My 1984 300SD always takes off in 1st. Everybody seems to say that this car takes off in 2nd. When I bought the car, I noticed it had very good acceleration and the "famous" firm 1-2 shift. The problem was the 1-2 shift was too late, requiring me to rev the engine higher than I'd like to. So, I loosened up the bowden cable as much as possible, and it it shifts nice. Why you think it takes off in 1st every time instead of 2nd?