Is it normal for my tranny to operate like a manual transmission in 1st and 2nd gear and an automatic in 3rd and 4th gear. I can take off from a standstill in 2nd gear. Not first then second. Just second.

 

If you put the gear selector in second, it will start in second. This feature is there to prevent spinning in snow and ice. But if you're saying that the car takes off in second even when in the D or 1 position, that's something entirely different.

 

I had assumed that was the reason for it. I had not encountered this before. I am old school :turbo 350, mopar 727. I used to stick my 442 in 2nd gear and light the tires through 1st and 2nd gear. I gess I can't do that with my Firehawk.

 

No, but some guys advise starting burnouts in 2nd. Myself, I start in 1st and upshift manually to 2nd during the burnout.

As you might conclude from my sig, I was once just as old school as you are now