As early as 1906, Ford transmission bands and planetary gears were used in the manual transmission for the Model T. The first automatic transmission used by Ford, a three-speed, automatically shifted transmission for passenger cars, the "Ford-O-Matic," is introduced in 1950.

One of the most talked about features of the 1950 Ford "E" car (for Experimental) was the "Teletouch" shifter, which controlled the automatic transmission selection electronically from push buttons in the center of the steering wheel hub. 

Sixty-three years later, Ford revolutionizes the gearshift…again!