Powerglide Automatic Transmissions?

I thought that after a car with automatic transmission is stopped and the driver steps on the gas pedal, the car starts in first gear, upshifts to second gear, and then upshifts to third gear. I was watching a video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=679&v=IlbplGhPTJc&feature=emb_title
and I think that this transmission stays in high gear unless the driver shifts it to low gear. Is this true?

No, the pg is a 2 speed, first, the high gear.

I know that the PG is 2-speed but in the video that I linked to, I'm confused about how the PG is supposed to work. Some automatic transmissions start in 2nd gear instead of 1st gear.

What transmission starts in 2nd gear? There is a reason it's called 1st gear.

What transmission starts in 2nd gear? There is a reason it's called 1st gear.


Some of the newer cars start in 2nd gear when they're not in "sport" mode, accelerating with near WOT, or similar as part of the torque management to reduce wear on the drive train. There may be other reasons for it as well.


-Rod