Perhaps if GM wants to see just why their vehicles do so poorly in CR evaluations, they should look in the mirror. Instead of making excuses and placing blame on outside forces (foreign competition, increased cost, health care costs), they should instead look inward and improve their own vehicles.
I do agree somewhat the a lot of magazines seem to favor Japanese brands, but the fact is that in a lot of instances the quality, reliability and fuel economy is better than American brands.

 

Hey, I could be described as that too.......

I don't know, CR seems so all-over-the-map, you have to wonder if maybe they throw darts at a wall covered in buzz words just to write reviews.

Given their vagueness and inconsistency, I think you'd have to really be an insecure and/or uniformed car buyer to make a buy based on what's said in Consumer Reports. Which, I suppose, may just be what happens.

 

I think the "uninformed" part nails it on the head. CR caters to people that don't have the knowledge or time to know anything about products. They make money on people that simply don't know better.

 

..............Agreed,

 

What is up with the "Projected reliability rating that CR gives", how in the heck does anybody know how something is going to be reliable, especially if it is a new model? That's about silly.

 

Consumer reports magazine used to be a reliable source for info. I haven't paged thru it in a long time, I haven't bought a car for a few years.
If you know how to use the magazine, it does help, and can save you headaches. ( it did for me, in the past)
The feature I always counted on was the used car reliability study. The mag breaks down the various systems in chart form and lists the systems reliability using the 5 indicators ranging from below avg reliability to good reliability.
I remember reading the F150 articles, and CR was accurate about the F150. Systems that CR pointed out as being less than reliable have failed on me as expected.
We bought a used 95 Chevy SUV once, my wife wanted the truck because she liked the style and color, and the idea of 4WD. We didn't look at the consumer reports...but maybe we should have. Later on after we found out what a lemon the SUV was..I paged thru a CR magazine and looked up the reports that CR had published. Every system they listed as having poor reliability, was indeed giving us problems. CR used to be a good mag..I hope it hasn't switched to rag.

Oh yea..as for the comments that CR was used by lazy uninformed drivers, that are too stupid too even drive....shut-up!

 

The big rear wheel drive FOMOCO products is a problem for CR. They have a good reliability record and get good fuel mileage for their size (as good or better than the comparable full size rear wheel drive Asian or European brands). It wouldn't be PC for them to endorse a big american car that is cheap (relatively speaking) and reliable.

 

We just rented a Chevy Cobalt for a one week trip- what a piece of junk! It ran and drove OK, as you would expect on a car w/ 2000 miles, but it had three separate rattles- all the time. Very annoying. What will this car be like in 10 years? I've noticed one thing about Japanese cars- you never see older ones on the road. There are plenty of old American cars around here, in various stages of decay, but no old Japanese cars. I think American cars (particulary RWD V-8's) can tolerate a lot more abuse. I, too have found that CR seems to have a good handle on which systems will break down in their reliability reports. But their road tests are another thing altogether. Some of the things they down-grade a car for are ridiculous.

 

I always wondered where you might go to find a job if you got sick of writing the astrology column for the National Enquirer...

I think it's a fairly on target observation that old imports tend to vanish, but I also think a lot has to do with parts availability.

If you are going into a vehicle for the long haul, it is well to have one popular enough to be supported later on. If the models radically change frequently enough someone is going to run out of warehouse space for replacement items, and then where are you?

What keeps American machines on the road is the fact that we can still fix them.

 

You just nailed it.

My step-sister had a Corrolla. It was a commuter special, dirt cheap to operate, never seemed to need service beyond basic maintence.

She started having problems with the flip-up headlights. Not a big deal, we just did the 'GM zip tie mod' and unplugged the harness to motor that flipped them.

Then the cruise control went south, Toyota wanted $600 for a replacement unit, and installation. Too much cash for a college student.

But the starter went then. Toyota wanted $700 for them to do the job. I bought the starter through a 'Aisian' speciality shop, and I still payed almost $300 for the starter. The job was the most miserable starter I have ever had to put in.

When she sold the car, it was a complete blessing.