Just wait! The car isn't even out yet nor are the official stats. It will come!

 

That's just preliminary info which is not official yet. Just hang on!

 

Stop and go traffic has narrowed the demand in the marketplace for manual shifts. The venerable 3 series is produced in fewer and fewer stickshifts each year. We currently have a 5-speed IS300 and it does not fly out the door either. We have not been briefed on the performance of the IS250 which will be available in a 6-Speed manual. The IS350 will be an automatic with a 6 speed automatic with a sequential shift slot like the LS and GS have. I enjoy a stickshift myself so i always use the +/- slot. It is more intuitive than the E-shift which we employed on the GS400, GS300 and IS300. I had a very good customer who wanted to trade in his BMW X5 manual shift. It had every option including a high performance engine chip. We own a BMW store and they didn't want it so I called the other area stores and they were not interested. It was Black on Black and very clean. This same customer is on the list of interest for the GS430 when it arrives in a couple of weeks. He learned that the market for sticks can be dicey. Manufacturers try to mirror the market in their offerings. Even Ferraris are automatics, Formula race cars are automatics, Drag racers are automatic etc....

 

IS350 is auto only??? Boooo Lexus. Looks like I'll have to look elsewhere for the sports sedan I want to buy.

 

Just be patient. The official word on the tranny options for the IS250 and IS350 have yet to be released.

 

At least a real stick shift is still offered as an option in the cars you mentioned, if that's the case why do they even bother to offer a stick shift for the IS250. People who buys the 250 should even care less . . .

 

Hmmm, I can see this (no manual for the larger engine). Especially since the engine is in the Avalon now and will be in the GS sooner than later. Those cars don't come with manuals. So it would cost tons of money to develop a manual for the engine for only 1 car. UNLESS, that engine is shared in the Supra (If that rumor comes true).

As he stated, manuals are nearly dead. The M5 is SMG only for now. Ferraris are selling their Paddle shifters like nuts. Even the 911 Turbo can have an automatic now.

I did find it sad that Infinitit did not offer a manual M35. Since it shares the same engine as the G35. They must have realized, it was not cost effective.

Which is sad, b/c even though manuals may be 5% of sales, ITS THE POINT that it is available.

 

Please dont take dealership employee talk to much to your heart. We all think the best, but the truth is that not many people in USA know about Toyota/Lexus plans, and if they do, they dont blabber them around. Everything said among Toyota/Lexus personel at this low levels is just talk and wishful thinking.

We all like to talk like we know stuff and some of the wildest roumours out there were started by dealership employees.

At least it would be safe to say that IS350 wont be some low volume model in IS line, thats just nonsense. As to manual trannys, they actually might offer them on IS, since they said key to new IS would be wealth of options. GR series of engines already have manual transmissions mated to them so there arent any problems there.

 

You can speculate with the best of them

 

Well said.

 

When I see something on CL that I know is false or I can add something of value, I'll try to post. I learn a lot from CL because it is such a free for all of information. Like pirahna computing. As far as the new IS350 is concerned I got this info directly from factory engineers at training sessions and feedback from production commitee meetings that are ongoing. In early March the official announcement will be made in Geneva by Denny Clements about the new IS. It is somewhat of a throwing down of the gauntlet to do this in Europe where Lexus already has the highest CSI of any brand in say Germany.....In 2004 the IS300 had a 1.5% market share. The plan at the end of '06 is to ramp that up to 7%..... The IS250 will be the volume car with entry pricing, and AWD and a RWD 6 speed manual version available. In fact in the Eastern region we expect about 95% of the IS250's will be AWD. I am guessing a HP around 215 to 220. The high performance IS350 will cost a lot more and therefor be a much smaller production. It should be rated between 310 and 320 HP with approx. 280 lb./ft of torque. A racing team is already formed and gearing up for competition. Lexus won the '04 Rolex Sport Car championship in the driver and team categories. I could bore you with feature content of the new IS but that might be overkill. Figure GS in a smaller package. The GS is coming to a dealer near you next week. Do yourself a favor and drive one if you can. You will be stunned......

 

Wow, so the IS350 may really be something. I can't wait!

 

Your Lexus experience is surely more extensive than mine but as a rookie to this forum I am much more educated as a result of contributions such as those of Rockville and Longo Lexus (Liz) who are admittedly "dealership employees". I hope they continue full speed ahead. They certainly have channels and connections far beyond what we could otherwise glean from the internet alone.

Thanks to them and others who contribute their time to this forum to help and who especially us "newbies" to Lexus.

 

I recently heard from a reliable inside source the release date is May 2006. It was reiterated that it could be V6 or V8; however, it seems that he leaned towards a V8. We did not pry further and I cannot say if he was holding back information or this was an intentional information gap between Corporate and my source.

 

Does anyone know the expected gas mileage on the new GS hybrids that will be out next year?