Ultramatic was the trademarked name of Packard Motors Company automatic transmission introduced in 1950 and produced until 1956 at Packard's Detroit, Michigan factory. Packard was a United States based brand of automobile originally known as the Ohio Automobile Co. ... 1950 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1956 was a leap year starting on Sunday. ... City motto: Speramus Meliora; Resurget Cineribus (We Hope For Better Things; It Shall Rise From the Ashes) City nicknames: The Motor City and Motown Location in the state of Michigan Founded July 24, 1701 County Wayne County Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick (Dem) Area  - Total  - Water 370. ...

Packard's leadership had hoped to offset the costs of the transmission's development by selling it to other American independent automobile manufactures. However the rapidly shrinking independent automobile industry of the 1950s reduced its potential market and accelerated Packard's financial problems. Millennia: 1st millennium - 2nd millennium - 3rd millennium Events and trends Technology United States tests the first fusion bomb. ...

By the time Ultramatic began to build a long-term reputation for smoothness and durability, Packard’s ill-timed merger with Studebaker (Studebaker-Packard Corporation) forced the closer of Packard’s Detroit Plant and the Ultramatic was discontinued. Packard had received a limited commitment from American Motors (AMC) for the transmission, which intended to install in its 1958 Ambassador, however with Packard’s closure, the delivery was never made to AMC. Studebakers Lazy S logo designed by Raymond Loewy was used from the 1950s until 1966 Studebaker was a United States wagon and automobile manufacturer that was incorporated on February 16, 1852. ... Logo American Motors Corporation (AMC) was an American automobile company, formed in 1954 by the merger of Nash Motors and Hudson. ... 1958 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Originally employing a shift lever, Ultramatic shifted to push button controls in the mid 1950s. Unlike Chrysler's TorqueFlite pushbutton pod location to the left side of the dashboard, Ultramatic controls were located in a pod attached to a stationary lever where a traditional shift level would otherwise be found. TorqueFlite (tork-flight) was the registered trademarked name of Chrysler Corporation’s first fully automatic 3-speed transmission, which was introduced in 1956. ...

External links

• Ultramatic Dynamics, images of Packard and Ultramatic (http://www.ultramaticdynamics.com/index.html)

Packards Ultramatic transmission was a brilliant masterstroke of Packard Motor Car Company's, cheif engineer Forest McFarland and the engineering staff that worked with him. It was the ONLY automatic transmission EVER produced solely by an independent automaker with no outside help. Different devices like the Ultramatic were being tested and designed from the mid 1930's on at Packard, but none sufficed the perfectionist engineer. The Ultramtic's development was halted as was all automotive work thru World War II, but was picked up again in earnest for 1946.

Packard was caught in a bad competitive spot, becasue Cadillac, their main competitor, had self-shifting Hydramatic Drive from 1941, and was selling ever increasing numbers of automatics on their cars for 1946-1948. Packard at that time was only offering a Electromatic Vacuum Clutch option that was more troublesome, and finicky, than helpful. Thankfully McFarland and Co were on the case, and for the 1949 model year, Packards 50th anniversary bowed Ultramatic Drive at $199.00, offered at first only on the De-Luxe Packard Custom's.

Similar to the 1948 Buick Dynaflow, it used a torque converter to get going from rest, and thru strong plush torque conversion got the car in gearless fashion up to cruising speed. But unlike the Dynaflow, which diddn't have as much power in the converter as the new Ultramatic; also had a unique and innovative "direct drive clutch", that locked out the converter from the driveline. This allowed the engine to couple to the driveshaft directly, putting all the engines torque to the rear axle. This gave a straight mechanical drive, thus no power wastage as in contemporary automatics out at that time, and in most any automatic built between 1949 and 1980.

The original version used a staightforward, but simple selector quadrant comprising of the following positions available: Parking, Neutral, High (corresponds to DRIVE in other automatics), Low and Reverse. In the initial version from 1949-1954 in high range the transmission started out in torque converter, and then shifted into direct drive at any speed between 15 and 56 mph depending on throttle position. Low gear was selected manually.

The Ultramatic was reconfigured after mid 1954 to provide low gear starts automatically. Reason being, that many owners of Ultramatic equipped Packards pre 1954 complained about a lack of acceleration,or a "flat spot" in the 0-50 range; with just the single rotor torque converter pushing around a two ton rig. Packard owners would , to keep up with traffic hold the transmission in low rage, then shift to direct drive or "high" on the selector quadrant after about 50 mph. Packard seeing that many owners were doing this asked McFarland to "reconfigure" the transmission to do just what owners had been doing all along.

It it's new guise, had a different selector quadrant : Park Neutral High DRIVE Low Reverse setup. This new transmission was called "Gear Start Ultramatic"introduced for late witer or mid 1954. In Drive range, it would start out in torque converter and low gear then later shift to direct drive. In the HIGH rage of the new unit, it used the torque converter only then a later shift to direct as did the pre-54 Ultramatic.

When Packard switched over to it's new V-8 engine in 1955, behind it was a further refined version of this transmission called "Twin-Ultramatic Drive" refined again by McFarland , and a young new brilliant engineer John Z. DeLorean, assistant engineer. Their aim for this new drive, was to retain the buttery smoothness of the original, and later "Gear-Start" design of Ultramatic, yet give the new Packards "gee whillicker" getaway found in many "competitors" automatics of the same timeframe.

Therfore, the "Twin Ultramatic" used a dual turbine converter with sharper pitched turbine blades, and a new two speed epicyclic geartrain behind it. The selector positions now included Park Neutral ' Drive ' Low Reverse. In the left hand side of the Drive position, the transmission would start out in torqueconverter, and wind it's way up thru the range until 54 mph where the direct drive clutch would take hold. In the right hand side of the Drive position, it would start in the low gear of the two speed geartrain with the torque converters push, shift into second gear, then later after about 56 mph, make a final "shift" into direct drive, turning the original torque converter, and two speed "Gear Start", into a sort of three speed thing for competition from the stoplights across America.

Unfortunatly the new "Twin-ULtramatic Drive" had many teething problems, and was the weakest link in the new for 55' drivetrain. Torque converters wer prone to drop washer's into the outer housing causing converter damage, the linkages for proper operation were very complex and hard to maintain, and later still the transmissions did not have a good downshifting mechanism, causing the new engines to lug at speed. Worse, as the cars aged fluid deterioration, as well as weak shift bands and clutches, caused further headaches for people who bought these splendid Packards.

1956 brought yet again a further refined, and somewhat less trouble prone version of the Ultramatic called again just Ultramatic Drive. Seems that General Mototrs was not happy about Packard using any kind of " Twin" name connotation, or dual range drive quadrant, becasue they had it all the world patented for the "Dual-Range Hydra-Matic Drive" that bowed earlier in 1953. Packard not wanting any more lawsuits dropped the dual range idea and the "Twin" from the name and once again changed quadrant positions. Now Packard's quadrants read from left to right : Park, Neutral, High, Drive, Low, Reverse, like the "Gear Start" of 1954. With this new setup, High range gave again torque converter acceleration only, with final driect lockup, and in the DRIVE position, it again started out in low and torque converter, later shifted to second and then to direct drive as did the 1955 geartrain.

Larger clutches, better build quality, and stricter tolerances, helped this final version of the Ultramatic transmission to be much better off then the 1955 version. However one unfortunate thing lingerd on, washers would still in some cases drop off the converter casuing damage described elsewhere.

Packard having a few tricks up it's sleeve, decided to offer a "Pushbutton Transmission Control" for the 1956 series called "Touch Button Ultramatic". A $52.00 option on all Clippers , and senior Packards; was standard fare on the 1956 Packard Caribbean models. A thick arm off the side of the steering column extended to the drivers right about six inches out, where the shift lever would be housed an oblong pod with six buttons for selection. The bottom row of buttons was PARK REVERSE DRIVE, and the top row contained NEUTRAL LOW HIGH buttons. The unfortunate thinga bout this system was that it was electrically operated rather than mechanical like Chrysler Corporations setups for the Power-Flite and later TorqueFlight transmissions.

The electrical system proved troublesome as the electrical contacts, wires, and shift motor aged. And would pop the circuit breaker trying to pop the transmission out of PARK on a hill or incline. Worse, as that as these cars aged, these systems...like the later Edsel "Teletouch Drive" were left stranded when rebuild parts were no longer available. Becasue of the Twin Ultramtic , and later Touch Button Selector Mechanisms, Studebaker Corporation had recurring service nightmares until it to died in 1966.

It has been said in different ways that Packard should have dropped Ultramtic after 1954, and purchased a proprietary transmission like Lincoln had done with Hydra-Matic. But of course, Packard was too proud to admit that it's automatic was at first a sucess, then later a failure. Today Ultramatics of all vintages, and styles have a much better survival rate, and a much better life expectancy due to accessory oil coolers, better trainsmissin fluids in general, and better rebuild parts that strengthen the gearbox where Packard failed.