View Full Version : This is why you should never buy a car based on CR recommondation
bzcat
12-23-2002, 02:15 PM
Good write up, couldn't agree with it more.
Article Here (http://www.thecarconnection.com/index.asp?article=4733&sid=192&n=156)
Madcat
12-23-2002, 02:28 PM
Finally proof! I have been telling my mother this for years, granted dad agreed with me but mom always thought differently... But I m glad that finally someone has studied it and wrote some type of a report on CR and how they are biased and studies are sometimes inaccurate. Thanks for the post time to show my mom!
pgtatx
12-23-2002, 03:26 PM
CR is based on market reactions and call/write-ins. They are also funded by their advertisers, as they are supposed to be a not for profit magazine.
It's a good basis to see what people are buying, but I often like to use online ratings from sites like cnet.com and others also.
When it comes to actual car magazines, the only one I trust is Sport Car Illustrated. Motor Trend, Car & Driver, Road & Track etc. are bias as hell. Unless its a BMW, the more ads you buy, the better the review. The British car mags are the worst though. Not only are they plagued by the same problem as their US counterparts, but I find that very often the British writers are so blinded by national pride that they forget simple concepts like lap times when comparing say Morgans to Boxster S's. Then there is a the German mags that like absolutely everything, no matter what. Their magazines seem like the most informative but articles might as well be advertisements. SCI on the other hand, gives consistant, logical and honest reviews and bias only to SUVs. The other magazines praise a car when the manufacturer are buying ads, when the manufacturer stops, their opinion of the car automatically changes.
BTW, SCI gave the Cougar a great review and despite getting stuck with an ATX-equiped test car. It was also the only magazine that I've read that wasn't afraid to exposed the new Tiburon for what it is... a Johnny-come-lately pretender, while others rewarded Hyundai for their ass kissing.
LeonsCat
12-26-2002, 03:36 PM
CR has had a big japanese company/made bias for many years, with Honda, Toyota and other Japanese company cars usually getting their top ratings. As their readers are usually families, reliability is the first priority their readers look at rather than so exceptional handling and appearance. Their ratings on reliability probably are not as accurate as most as those whom comment would be those with negative comments. They also have a heavy bias against SUV's and overly large vehicles. In their favor, if a well selling vehicle has many recalls or serious mechanical flaws, it will show up in their ratings. (Focus recalls, Mopar minivan transmissions). Like anything else, CR is just one of several tools to be used in your shopping.
MercMobile
12-27-2002, 05:24 PM
Irwin.. this isn't another east coast/west coast thing is it??? ;)
Fern.. I'm with you.. only the, the only one's I trust are C&D and Motor Trend..
LinkMan
12-29-2002, 11:59 PM
They are also funded by their advertisers
Better dig out your back issues of CR and check again...they accept NO advertising, so they aren't influenced by advertising dollars...the only ads in a CR are for other CR services.
bzcat
12-30-2002, 03:00 PM
Originally posted by: MercMobile
Irwin.. this isn't another east coast/west coast thing is it??? ;)
West Side!
The problem I have with CR is that they don't publish their source data like how many samples they took, what was the mean, standard deviation, and sampling error. In fact their reliability rating is based on circumstantial evidence rahter then statistical data if you really break it down. Honda Accord is considered "reliable" because fewer CR readers reported problems with it. That's fine, but CR doesn't tell you how many Accord owner responded and what were their complaints. Also, CR places heavy penalty on of all things... RECALLS. So a car maker is better off under the CR system to ignore a problem then attempt to fix it. Ford gets a lot of bad press from CR for recalling Focus 5 time in one year but to me that means Ford will fix any problems and as a result, at resale, a Focus is probably problem free is serviced by a dealer. In contrast, Honda never recalls unless ordered by the Government, and would rather wait for you to sue then fix any problems. As a result, there is a lot of lemon Hondas on used car lots. But according to CR, it is the way to go to achieve high reliability rating.
CougarXR02
12-31-2002, 02:19 AM
About 2 years ago the Toyota Corolla was a "recommended buy", and the identicle Chevy Prizm was a "worse than average" rating. They are the same freakin' car!!!!