Cadillac XLR-V 2006 Owner's Manual page 80

The gear displays on the HUD until the next time you
upshift or downshift.
The gear selected and shown in the HUD is one of a
number of gears available. It does not mean that
the vehicle will operate only in that specific gear.
Notice: If you drive your vehicle at high RPMs
without upshifting while using Driver Shift Control
(DSC), you could damage your vehicle. Always
upshift when necessary while using DSC.
If you do not upshift as the engine approaches the
red line on the engine rpm (revolutions per minute) gage,
the engine speed is controlled to limit the engine rpm.
Not all manual downshift requests will be allowed
by the transmission. To prevent excessive engine rpms,
each gear has a maximum vehicle speed associated
with it. Any downshift request above this speed will
not be allowed by the transmission.
If shifting is prevented for any reason, the current
gear will flash multiple times in the DIC, indicating
that the transmission has not shifted gears.
Some automatic downshifts may occur to maintain
minimum engine speed. This only happens if the vehicle
is left in too high of a gear for the vehicle's speed.
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For example, if you have been driving in fifth gear range
and come to a stop without manually downshifting,
fifth gear will continue to display in the HUD. The
transmission will automatically downshift to second gear.
As you begin to drive and accelerate, the transmission
will automatically upshift as quickly as possible to the
selected fifth gear.
In higher gears, an automatic downshift will occur if you
press the accelerator pedal to the floor. This feature
provides adequate acceleration capabilities if you forget
to downshift manually.
Automatic upshifts and downshifts will not display in
the HUD.
DSC can be used while using cruise control, but
transmission shifting will be different while the cruise
control is on. This is not a malfunction and is necessary
to allow proper operation of the cruise control.
To return to fully automatic operation, move the shift
lever to the right and back into the AUTOMATIC
OVERDRIVE (D).
When accelerating your vehicle from a stop in snowy
and icy conditions, you may want to shift into second
gear. A higher gear allows you to gain more traction on
slippery surfaces.