Shifter with novel shift lever position indicator

An improvement in an apparatus for indicating a selected gear position of a plurality of gear positions of a shift lever, where the shift lever is movable between the plurality of gear positions, the shift lever having a stationary member with indicia thereon corresponding to the plurality of gear positions, the shift lever including a band of material that moves with the shift lever and having a flag supported on the band of material for highlighting a portion of the indicia associated with the selected gear position of the shift lever, the improvement comprising:

• a resilient strip of material attached to the band of material and having a bowed section that supports the flag and biases the flag against the indicia with a constant force of engagement despite dimensional variations in clearance between the indicia and the band of material.

A method comprising steps of:

• providing a shifter having a base with indicia thereon for indicating gear positions, a shift lever pivoted to the base for movement between the gear positions, a shift indicator movable with the shift lever having a flag support and a flag constructed to indicate a selected gear position on the indicia, a clearance between the flag support and the indicia being characteristically non-uniform as the shift lever is moved between the gear positions;
• and
• resiliently supporting the flag on the flag support with a leaf-spring-like resilient strip of material that provides a constant biasing force that biases the flag against the indicia for all of the gear positions.