[Daschicken]

I had a 2001 Nissan Maxima 4 speed auto that made me ask this same question. When the car was warmed up, it would be in 4th gear in the neighborhood (25mph). I usually turned off OD to keep it in 3rd instead, but I think it actually got better gas mileage in 4th at that speed. I think it hung around 1100-1200 rpm in 4th maintaining speed, while 3rd was 1200-1300. That seemed backwards to me because 4th fully locked at 25 mph would be about 700 rpm, so that's a lot of slip.

I kind of miss that car. I miss its amazing throttle response, decent low end torque, and its interior. But I definitely DON'T miss that craptastic 4 speed auto. I looked at my fuelly back when I had the car, 22 mpg. I wasn't as good at hypermiling back then, and I didn't have my long highway commute, but that is still pretty bad.