I guess young North Americans won't have much experience with 4 (or 5) on the tree, but for other parts of the world it was pretty common. I used to have a 1954 Austin A40 pickup, at the same time my wife (girlfriend then) had a 1954 Series II Morris Oxford, both made by BMC, powered by the B Block engine. The Oxford had 1st and 2nd up to the steering wheel, 3rd and 4th then reverse down from there. The A40 was the reverse, 1st and 2nd down, higher gears and reverse up to the steering wheel. Like different shift patterns and sides on a motorcycle, we didn't have any problems swapping between cars.
Apart from the DKW, the Japanese made some 2 stroke cars. Suzuki had several, one I remember had a triple in the rear, you went in behind the rear seat to adjust the carbs. My sister in law had a 2 cyl Daihatsu Max, we used to borrow it when we came to the city...I remember with no engine braking it would take off down the hills. In NZ we got all sorts of strange cars, but not the Tabrant.