a lot louder in my gs300 as well...

 

The LS400 (1999) we have will delay a shift from 2nd - 3rd for the first acceleration whenever the engine is cold (that is, not at operating temperature). Sometimes if you anticipate the rev (it'll kick up to 2500-3000 rpm) and release the pedal it'll make a hard shift.

Just keep a constant pressure on the pedal for your first acceleration of the morning and the jerky shift should not trouble you as much. It gets worse as the time to change your oil approaches and in cold weather.

 

Exactly right.

Also, I believe EPA regs have put pressure on auto makers to make their cars warm up as fast as possible to minimize emissions.