Nuke

Start the car, fasten your seat belt, scan the gauges and take off easy. Even in single digit or colder temps (I've lived where it's been -20 F when I left the house), todays oils are suitable for immediate driving.

KonaStangPete

donno bout whats "good" for the car but i just start and go while keeping it below 2k til it warms up a bit

HT

I usually wait until the RPMs drop down to a normal idle level and then take off.

bigblue95z

Will usually wait until the rpms idle back to normal after the start. Then take 'er easy for a lil bit.

S197GT07

What?

Who did you hear this from?

t2grr

I mean a Catalytic Convertor, they are on ever newish car in Europe (by law i think) and i dont know if they have introduced them to US.

:-)

S197GT07

They have been in the US since... to wikipedia!
1975.

There is 0 harm to the cat's if you let the car idle btw. Not that i care because I took mine off

Boondoggie

The only time I let my car idle to warm up is if I need to clear off the windows before heading off. Then I start the car, the the defrosters to full, and either get out and start sweeping the snow off the car, or go huddle in the house and peer out to see if the windows are melting yet.

Otherwise I do as Nuke said, start the car, get settled in, and then drive away taking it easy.

ski

FWIW, the "recommended" method is exactly what the OP described.

Allowing an engine to idle for long periods after cold starts lengthens its warm up time because it's not working under a load.
This not only causes unnecessary wear on the cylinder walls and piston rings due to a rich gas mixture diluting the oil and decreasing its lubricating ability, but the excessive gas can also damage the crankshaft bearings by thinning the crankcase oil. It also increases emissions by lengthening the time for the cats to warm up.

chidrock

I always wait until the car settles down after I start it. Driving off before the RPMs drop to normal levels doesn't feel right to me.

If there's ice on the windows I will wait until the defroster knocks it down to an acceptable level (no way I'm using a scraper that could leave scratches on the glass), then I will just take it easy until it feels like its warmed up.