‘First Automatic Transmission’
Hi Kent:
In 1939, General Motors developed the first fully automatic transmission and called it Hydramatic Drive.
It was first sold to the general public in the 1940 Oldsmobile. GM chose Olds instead of Cadillac as Olds sold three times more cars at that time than Cadillac. It was a matter of economy of scale. They were also trying to protect the Cadillac name in case the transmission was not accepted.