AUTOS: The Matics Have It

In the shift to automatic transmissions, automen have added a shoal of new words to the language. Most of them, as might be expected, end in "matic" (e.g., Hydra-Matic, Gyro-Matic, Ultramatic). Last week the Ford Motor Co. announced a new automatic transmission of its own, developed with Borg-Warner Corp. for the 1951 Mercurys. Its name: "Merc-O-Matic." In a few months the company will bring out a new transmission, optional on all 1951 Fords. The name, to nobody's great surprise: "Ford-O-Matic."

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