CR
Consumer reports - reliability vs. satisfaction.
Road Warrior
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 1,879
Likes: 10
From: Jacksonville
You can't look at a summary and imply bias. They can only publish but so much in a news release, and basically all that they reported was that they were kind of surprised by some of the results and described why.
Most everything that Consumer's reports on is relayed via charts, with the same columns of measurements and data applied to all. They will often given their subjective opinion based upon the data in the columns, but the data is there for all t see.
So the survey is based upon user surveys...so what? User surveys are where they get their reliability information for any product or service that they have ever tracked. I'd prefer to get the information from users with no vested interest than from vendors or manufacturers who have a very definite vested interest!
Most everything that Consumer's reports on is relayed via charts, with the same columns of measurements and data applied to all. They will often given their subjective opinion based upon the data in the columns, but the data is there for all t see.
So the survey is based upon user surveys...so what? User surveys are where they get their reliability information for any product or service that they have ever tracked. I'd prefer to get the information from users with no vested interest than from vendors or manufacturers who have a very definite vested interest!
Cruiser
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 220
Likes: 13
From: Farmington Hills, MI
To say that CR don't take money is laughable, if you subscribed to them you get several "special consumer reports pricing" for auto e-mails per year. A couple years ago I was sent one that just included Honda and infinity, are you telling that CR gets no money by steering people to these vehicles?? Also how can the same product, with the same parts get radically different reviews based on the brand name attached. Look at weed whackers, there is one company who makes the same product for Troy Bilt, Craftsman etc... But they all get vastly different reviews. Toyata & GM made the same vehicle with different badges out of their Fremont CA plant, the Toyota always scored much better than the US counterpart. They would rave about the Toyota's acceleration, but say the GM vehicle was sluggish, and they both had the same engine. How can this be if there is any scientific un-biased testing involved.
Road Warrior
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 1,817
Likes: 116
From: Raleigh, NC
To say that CR don't take money is laughable, if you subscribed to them you get several "special consumer reports pricing" for auto e-mails per year. A couple years ago I was sent one that just included Honda and infinity, are you telling that CR gets no money by steering people to these vehicles?? Also how can the same product, with the same parts get radically different reviews based on the brand name attached. Look at weed whackers, there is one company who makes the same product for Troy Bilt, Craftsman etc... But they all get vastly different reviews. Toyata & GM made the same vehicle with different badges out of their Fremont CA plant,
the Toyota always scored much better than the US counterpart. They would rave about the Toyota's acceleration, but say the GM vehicle was sluggish, and they both had the same engine.
How can this be if there is any scientific un-biased testing involved.
These reports cut through a lot of the bull that is on stickers and spewed by sales people. They tell what the car and the various accessories really cost the dealer, what's a reasonable mark-up, and you can work from there with the dealer. It's amazing the crap it saves when purchasing a car. Go to a dealer, pick out what you want. Get a CR report for it and go back to the dealer. Sit for a bit, let then "work up" the numbers, then take out the report and say here's how much you'll pay, take it or leave it. The saleman does the "I have to talk to my manager" schtick, but one of the things he's communicating is that report that you have in hand. Talk about hassle free purchasing!
I've found over the years that the only people who knock CR are those who are die-hard fans of some product that CR knocks.
Road Warrior
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 1,817
Likes: 116
From: Raleigh, NC
Cruiser
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 220
Likes: 13
From: Farmington Hills, MI
Which vehicle was that? They jointly manufactured cars, but that was a joint manufacture of GM cars, and joint manufacture of Toyotas, but no model was the "same" car with a different name.
There's more to performance than the engine. Did they both have the same transmission?
I've found over the years that the only people who knock CR are those who are die-hard fans of some product that CR knocks.
There's more to performance than the engine. Did they both have the same transmission?
I've found over the years that the only people who knock CR are those who are die-hard fans of some product that CR knocks.
Why can't CR open up their statistics and show how their products are tested? The reason is because they are not in the business of testing products, they are in the business of selling subscriptions. And most people use it to justify products that they already purchased. The problem is many people treat CR as the bible and don't understand that the person writing the review has bias and you don't have to dig very far to find it.
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