> no.. the automatic vanagons dont have a kickdown switch on the floor.   any
> other guesses?
>

Gotta give him a little credit for his answer in that he never said
"floor". Yes, it's not on the floor, and it's a mechanical lever not
an electrical switch, but there is a spring-loaded downshift mechanism
on the tranny putting that much more resistance on the cable. But I
suspect that's not the reason. As I reach down under my workbench here
and turn that threaded shaft with my lineman's pliers, it doesn't seem
like it's strong enough to require reinforcing the pedal.