Hameed

They maybe playing catch up to Toyota/Lexus in terms of hybrids, however I doubt very much they will be playing catchup in anything else.

An 8-speed tranny is not something I would call "playing the catch-up game". What exactly is the "real" benefit of an 8-speed tranny versus a 7-speed tranny?

Lexus brought out the 8-speed tranny merely to eclipse the 7-speed tranny in the S-class. It is completely unnecessary and serves absolutely no real purpose other than bragging rights.

gsCrazy

iTrader: (1)

HAHHAHAHAHHAAAA...

kit cat

iTrader: (6)

i can see it now...

or something environmental like that.

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

Of course!

It's as useful as an 8th gear going forward!!!

mavericck

Stupid....whats the point of having any more than 6 gears? This pissing war has to stop.

widlfiresd

I tried an RX400h with CVT. It was like driving a golf cart. I could not have been any more bored.

GFerg

well .....

I dont think it actually shifts while in motion though (a 1-2 change going in reverse). It probably stays in one of the two preselected gears.

LexFather

Some of these comments amaze me. So you want to **** on an 8 speed auto but its okay if
1. Cars have 8 pistons brakes
2. Cars have 500hp
3. Cars get bigger and bigger
4. Nav screens get bigger
5. Wheels and Tires are now 19" standard on many cars.
etc etc

If your going to bish, well bish about everything that is more in cars. Not just the 8 speed tranny.

THE FACTS Are
The Lexus 8-speed:

1) Occupies the same space as the previous 6-speed
2) Uses 10% fewer parts than the 6-speed
3) Weighs less than the 6-speed
4) Better Acceleration
5) Better Fuel Economy

http://www.edmunds.com/insidel...16509

rominl

iTrader: (4)

you drove the rx400h? ah ic. get in a gs450h and we will see

fuel economy and smoothness are two facts that come up my mind right the way. the s class and 7 series don't shift as smooth as the ls460 at all. while it could be a bit bragging rights to lexus, but you can't say they are "completely" unnecessary and serves "absolutely" no purpose unless you have "real" proofs imho.

TRDFantasy

The new LS handily outclasses the 7 Series in terms of safety technology, and even beats the S Class by a narrow margin in terms of safety. A rear pre-crash safety system? The S Class doesn't have that. A driver monitoring system? No other competitor has that either.

I very much doubt many of the LS460 owners on our forums call the 8 speed "completely unnecessary".

We're talking about luxury cars, or more to the point, prestige luxury cars. This has never been BMW's strong point. Mercedes has always been associated historically with prestige luxury, while BMW has always been associated with sport luxury.

Many LS460 owners remark on how much smoother the tranny is compared to an LS430, or even compared to the new S Class. Many owners also love the class-leading fuel economy.

Yes, the 8 speed is a bragging right, but there were legitimate reasons for developing this 8 speed.

Using your logic, a 6 speed is unnecessary, and we should all be driving 2 or 3 speed cars.

The 8 speed tranny provides a new level of luxury, among other things.

Some critics have remarked that the Tundra's 6 speed is not a big deal compared to GM's 4 speed trucks. In fact, it is a big deal, and it shows in testing and in reviews.

nthach

Looks like ZF is now joining into the fray... Unless BMW decides to go GM on the 7 Series, the 5s and 3s use GM trannies made in France...

92 SC400

Pretty soon, with all these greas, it'll be like we're talking about mountain bikes...

mavericck

Those two features that mentioned the S-class not having, well it in fact does have Pre-safe and was actually introduced on the previous generation S-class as a world's first back in the late 90's. As for the "rear Pre-Safe" system you speak of, it doesn't exist...according to Lexus's website (http://www.lexus.com/models/LS/features/safety.html) and neither does the "driver monitoring system".

MB Pre-Safe: http://www.mbusa.com/brand/models/te...V&accCode=3012

There are systems and features on both cars that one doesn't have and the other has. For instance, the MB has Night Vision and Drive-Dynamic seats that hug you in a corner and the Lexus has LED headlights and reclining Ottoman seats.

Hameed

You won't get any arguments from me regarding the "merits" of the 8-speed tranny. Having said that, I am pretty sure Lexus could have done the same thing with a 7-speed tranny.



I don't have "real proofs" Rom, however I have an 8-year old 99 GS400 with a 5-speed tranny and it is anything but "not smooth". You cannot tell me your 5-speed tranny in your GS is rough or in any way not smooth.

I still maintain that a 7-speed tranny would have sufficed. You cannot tell me that Lexus could not have achieved the same or near identical smoothness with a 7 speed tranny as opposed to an 8-speed tranny.

And using your logic, we should all be driving cars with 16 speed trannies........

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

Your tireless efforts to promote the superiority of all things Lexus are impressive.

But once a potential customer is told about 6, 7, 8+ airbags, active belts, brakes, plus an alphabet soup of DSC, ABC, VDIM, RSC, and on and on, the differences blur and become pretty meaningless.

As usual you only point out what Lexus has that others might not but not the other way around.

Source for 'Many"? Regardless, although I've not experienced it I'm sure the 8 speed is smoother than the 6, 5 speeds of before, plus even if others get 8 speeds Lexus will probably still be smoother because they program and design their trannies and torque converters for smoothness, low noise and fuel efficiency and not for performance.

I agree. More gears provides better towing capability, smoother shifting, better economy, etc. I was disappointed our F-150 only has a 4 speed auto (I think) while my Explorer has a 6 speed auto.