was adopted by Oldsmobile in 1940, Cadillac in 1941, and Pontiac in 1948. Hydra-Matic was much like the automatics of today, but with a few key differences. There was a two-element fluid coupling (in place of today’s three-element torque converter) and three hydraulically controlled planetary gearsets to provide four forward speeds and reverse. And it operated much like a modern automatic, too: Simply place the selector in D (or Dr or Hi) for Drive and drive away. It’s no exaggeration to call Hydra-Matic one of the major innovations in automotive history.
Yet Hydra-Matic was not quite the hot selling point we might assume today. In its early years, the option was costly to purchase, not totally reliable, and expensive to repair. Faced with those scary prospects, many buyers were more than content to keep clutching and shifting. Other drivers embraced the numerous semi-automatic alternatives including Chrysler’s Fluid Drive. It took a few years for GM to persuade the car-buying public of the need for and desirability of the automatic transmission. But once the public was sold, the rest of the industry piled on. Nash, Lincoln, Hudson, Kaiser-Frazer, and even Rolls-Royce adopted the GM Hydra-Matic.
In this promotional reel shown in movie theaters nationwide in 1941, the virtues of Hydra-Matic are showcased in the 1942 Oldsmobile. The emphasis here is simply in demonstrating how the feature works and what it was like to drive. Video follows.
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A few VERY early varients of the Hydramatic were installed in 1938 Buicks. They did have a clutch pedal and no fluid coupling so you had to press in the clutch when you came to a stop. Once you took off they shift up and down just like a normal automatic transmission. Buick management really did not like the Hydramatic as they felt its shifts were too harsh and continue development of the Dynaflow.
I suspect any similarity from a 1940 Hydramatic too a Hydramatic T400 are purely coincidental.
I grew up around a hydramatic in my fathers 62 EK Holden with 138ci power. That may have been similar and was a large item. Holdens went through 3 models with a different floor for auto over manual.That was an advantage for hotrodders later as the GM 4 speeds, Muncie Saginaw and Aussie 4 speed all bolted straight in.
Though by the 65 HD and then the power slide! they used the same floor with a different tranny mount. The above 4 speeds bolted in the auto cars and used the same tailshaft
As for the hydra slurp,,, they flared on changes at their best and consumed power as well. And the carbon splined drive plate stripped out the spline and all the springs would fall out of it as well. I have changed quite a few though decades ago now.
Oh and that vintage Olds were good looking cars as well.