Several questions have always been unanswered in the back of my mind and they seem to apply to this thread so I'll ask.

#1 Does downshifting manually in a Auto transmission do any harm or create any out of the ordinary wear? This is assuming you are not overrevving the motor upon downshifting.

#2 Is is OK to use the heel and toe method in a Auto by blipping the throttle to get a matching rpm just before the transmission responds with the downshift?

#3 And lastly, in a manual transmission is there any harm in upshifting to a random higher gear, such as from 2nd to 4th?

I do practice these techniques all the time I must tell you, every women who has been in the car (and some men) seem to think these are harmful? I have not seen evidence to support either side?