Editing Manual transmission (section)

=== "Three on the tree" vs. "four on the floor" ===
During the period when U.S. vehicles usually had only three forward speeds, the most common gear-shifter location was on the steering column, a layout that was sometimes called "three on the tree". By contrast, high-performance cars, and European vehicles in general, mostly used a four-speed transmission with floor-mounted shifters. That layout was referred to as "four on the floor".

Most [[FR layout|FR (front-engined, rear-wheel drive)]] vehicles have a transmission that sits between the driver and the front passenger seat. Floor-mounted shifters are often connected directly to the transmission. [[FF layout|FF (front-engined, front-wheel drive)]] vehicles, [[RR layout|RR (rear-engined, rear-wheel drive)]] vehicles and front-engined vehicles with rear-mounted gearboxes often require a mechanical linkage to connect the shifter to the transmission.