Three “Lighting Rods” sprung from the center console, which allowed the driver to progress through each gear — one stick shifter at a time. The process was so outside the box that a supplemental foldout was given out along with the owner’s manual showing how to operate the quirky Lightning Rods (see image below).
We’ll start with the stick on the far left and closest to the driver since it’s the most standard of the lot and was used to engage Park, Reverse, Neutral, Overdrive, and Drive. Hopping over to the far right (and furthest away from the driver) was the stick that shifted gears from first to second gear. The third (middle) stick took it from second into third gear.
Everyday driving required leaving the middle and far right shifters in the forward position while the main shifter next to the driver was slid into whatever mode was needed. If the driver felt frisky — and wanted some faux “manual” shifting action — they engaged the other two sticks.
The car was in first gear with all three sticks pulled back/at the bottom. As RPMs revved higher, the far right shifter was moved forward at the appropriate time from first into second gear. The same process was repeated for the middle shifter when moving from second to third. Moving the closest shifter from Drive into Overdrive put the car’s transmission into its highest gear.
The complete manual transmission experience was achieved by downshifting in the reverse order. Don’t worry about shifting out of order or into park while driving because the system quite literally wouldn’t allow that to happen.
