Why Drive and not Forward?

On Mar 20, 3:49*pm, Ad absurdum per aspera >
wrote:
> > D- Drive, Well you do "drive " the vehicle but why not F- Forward?
>
> Good question! *I honestly don't know the answer, but this page about
> the Hydra-Matic suggests narrowing down the search to the immediate
> postwar years:http://members.tripod.com/starchief5...cles.htm#hydra
> "...N-H-L-R, in 1946 it was changed to N-Dr-Lo-R. Later it was changed
> to P-R-N-D-L to reflect the addition of a "PARK" feature. "
>
> My guess on *why* would be that D-for-drive *looks the least like the
> other letters.
>
> I've crossposted to rec.autos.antique in search of somebody who has
> either researched or personally remembers those early days of
> automatics...
>
> Cheers,
> --Joe

Assuming that you are not from that era, I will point out
that people used the term "first" for the startin gff forward gear and
all those learning anew might think of F as first,
not forward.
Most people going backwards don't think of that as driving,
but backing (up). f you want someone to back into a parking spot you
don't say 'Drive into that spot." - you say "Back
into that spot."

Just some thoughts from an OAP.....