1) A manual would be great, but Lexus philosophy isn't about performance over luxury -- it's luxury over performance. An automatic tranny is like a nanny; it does the job for you even though you'd do otherwise. I think that BMW is quite content that Lexus is not offering a tranny. Lexus would rather please 95% of the population rather than the enthusiast 5%. Enthusiasts drive BMWs; Lexus will target the other 95%.

2) Europeans like manual trannys, but don't forget American culture and mentality: the easier, the better. If Americans can get a faster car without the "hassle" of the manual, they'll get it. Now, I know that there are a lot of manual-tranny enthusiasts that would say that it isn't a "hassle", but I assure all of you, 95% of the population think that a manual tranny is a "hassle."

3) Enthusiasts have a right to have a car that they'll love. A true "sports" "performance" "racing" car is out there. It isn't in a Lexus lot. True sports performance racing cars, such as Ferraris and Lambos, have manual trannys, are colored canary-yellow or prostitute-red, and hug the road and curves like velcro. Lexus can't provide these things for now, and they will not please the enthusiasts population for now. But Lexus will not cry about losing 5% of the auto market. I think they've made that decision a long time ago and are quite content that they are still doing a damn good job with the cars that they do offer. Sorry, but I really had to break the bad news to you guys...

 

Nope....I've never owned a BMW.....I'm not quite in that price range yet......the 330i that I test drove would have cost in excess of $40k which is out of my price range. Make NO mistake.....if I could have afforded the 330i I would have taken it over either version of the IS......however, if the IS350 came in a manual, it would me a much tighter race and I'd probably take whichever I could get the best price on in that instance.

 

What sense does that make? Most ppl that choose manual, choose it
for the main reason that manual cars are usually much faster than
automatic cars... So You'd choose the slower car simply because
because it has a 6 speed man tranny? I think your just in love with the
notion of "having a stick shift car" more than anything else, but i could be wrong..

 

people who love manuals take pride in making a perfect shift or heel-and-toe maneuver, as well as covet the sense of total control over their car. Nowadays, even most Lambo's and Ferrari's come with clutchless manuals. Where is the pride in that?! As auto trannies get smarter and faster, the performance and fuel economy penalties disappear; and the advantage of manual transmission also becomes non-existent, except for the joy of grabbing the stick. I don't see people lament the extinction of manual sunroof/window/mirror.

 

No it's not the speed, the automatics are so good now that advantage has shrunk to miniscule, it's the control & the satisfaction that you're really driving the car.

 

I don't care how good autos are now, they will never match the efficiency of a manual trans. an auto trans will always just absorb a little more horsepower. just that alone is worth a tenth or two in the quarter, now add the ability to launch at any desired rpm and there are two huge pluses for a MT from a pure performance standpoint, no matter how good the AT is.

 

I'd like to see Lexus offer an IS350 with both AWD and a stick. The formula of a powerful engine, a manual transmission and all wheel drive (in the same car) has been well received by customers and auto mags alike on cars as diverse as the first and second generation Eclipse/Talon, the Stealth/3000GT, Audi S4, Subaru WRX and others. I think they would sell enough of them to make it worth their while.

 

I wanted to see the 350 in manual as well, but after the test drive I actually really liked the speed shifters on the steering wheel.

 

i may be wrong, but arent the fastest cars in the world (top fuel) all
automatics?

 

Exactly the reason I prefer manual over auto.

 

or there are people like me who simply would or wouldnt buy a car depending on weather or not it had a MT. I would''ve much rather had a 350 but I had to settle for a 250 because you can at least get it in a manual.

 

things are a little different when you have 10,000 hp

 

I'm the same too.

 

Lexus is fine with that, since they still made the sale. But there are probably people like you that wouldn't buy the 350 without a stick, but settled for a G35 or 330i instead.

 

I'm totally the opposite. I had an IS350 on order, and went into extra test-drives after the fact with an upbeat hope that I'd like the auto tranny; however, once I drove it, I hated it. Decent feel on the paddles, but a 2!!! second delay in upshifts, non smooth revmatching on downshifts, and the fact that it WON'T HOLD THE GEAR YOU SHIFT TO completely killed the joy for me. I cancelled my order and bought an MT IS250.

Now, if Lexus would improve the behavior of the AT, it will be a no brainer trade-in/up situation for me. I'm not a stickler about the actual technology or mechanics of the shifting (slushbox, SMG, DSG, whatever), but it dang well better do WHAT I say WHEN I say it (with acceptable safeguards in place, like not downshifting when doing so would cause the engine to overrev, etc.)