Comments by "g bridgman" (@1940limited) on "1957 Chevrolet With Turbo Glide Transmission Commercial" video.

@Paramount531 You're right. They don't shift. All Buick automatics in big cars were shiftless from 48-63. Chevrolet's Turbo-Glide was the same. I've been told early Power Glides, were, too, but I've never driven one.
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The transmission was OK if you used it properly, which most people didn't. "Gr" was "Grade Retard" for going down steep hills only, not for accelerating.
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@senorkaboom Exactly!
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You're 100% correct in your terminology and review of the transmission. I had a 57 Nomad with Turbo Glide and never had any trouble with it. I had several big series 58 Buicks but all had been converted to regular Dyna-Flow before I got them. Flight Pitch Dyna-Flow, as it was called, was standard in the Limited and Roadmaster. In 59 it was Triple Turbine Dyna-Flow and optional on all models. I had a 59 Electra with it. I had no problems with that transmission, either, but never used "G" just to play it safe. When I first got the 57 nomad I thought it strange it didn't shift, just like a Buick. It took me a while to figure it out! I never used "Gr" in that car, either. It was such a low gear as to be almost unusable for anything. I put it in "Gr" once, briefly, just to see what it did. Same thing with the 59 Electra 225. I tried "G" once just for the hell of it, then quickly put it back in drive. That was it.
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It was just lile Buick's Dyna-Flow and sucked gas like no tomorrow. I had a 57 Nomad with it.
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