THE VELVET GLOVE

[Music] since the early days of Motoring when cap and goggles and duster were standard equipment there have been three major advances in driving first the selfstarter took the place of the back breaking hand crank a second big change came when the open touring car with its trials and tribulations gave way to the closed body but there was still the business of pumping the clutch and shifting gears of course clutches became easier to use and Synchro mesh introduced by General Motors made gear shifting easier and quieter then the automatic transmission appeared and in 1950 Chevrolet was first in the low pric field to bring motorists this new way of driving and now in 1951 in this beautiful new Chevrolet Powerglide is a Time proved Sensational advance in driving ease and comfort and safety it's as simple as a BC no even simpler than that with a control lever at drive there are just two things to do a press the accelerator when you want to [Music] go B press the brake when you want to stop and there's no C because there's no clutch no shifting no work for the driver nothing difficult to learn just some of the old driving habits to forget to understand its basic principles let's see how the rear wheels get their power to drive the car let's represent the driving power by a mechanical hand that applies the twisting force of the engine to the rear wheels usually this twisting force is transferred to the rear wheels through a rear axle a differential transmission gears and a friction clutch but perfect smoothness is not possible with a friction clutch and gears so let's put this hand of iron in a velvet glove now we can apply engine power with perfect smoothness by using the force of liquid to transfer the power from the engine to the rear wheels now we have a power flow that's as smooth as velvet and we no longer need the friction clutch in Chevrolet's power glide unit this is the pump driven by the engine it sets the fluid in motion and here is the turbine that takes the twisting force or Torque from the moving oil and transfers it to the drive line and rear wheels but power glide is much more than just a fluid coupling to eliminate transmission gears Engineers designed these wheels called Staters and a secondary pump which make possible the automatic increase in the force of liquid flow to give us not just three or four but the equivalent of an infinite number of gear ratios just as nozzles on a garden hose can increase the force of the water the Staters increase the force of the liquid in the transmission and direct it to multiply the twisting force and with this flexible control of power we no longer need transmission gears the power under perfect control is passed from engine to rear wheels exactly as it is needed for all driving conditions for many years in army tanks the torque converter has been a star performer and in massive General Motors buses Chevrolet's automatic power team combines Three Special units designed to work together first a special 105 horsepower valin head engine designed to develop its maximum twisting force at much lower speed than other engines this means smoothness and economy second the power power glide automatic transmission and third a special fuel saving economizer rear axle to give an overdrive effect all three elements are designed to work together in perfect balance a power team unique in the automotive industry in the mountains of the East and the Rocky Mountains of the West owners have discovered the ease and comfort and safety of driving with power glide 90% of your driving can be done in Drive position as a test nine Powerglide Chevrolets were driven from Detroit to Phoenix Arizona through heavy City traffic through all kinds of country over hills and mountains without Ever Changing from this setting for extreme climbs where you would normally shift into lowest gear simply move the control lever to low without Ever Lifting your foot from the accelerator and you have at your command an equivalent gear ratio that is lower than low full engine power under tiptoe control Powerglide puts new safety at your fingertips in Drive position the engine produces a noticeable braking effect but for Steep downhill grades where you would normally shift into lower gear again A Touch of the control puts you in low and you go down at control speed without using the footbrake safety for you and your passengers safety for others on the road to back up lift the control lever slightly and move it to R and your Chevrolet responds with oil cushioned power you'll find parking easier besides neutral you have another position called Park when you put the control to parking position your wheels are mechanically locked independent of your braking system you can't roll or be pushed on slippery roads from Maine to Oregon all over the country owners have found how Powerglide Masters these road conditions low and reverse have been placed next to each other so you can move the lever back and forth without lifting your foot from the accelerator and rock the car out of the most difficult spot and when you pull away on muddy Road or slippery pavement power glide improves traction because it applies engine power so gradually what about Sandy or gravel roads because it can rock the car back and forth owners have found Powerglide equal to Sandy roads in all sections of the country in fact hundreds of thousands of owners have tested Powerglide under every kind of driving condition out in the deserts of California and Arizona and out on the Prairies in Midsummer months Powerglide Chevrolets have driven through hot baking country mile after mile without overheating how about starting up on Hills that used to be a problem to many drivers owners find that for most Hills you can stay and drive for very steep ones switch to low step on the accelerator and power glide gives you the engine power you need to start up the hill smoothly and safely uh-oh are we in trouble sometimes due to forgetfulness batteries do get run down now what well with the control lever in low because of exclusive Chevrolet design Powerglide will start when your car is pushed at a speed of about 15 mph that's much less than the speed that some other automatic transmissions require and what about gasoline economy after a year of operation many drivers report equal or even better economy with power glide than they've enjoyed with previous standard Chevrolets out on the open road especially drivers have reported better mileage much of this economy in both City and Country driving is due to the overdrive effect of the economizer rear axle because of its special High reductions normal openroad driving speeds are accomplished with the engine turning more than 10% slower a of course economy depends very much on the driver himself this kind of driver will give up some gas economy for extra performance by switching the control lever to low for super getaway you'll leave the pack behind without any trouble but what about getaway when you're in Drive position well let's watch a normal driving test here's a Chevrolet with power glide and another car with a standard gear shift there's the light the driver of the Chevrolet gives the accelerator a good nudge then lets up a little the other car gets away in first gear the standard shift is a little ahead but as the standard car loses momentum while the driver shifts to second power glide keeps accelerating smoothly evenly and when the other car hesitates to shift into third power glide has pulled way out ahead with its velvet cushioned flow of power power glide gives a new feeling to get away yes power glide is a wonderful new experience in driving the hundreds of thousands of power Glides on the road during the first year have given the equivalent of several years of owner Road testing as compared with the experience of any other new automatic transmission a major engineering achievement no major service problems so Powerglide offers you the only proved automatic transmission in the low price field and the only one with all these driving advantages and now more beautiful than ever with more driving ease than ever before Chevrolet for 51 with Powerglide lets you drive with a velvet glove smoothly effortlessly the equivalent of an infinite number of gear ratios always just the power you need automatically under cushion control another reason why Chevrolet is smarter safer and offers greater value