http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manual_transmission#Column-mounted_shifterLater, European and Japanese models began to have 4-speed column shifter and some of these made their way to the USA.
However, the column manual shifter disappeared in North America by the mid 1980s, last appearing in the 1986 Ford F-150. But in the rest of the world, the column mounted shifter remained in production, and was in fact common in some places. For example, all Toyota Crown and Nissan Cedric taxis in Hong Kong had the 4-speed column shift until 1999 when automatic began to be offered. Since the late 1980s or early 1990s, 5-speed column shifter has been made in some vans sold in Asia and Europe, such as Toyota Hiace and Mitsubishi L400.
