Sorry guys, it'* not a new feature. It goes way back.

it'* more of a old performance and common sense type of a thing.

Typical console shifters you push the button to get out of P into R, from R the shifter can be moved w/o button into N and from N you can move to D w/o button. Anything lower than that and you again must press the button, each subsequent lower gear. And you will also need to use the button to go from N to R

Now, thinking about that rationally. You are locked in to Park when you are there.
Once out of park you can move from R to N to D w/o pulling the button which allows you the normal gear change when backing up to start moving forward. Also if you are in D and need N you can not over shoot into R and cause trans problems.

When you are in high gear you must push the button to go lower in case you are moving fast you know you are going to rev higher.

Now feature wise, if you put the car into 1st at a stop and begin moving, your transmission will automatically shift up to 2nd when it should but will not go above 2nd. However if you put the selector in 2nd your transmission is locked into 2nd and when you start moving your RPM will be lower than you expect. This is because you start off in 2nd not first.

You explained it better than I would have, but yeah, cars have been like that for a while. When I was taking Driver'* Ed in High School (yes, we had cars back then), our instructor explained it was for three point turns.

At one point I thought it had to do with the slap shifters. Which lets admit it..those were awesome..specially if you got a early 70'* one..I saw on in a Cuda that was all different cool colors. You know the engineers were smoking during that one.

Mines the same way,

Sounds about right. It'* pretty standard unless you have a column shifter?

I think the same applies to the column shifter, except instead of not pushing a button you just don't have to pull the lever forward? It just moves down?

I can't say for sure....I havn't driven our explorer in a long time...

I just unplugged it. Its a little solenoid under the console on the back side of the shifter assembly. I still have to push the button to go from drive to reverse and all that which is good, but i don't have to push the brake to get it out of park, which sucked.

Whats so bad about having to be on the brake to go from P to R? Causes a nasty jolt when you aren't on the brakes (was in a truck without the interlock once).

Really? Who'*?

My GA has that feature too. I think the Blazer (column shifter) also did.

Just makes it quicker for him to run over a local if he doesn't need the brakes