The 7G transmission

[Mr. M]

Originally Posted by Merc1

To put 8-speeds in a regular LSxxx would be overkill IMO, something Toyota usually doesn't do.

M

It's not something Toyota would do - but it's definitely something Lexus would do.

[testdriver]

As one of the fellow drivers mentioned in a comment. There is no need for 7 gears at this time. For what we understand formula one rocket machines have those kind of trannies. What manufacturers should do is worry about issues like gas consume and try to find ways to reduce the gas consumption in the cars they manufacture.
We love speed and high performance (true), but how fast can you really drive in the city? Instead enviromental improvements can be made, lowering costs is also a good idea.

[vabboud]

i am a fan of CVT when it comes to higher gearing, never was a fan of putting more and more gears where the size difference grew minimal
i think anything over 6 gears is overkill, even if a modern 7g might be lighter than pop's old 4speed
CVT is the way to go when it comes to the future of autoboxes

[bum-man]

CVT technology is not developed enough to be reliable for high powered cars. So until then I agree with everything Snake has said, makes perfect sense.

[Snake Vargas]

CVTs also have other characteristics that make them unattractive to some people - the way that no gears change makes the car sound strange. They might also be a bit slow witted when you want some instant action, but I don't know because I haven't had the chance to drive one. Nevertheless, they should theoretically be more efficient, except for maybe friction losses somewhere?

In that case, I reiterate that there is no detriment in having more gears beside the weight, complexity and cost. If you want economy, then a better gearbox is one way to do it - more flexibility within normal driving to get the acceleration you want without kicking down too far (and increasing revs, hence fuel consumption). Also, when cruising, you can have a lower top gear to decrease fuel consumption yet again.

Sure, there are many other ways to decrease fuel consumption. But a gearbox with more gears is one way to do it whilst also getting better performance.