5th Feb 2006, 16:40

Go with the Lexus. Bought a 98 GS400 brand new for myself. In 99 my wife wanted the TL so I bought her one to replace her 97 ES300. Big Mistake. Drove the car 12000 miles before selling it. Tranny went at 11000 miles and that did it for me, even if warranty covered it. Went and bought her the GS300 and she couldnt have been happier. I've actually kept both Lexus. Usually get a new car every 2 year, not with these two. I will sell them when they hit 100,000 and buy new ones.

20th Oct 2007, 23:50

The manumatic feature you describe is called "Sequential SportShift" by Acura. Reading your owner's manual would have revealed this "secret" information. Indeed, a similar system called "Auto Stick" is offered by Chrysler, but it was neither "invented" by them, nor was it the basis for Acura's offering. It was in fact developed by Porsche of Germany way back in 1990 for the 964 Carrera 2, and called "Tiptronic" by its inventors.

Further proof that Chrysler was not the inspiration for Acura lies in the fact that Chrysler's manual gate is operated by side-to-side action, while Acura's (like Porsche and the vast majority of other similar systems) is actuated in a back-and-forth motion. Contrary to popular belief, a Tiptronic-like transmission is visually identical to any other automatic. It is merely a computer programme that makes the difference. The additional shift gate that enables the manual shifts simply tells the computer when to activate the transmission solenoids, thus causing shifts (as opposed to having the computer do it for you).

15th Jan 2009, 17:21

First comment is true: transmission sucks on this car! My mom has replaced it twice, and I am now inheriting the car. I am replacing the CD player, but CD players in 1999 didn't really play burned disc's... as I recall. Other than that I do believe it will last...