Don't buy American: Consumer Reports

[jonovision_man]

Top 10, not a single American vehicle. The Ford Focus was bumped by the Civic.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/AUTOS/carreviews/03/01/cr_top_picks/index.html

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Japanese carmakers -- or, more specifically, Honda followed by Toyota and Subaru -- took all ten spots in this year's Consumer Reports magazine top picks.

No American or European nameplates are represented in this year's list, which is published in the April issue of Consumer Reports magazine.

jono

[irloyal]

Yup, Consumer reports is my choice for the best automotive information out there.













NOT!

[jonovision_man]

There are literally millions of people who use Consumer Reports to make their decisions.

They're non-profit, don't depend on advertising from manufacturers... about as unbiased as you could make an evaluation.

jono

[irloyal]

There are literally millions of people who use Consumer Reports to make their decisions.

They're non-profit, don't depend on advertising from manufacturers... about as unbiased as you could make an evaluation.

jono

And they know as much about automobiles as pastry shells, toaster ovens and floor waxes, and use the same writers to prove it

[Indycarjunkie]

Yet despite all that I'm still pleased with my American built Saturn Vue.

[jonovision_man]

And they know as much about automobiles as pastry shells, toaster ovens and floor waxes, and use the same writers to prove it

They know enough to get in it and evaluate whether it's comfortable, how much room there is for your groceries, is it slow, does it have enough cup holders... how often is it going to be in the shop.

Those are the things most consumers care about.

jono

[jonovision_man]

Yet despite all that I'm still pleased with my American built Saturn Vue.

I'm reasonably happy with my Ford Focus Wagon... I'm sure the Japanese cars are better quality, but they didn't have a wagon that could compete on price.

jono

[tcsparky]

Yet despite all that I'm still pleased with my American built Saturn Vue.

We have a Vue and I can't say I'm as happy with it as our previous Ford Explorer. I also drive a Ford Focus. It's my second one. My first had some bugs, but I loved driving it. So 1 1/2 years after I bought it, I traded it in for a new model. My Focus was made in Mexico, by the way.

[lkchris]

LOTS of supposed "Japanese" cars are made in USA with any USA components.

[irloyal]

They know enough to get in it and evaluate whether it's comfortable, how much room there is for your groceries, is it slow, does it have enough cup holders... how often is it going to be in the shop.

Those are the things most consumers care about.

jono

Maybe I just run with the wrong crowd, but I don't know one person who has ever made a decision on which car to purchase based on Consumer Reports. I do know a few people who have read consumer report information on cars, but they have not used it as a buying decision. Most people I know use Edmonds, reviews on the net, and actual driving experieince to make a decision on which car to buy.

[midtown]

Why is the splitzville forum being cluttered with this non-sense? There's enough here already. Unless Consumer Reports is going to do a comparo between ChampCar and IndyCar, then its irrelevant. Keep the Biz Board pure!

[Cygni]

Honda (IRL) bumped Ford (CCWS) off the list... im sure we can spin that someway.

In all honesty, i havent even considered an american made car in any segment in the last 20 years. I keep test driving them, expecting them to get better, but they are always one step behind the Japanese brands. And as pointed out, most of these "japanese" cars are actually produced in the United States or Canada. Not many Honda's are actually shipped from Japan... NSX, S2000, Insight... i think thats about it.

[8-up]

Maybe I just run with the wrong crowd, but I don't know one person who has ever made a decision on which car to purchase based on Consumer Reports. I do know a few people who have read consumer report information on cars, but they have not used it as a buying decision. Most people I know use Edmonds, reviews on the net, and actual driving experieince to make a decision on which car to buy.

Let me be the first to step up to the plate and say - I put stock in the Consumer Reports Guide. With that said, let me also say I don't buy New cars, the Guide lets me make an informed decision on used cars.

If I'm not mistaken, CG researches the market as far as problems related to different aspects of a vehicle. The "rating" for each category is based on the probability of that car having problems in that category. The "ratings" are not opinion based.

[dreamracer]

Keep the Biz Board pure!

Impossible.... young grasshoppah

Much too late.

As you'll recall, the Biz board was designed to purify all the other forums by concentrating the swill in one place.

It's like the "spam" folder in your email inbox! All the unwanted stuff goes here... heh heh...

[Tony Johns]

There are literally millions of people who use Consumer Reports to make their decisions.

They're non-profit, don't depend on advertising from manufacturers... about as unbiased as you could make an evaluation.

There is a time and place for unbiased, objective analysis.

This ain't it.