1961 Cadillac Deville

[walyfd]

1956 cadillac had the dual-coupled hydramatic with reverse on the bottom. It was used through 1965 on the commercial and 75 series.

I've heard it called slim Jim, jet away, and POS because it's a finicky trans with the TV adjustment.

[Firedome]

Cad never used the RotoHydramatic aka Slim Jim. It was used only in all full-size Olds from '61 to '64, and swb Pontiacs: Catalina, GP. Unlike the 4 spd Hydramatic it was 3 spd with a fluid coupling + stator, what Olds called Accel-a-Rotor, offering 4 ranges with only 3 gears. Very smooth shifting but not durable with hard use. While they can be OK with proper maintenance and normal non-abusive use, it was mistake for Olds, traditionally the advanced engineering GM division, to use such a fragile trans, but finally rectified by the THM-400 in '65. The 2 spd Jetaway aka Super Turbine 300 was a better choice in '64 when it was introduced, at least for durability, but in Olds it was only available on Belmont and Jetstar 88, and F85/Cutlass.

BTW Bob Lutz had nothing to do with diminished GM quality, he was at Opel in marketing from '63 to '71 (and spearheaded the excellent Kapitan, and Diplomat), then revitalized BMW, then went to Ford and Chrysler. He didn't even come back to GM until 2000, so he had nothing to do with GM bean-counting of the '71 Cad, it was Fred Donner ('58 to '67) and Jim Roche '67 to '71) whose strict financial controls and brutal cost cutting sabotaged GM's quality... from '58 to '71 you can see it in every succeeding model introduction. Then Tom Murphy, another finance guy in the '70s. Smith, the ultimate bean counter in the '80s was the coup de grace. Lutz had nothing to do with it and if anything he injected emphasis on better products post-2000, pushing for the Solstice, GTO (Holden), V8 Caprice (Holden), improved G10 Impala &c. GM's firing of CEO Bob Stemple, an engineer, in '92 had had severe consequences for product but Lutz tried valiantly to re-emphasize it in the face of severe restrictions. I give him a lot of credit.

[Firedome]

I might add that Bob Lutz wrote an entire book not long ago on how bean-counters ruined GM and have been detrimental to US business in general, I suggest ya'll read it, it's excellent: "Cars Guys vs Bean Counters and the Battle for the Soul of American Business". I happen to have it.