position, to left of the 'D equated to High on the Gear-Start Ultramatic, while the second, situated to the right of D', was equivalent to the Drive position on the Gear-Start, giving the driver the option of starting in either High or Low with automatic upshifts, ending with Direct Drive engagement of the torque converter, thus the Twin- designation referred to this dual Drive capability. The Twin-Ultramatic suffered many "teething problems" when introduced, which did significant damage to Packard's reputation for quality and reliability. However, over the years it's become clear that Packard's initial Twin Ultramatic problems were not out of line with any other new contemporary designs and the engineering department's program of running changes and updates greatly increased its functionality, excepting driver abuse through excessive application of the higher torque V8's power potential. Lower-powered models in the Packard range and those sold to American Motors suffered fewer problems. Exacerbating the difficulties, Packard was hemorrhaging experienced dealerships, which meant that many 1955 Packards were not being maintained to the previous high standards. Packard offered Twin-Ultramatic in the Packard Clipper, Packard Four Hundred, Packard Patrician, and Packard Caribbean ranges, and sold Twin-Ultramatics to American Motors for use along with their 320ci V8 in top-of-the-line Nash Ambassador and Hudson Hornet models for 1955. 1956: Ultramatic and Touch Button Ultramatic The year 1956 saw a major redesign of a majority of the individual transmission components, including re-calibration of the shift pattern that produced an improvement of shift control. In addition, there was a nomenclature change which reverted to the original Ultramatic Drive brand name. This year also saw the selector quadrant undergo yet another change to a PNHDLR pattern in order to further clarify the two drive ranges and accommodate the soon to be released push button control pod. In addition, General Motors threatened lawsuits regarding Packard's marketing of "dual drive ranges." Despite its completely different design, GM had been marketing a "Dual-Range Hydra-Matic Drive" since 1953, which also used dual drive range selector pattern. In addition, small but important changes to shift linkages, better build quality, and stricter tolerances restored Packard levels of reliability to the 1956 transmission. Also new that year was an aluminum transmission casing, making the Ultramatic lighter than its competition, including the newly-launched push-button Chrysler PowerFlite. Future transmissions from all manufacturers were to follow Packard's lead. Ultramatic Drive was offered on the Packard Patrician, Packard Four Hundred,