That was the way the original GM Hydramatic was and it had no Park position. The 1940 Oldsmobile was the first arto have a fully automatic transmission with no clutch pedal and first to have a shift qudrant. That is what GM thought was best at that time.
Chevrolet promoted that it was easier to rock the car back and forth when stuck in snow with low next to reverse.
That posiition changed when Ford and Studebaker went to the Borg Warner automatic transmission with Park above neutral in 1951.
In 1957 Chevroet had Power Glide Reverse a the bottom and Turbogdlide at the top.
In 1958 bothj were a the top
Same for Buicks auto. transissions.
Last edited by Chev Nut; 10/02/22 08:45 PM.