The birth of GM's automatic transmission

Oldsmobile was General Motors' test vehicle for a new automatic transmission developed in the late '30s dubbed Hydra-Matic Drive. It went into production in May 1939 for the 1940 model year. The first Oldsmobiles so equipped were shipped in October 1939 in the Oldsmobile Series 60 and the Oldsmobile Series 70. It was not unusual to see the new transmission advertised on Oldsmobiles of the time as displayed this abandoned. (Photo by Jim Prueter)