The "Shopping trolley" is a VW Polo and has a gear shift pattern that I absolutely detest.
[Linked Image]

Maybe I am a bit heavy handed but having a reverse that is push-down and up, next to the first gear, I find bordering on dangerous. If one is a bit pushed for a difficult situation it is all too easy to engage reverse instead of first. Accelerating backwards into the car behind you is not generally considered good form. Not that I have ever done it but I have come close.
I have recently discovered that the Mini has the same shift pattern so perhaps it is a German thing.

The shift pattern in the Morgan Plus 4 is a, to me at least, more conventional: 5 speed, reverse right down. Reverse can not be engaged directly from 5th as you need to have the stick in neutral before moving right and down. In any case one would not accidentally engage reverse whilst try to get into 4th.
[Linked Image]

I have also driven 6 speed boxes that require a grip under the gear knob to be raised before reverse can be engaged. In both cases it would be near impossible to accidentally engage reverse.

When so many critical controls in many machines are standardised throughout the world I often wonder why shift patterns are not standardised. One can hardly imagine a vehicle that has the accelerator pedal next to the clutch, for example. Whatever the case it won't be long before manual gear shift cars will go the way of the dinosaurs so I suppose the necessity for standardised shift patterns will disappear of its own accord.

When talking about standardisation I have often wondered why 30% of the world still insists on driving on the left hand side of the road. This is an example of an issue that should have been resolved at least 100 years ago before nearly everyone had some form of motorised transport. Rules to avoid collision at sea have long since been standardised so why not rules to avoid collision on the roads?

And don't even get me started on appliance and portable device batteries that are not standardised. 🤬

Peter

[Linked Image]