have you been in that De Lorian again daneswalk???? that is my story about my driving test in an automatic mini that i think i posted about 3 years ago!!!!!!!!!! He asked me that question and I told him the same as you, the answer is to work down throught the gears, but i said 'but it's an automatic' and he said' well someone has not shown you how to drive an automatic properly' 35 years later and 35 years of driving automatics i still do not know how i would cope if my brakes failed on a hill!!! (i hope you have rigged that cable up to the clock tower cos i have to be in work by 8am tomorrow).............: (((