TimboIS

LOL. Not in their demographic. Don't hear to many LFA owners complaining.

OKSTANCE

lol yeah i guess some of us are just old fashioned and stuck in the ways of the past

LexFather

Ridiculous. Lexus manuals were never great and never sold well. Today Ferrari dropped manuals and even the GT3 is pdk. Does anyone honestly think Lexus is going to make a manual? They still are working on their future DSG.

NYKnick101

To the average driver today (2014), the true driving experience is having a car with moderate power (average is around 300-350 hp range), excellent handling and being able to shift gears quickly with out your hands ever leaving the steering wheel

I miss the driving experience of a manual but on the track as well as day to day driving, I'll take a shift able automatic anyday. To be able to drop/advance gears quickly comes in hand

05RollaXRS

If you know how to drive a manual well, you should be able to do that before every corner even in daily driving without even thinking (of course, using heel-toe and rev-matches techniques).

I absolutely love doing it every day as I am approaching a corner while heel-toe'ing 4th -> 3rd -> 2nd etc. or need to merge or pass on the freeway dropping from 6th to 3rd in an instant. They become second nature without even thinking instantaneously. Maybe, I am guilty of being too much of a manual buff.

Unfortunately, 95% of the people who know to drive a manual, don't know these techniques. I see majority just downshifting and then slowly slipping the clutch out as the synchros are overloaded while bringing the revs up slowly (due to engine compression braking).

Kira X

iTrader: (24)

I wish they came with a manual option. If it were available I'd buy one.

They could always drop in the old school V160 from the MKIV Supra.

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

Judging from Lexus' manual in the past, I would NOT want it as an option on the RC-F. If anything, it'll ruin the experience. Why would they want to mess around with something that no one really wants anymore, especially in a limited production car?

diablo2184

iTrader: (1)

i don't think anyone will be drifting in this car.

and although manually rev matching and heel-toe shifting is fun, you can't beat a DCT. the IS-F was pretty good with its 8 speed. it did need some tuning and changes for my personal taste, but when i drove it, i told myself it would be hard to go back to manual. [ but i would still love a supra ]

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

Should the RC-F or standard RC200t and RC350 come with manual options?

Well of course they should. These aren't exactly race cars so why ignore a segment of the coupe buying market by not offering one? Really, if they want lap time bragging rights from the RC-F they should invest in DCTs to more closely link to the LFA heritage.

I love the SC300 5-speed and truly no one buys them any longer unless they want the platform for more brute horsepower. Given that a Lexus coupe is finally being made again I don't see why they couldn't offer a 6 or 7-speed manual if they wanted to even with CAFE.

They probably won't offer either a three pedal manual OR a DCT in the near future. I wouldn't see the point of wasting my time with the car unless, truly, there are no manual transmission RWD coupes available to buy any longer. Plenty of people don't care for a stick and don't feel the difference between an auto or DCT and to that end what can you do?

As long as another manufacturer offers a traditional stock option I'd go to their showroom and order what I want. A car purchase is plenty of money and I don't see the logic in going with the herd if you enjoy driving a stick.

To those who mention age and city traffic, I drive my 5-speed SC in Los Angeles rush hour it's not the shifting that bothers me-- it's the traffic itself that is tiresome. As for age, my 69 year old uncle just bought himself a Mini Cooper S 6-speed and loves it. If that isn't an advanced age I don't know what is.

My guess is that the upcoming Supra and FR-S sedan will have traditional manual transmissions, being targeted at buyers who want a real sportscar experience.

But driving a performance luxury coupe with a stick is great and satisfying fun. I could care less what is faster. The only sin is to offer the stick option ONLY on the most underpowered trim level. This is why the IS250 6-speed had few takers-- it was so slow! Stick buyers generally want the transmission option on the more powerful models. Cadillac CTS-V, anyone?

fkarassik

I agree that a stick would be nice especially if you are comparing apples to apples when buying. Personally I am past that stage of manual transmissions. If the RC-F is going to be successful, having the option of both trannies should not be a deal breaker.

omaralt

I recently traded in a BMW 550i for a BMW 435i 6 spd. The 8 spd in the 550 was amazing. However there is nothing like a real true manual. I don't track my cars so I really could care less about .2 secs slower to 60. What's important to me is the driving experience and a dct can never replicate that. I will continue to drive manuals as long as they offer them and will not consider an automatic if a manual alternative is available. BMW is really one of the last brands to offer it and they are slowly reducing their manual options. If you are a die hard manual guy none of the excuses matter (acceleration, mpg, etc). There is no driving experience that rivals a true manual

TheBatman

Nah. A stick is too unrefined for a Lexus.

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

^^ Very well said. A DCT makes a lot of sense in a 100k+ super car or something competing with those numbers. Neither a 435i or an RC are competing in that category for ultimate acceleration, performance and quick shift times. Nothing replaces the feel of a traditional manual. I love the improvements to modern automatics but similarly would rather choose the transmission type I actually like while it's still offered. Life is too short to compromise.

^^ I couldn't disagree with you more. It's up to Lexus management to offer one in a couple of appropriate models again or not.

05RollaXRS

^^^^

Agreed. If the manual transmission is not unrefined for BMW M cars or Porsche 911s, why would it be so for Lexus?

fkarassik

Most definitely should be offered. This will get the message across that Lexus means business and a true committed contender in this particular high performance arena.