Tom and Joe...I think there are differences that you are not recognizing.

First, manual transmissions are driven differently than automatics. You are the "brains" for the manual, and the automatic has its own "brains", less so on Joe's coach, but more so on later coaches with ATEC.

When you select a hill climbing gear, you can move the pedal up and down until you sense where your speed starts letting off. You do not have to hold your foot to the floor because anything past that point where your speed diminishes is not going to change your speed or acceleration. That is a throwback to mechanical injectors however.

With our DDEC and ATEC controlled engines and transmissions your throttle position is controlled regardless of where you put the pedal. The DDEC will not open the injectors beyond the point necessary to optimize the power. You can call for more power, but you will only get what the engine can deliver whether it is your foot on the pedal, or the cruise control handling the pedal (figuratively speaking).

Prior to the DDEC type engine controls, and what has prompted truckers to claim it is best to keep the pedal at or below the point where the speed dropped off was what would happen if you pushed your foot to the floor climbing a hill on which you could not maintain speed or accelerate. With mechanical injectors, holding your foot into the pedal more than the engine could handle resulted in lots of black smoke. Your pedal was the determining factor in fuel delivery so it made perfect sense for you as a driver to not use so much throttle the engine could not efficiently burn the fuel.

Except for very early coaches, that will not happen any more. Is the old way of doing things valid? It will not hurt, but the way the coaches are set up no matter how much you push the pedal the coach will deliver the maximum performance if that is what you ask of it, and there is not a downside to pedal to the metal.