A vehicle gear transmission includes a switching means (41), a switch mode judging means (112), and a shift stage identification means (202). A shift mode of the transmission is switched between an automatic shift mode and a manual shift mode by the switching means (41). The switch mode judging means (112) senses when the transmission has been switched from the automatic shift mode to the manual shift mode by the switching means (41). The shift stage identification means (202) identifies the selected shift stage in the automatic shift mode at the instant when the automatic shift mode is switched to the manual shift mode. Further, the shift stage identification means identifies when the selected shift stage in the automatic shift mode of the transmission is an overdrive shift stage at the instant when the automatic shift mode was switched to the manual shift mode. In this case, a shift-down operating means (203) shifts-down the shift stage of the transmission from the overdrive shift stage at the time of transition from automatic to manual mode when a vehicle speed judging means (106) judges that the vehicle speed is higher than a predetermined vehicle speed. <IMAGE>
