What was Lexus thinking??? (lack of manual tranny on is350)

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06-27-06, 11:00 AM

#31

Wid IS350

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Memphisacc

And who is to say developing a manual tranny is more costly then an auto ? Do you have any proof of that or is it just a self justified statement you made thinking no one was going to try and make your prove it....

Luxury automatics and or sport car automatics aren't the same pieces of garabage you find in an accord or altima....its extremly well engineered. Porsche and BMW both have done amazing things with an auto tranny....imo.

Did someone say it costs more to develop a manual? I certainly didn't - but the cost VS. ROI (return on investment) may not be justified at this time to develop a 6MT for just one platform. I'm confident we'll see one for multi-platform use in the near future though.

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06-27-06, 11:11 AM

#32

pavster

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I don't know. Lexus doesn't have a true sports car (two seat roadster) a la Z4 or SLK, where sales of manuals exceed autos, so I don't think they really have a justified case for a multi-platform 6 speed. What other car would it go on? Europeans love their sequential auto-sticks, so no help from there. In the end, Lexus really isn't about sport. It's about sporty luxury. And in this segment, manual sales are so slim they can be ignored. BMW is moving the same way. The pure sport segment just doesn't sell enough cars. And it's not Like IS sales are lagging right now. It sounds like people are having to wait for months to get a car; where is the incentive for Lexus to do anything different?