In the song G.I. Jive it says:
They give you a private tank
That features a little device
Callled `fluid drive’
Jack, after you revive…
What exactly does this refer to? The toilet?
Fluid drive is a type of proto-automatic transmission introduced in the 40’s. It was used in some tanks and other military vehicles during the war. It was a big deal on some civilian vehicles of the late 40’s and early 50’s. I learned to drive on a 1948 DeSoto with Fluid Drive. It had a 3 speed shifter on the column and a clutch but you could shift with or without the clutch.
JB
Lex Non Favet Delicatorum Votis
Now, that’s the kind of straightforward, solid, serious answer to a question that’s so hard to get on the net. Thank you very much, JBENZ.
“Kind of…answer that is so hard to get…”
Yeh , well, JB just got here before I did.
I really had that one wrong, I remember my dad calling a skunk a “two-tone kitty with fluid drive.” 