does, however, make sense that many drivers today are
unfamiliar with the “G” shift and some may never encounter this gear in their lifetimes.
What the G Actually Stands For
The “G” stands for Gelände, a German word that
translatesdirectly to “terrain.” The word originates from the German automotive giant, Mercedes-Benz, with the full word being Geländewagen, which translates to “all-terrain vehicle.” The Mercedes-Benz G-Class was originally developed in the late 1970s as a military off-road vehicle, built at the request of the Shah of Iran before civilian production versions followed. The word Gelände attached itself to that vehicle’s identity and, over time, to any ultra-low gear that shared the same or similar purpose as the gear position on the G-Wagon.
The “G” on a stick shift traces
back
to Geländewagen, the German word for all-terrain vehicle, a term that originated with Mercedes-Benz’s military off-road program in the late 1970s.
