 The standard transmission was a three-speed manual with overdrive available as an option.Merc-O-Matic and Multi-Drive automatic transmissions were available as options.For 1962, Mercury marketing decided that the Monterey nameplate had better consumer recognition than the Meteor moniker as far as full-sized vehicles were concerned (despite the fact that the Meteor outsold the Monterey), and instead assigned the Meteor name to a new line of mid-sized cars based on the Ford Fairlane which, in turn, was based on a long-wheelbase version of the Ford Falcon chassis.