most honda engines don't develop thier torque until higher r.p.m.s, maybe that's some of it, or maybe the transmissions don't grab as well @ idle to save gas when sitting in traffic with the car in gear. just some ideas... anyone ever notice how when you put it in gear, it catches and then a split second later, you can feel it grab and start pulling harder... kinda like there's two processes of it going into gear?