Until now, the only car I had with an automatic transmission was a '57 Ford Convertible I owned in 1962-63, so I'm a novice at driving one.

I suppose I can drive the 430 in "D" all the time, but it just doesn't seem right to me after all these years of "keeping the revs up". I usually drive in 3rd until I get to about 50 when I shift to 4th. If I'm going to drive over 50 for an appreciable length of time, I'll shift to "D" to take advantage of the overdrive. When slowing down to stop, I always downshift in steps to 2nd and then resume driving in 3rd.

Is this a logical way to drive an automatic? How do you drive an automatic?

Speaking of shifting, why do you suppose there's a caution on page 199 of the manual to "Never put your foot on the accelerator pedal while shifting."?

 

If you want to keep the rev's up use the sport mode. The joy of the automatic, especially one as smooth as in the SC 430's is that you can forget about that part of driving, and concentrate on other things. The trans shifts almost imperceptably, and the car just goes from destination to destination without effort. It may take a while to get used to someone else doing the matching of gears to rpm's but believe me the computer controlled transmission communicates with the computer controlled engine management system to do a better job shifting automatically than you could ever do manually. The trans will smoothly match torque to load, and all you need to concentrate on is how far and fast you push down on your accelerator. Enjoy the ride! (oops thats Nissan)

 

Oh yes...You should not push down on the accelerator when "shifting" from park to reverse to drive etc, not applicable when shifting thru forward gears, however if left alone in D the engine will retard torque when shifting to reduce shock to drivetrain, and smooth out the shift for the comfort of the occupants.

 

1NSC430 - Given that the Drive Train is Warranted for 6 Years / 70,000 Miles with Zero Deductible, I will probably use the Transmission to downshift for most "Full Stops" at intersections and traffic signals, rather than rely soley on the Disc Brakes, the Pads of which are not covered for that long of a time period.

Driven responsibly, and within reason, it helps circulate the Synthetic Oil that I intend to start using at the first Oil change; may help burn a little more of the carbon off of the Valve Train and Pistons; Extends the Service Life of the Brake System Components; Minimizes the amount of Brake Dust that will try and discolor the Wheels; allows me to "pretend" that I've still got the Manual Shifter of my former BMW's, and provides me some extended muted Music from the Free-Flowing Performance Exhaust System, when the Top is Down, and the 240-Watt Nine-Speaker Premium Sound System is off, of course.

Life is Driving a SC 430, then you die.

"The Ultimate Luxury / Performance Driving Machine!"