Comments by "Greg Wayne" (@friguy4444) on "Did Ford Ruin Their Manual Transmission? (Mustang)" video.

After reading the comments it seems there are a few people that don't quite understand what OD really means. An OD is nothing more than a higher gear. They call it OD because it used to be (most likely before you were born) something extra that they put into manual cars when they only had three or four gears (Later five) to help the car or truck save gas and to make it a bit easier on the engine as well as it would quiet the car on long trips. (But not for passing) the OD was usually a button or switch but not always sometimes it was just another gear marked OD. It was also kind of a marketing thing to sell cars but it was beneficial. Later they just called it fifth (then added the over drive for the same reasons) and then just a 6 speed manual etc. So now days when people talk about the cruising gear of fifth or sixth they often call it an over drive gear. But it's nothing more then a tall or high gear. So when you want to pick up speed quickly you are supposed to drop a gear or two in order to get the acceleration required. Automatics do this when you put your foot down when your on the highway. They automatically drop down a gear and the car accelerates better. If in a Mustang you are in fifth gear and going 150mph and you change to 6th you will have the car wound up to a fast enough speed (RPM) so that you will (If you have the HP) accelerate as you had been up to that point. If you change to 6th at 65mph then 6th is merely for cruzing and saving gas at low RPM.
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