P & M session

[maxhifi]

Originally Posted by dieseljeep

My 2006 Jeep Wrangler has a six speed manual transmission that seems to have a real low first gear. When driving it, I also shift through all the gears, instead of starting out in a higher gear, which is harder on the clutch.
Regarding the engine cut-off feature, there's is some gasoline-only cars out there that have it. I believe it's not a good system.
The Prius' design doesn't use an alternator or a starter. Everything is done by the traction motor and the invertor system.
There's a theory of operation found on the internet.

That sounds like the old granny gear, it's probably related to the off-road nature of the Jeep. I think it would come in handy if you were off-roading and needed to crawl over some really ugly terrain. Old Ford farm trucks with the 4 speed always had that, it's great for starting an overloaded trailer moving without burning your clutch, not so great for city commuting.

I think you might actually put less wear and tear on the clutch by shifting frequently with the engine putting out very little torque, than by starting in a high gear and dumping the clutch into a situation where it has to close under a big load - like say starting rolling in 3rd gear.