I can't speak for trucks but as far as Powerglides in cars... The average person liked them because they didn't have to deal with a stick shift. Performance minded drivers despised them and stuck with stick shifts.
There is no comparison between a Powerglide and modern automatic transmission. It's like comparing a 6-cylinder engine from then to a 6-cylinder engine of today. Apples and oranges.
Drum brakes in those days had weaknesses compared to today's disk brakes but they worked just fine because people didn't drive like morons the way they drive today. You'd be hard pressed to find a traffic light today without skid marks where people lock up their brakes to stop because they are constantly driving on the edge while yakking on the phone. Back then, that NEVER happened other than in VERY rare occasions. If you want to know just how dramatically society has changed, drive a 1950s car.
It cracks me up to read someone wondering if they can drive their "babbit pounding 216" 25 miles... Dang man, that engine moved people and freight all across the planet in it's day and it can still do it today, just a lot slower. These old vehicles wouldn't have survived all these years if they were on the verge of failure the way people portray them today.
Does that answer your question... sonny?
Hi guys I was wondering if any grandpa could tell us what that he remember about the automatic transmission powerglide in comparatives term of use with the modern ones. Is a fact that the brakes in those years are very different from today. Also if this was a extra why we don't have much trucks with this option?
How was the first gear? can we compare with the low gear from the manual 4 shifts?
Thanks
