In regards to auto-zoom there is currently no way to have it pause for a period of time. Basically what you see is what you get.

I think it would be nice to have Navit "learn" what zoom level to use at different speeds based off of what zoom level a user tends to zoom manually. When I used auto-zoom I definitely did like what it did but I did wish it would zoom out a little farther for highway speeds.

I chatted with the guy that developed that auto-zoom feature on IRC a couple of days ago. He is no longer actively involved in Navit aside from monitoring the channel I believe. It didn't sound like he was interested in adding any new features either so if it's going to happen it will probably be someone else picking up the torch and carrying it.