Consumer Reports trashes GM and Chrysler
Filed under: Transportation
This just in from the "We saw you lying face down on the curb so we figured we'd kick you in the ribs" department: Consumer Reports has issued its annual rankings of the most reliable car companies.
"Chrysler is a sad story," says David Champion, the magazine's auto testing chief. "The new models have missed the mark in terms of our testing and consumer appeal."
The federal government should certainly take a look at these rankings before it pumps more money into the US auto industry: Even if they get plenty of cash and are able to rework contracts and shed debt, the "crappy car" factor will trump everything.You can see the top brands counted down in WalletPop's feature gallery.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-28-2009 @ 6:26PM
Bret said...
WOW! What a shocker. CR Is trashing the American car companies. CR is owned by the Japanese car manufacturers.. Suprised?
Reply
2-28-2009 @ 6:27PM
Bret said...
Sorry. SURPRISED?
Reply
2-28-2009 @ 7:31PM
tropicale said...
No Bret, they are not owned by Japanese car manufacturers. In fact, they are independent, and therefore can offer unbiased information and ratings. You may, or may not, agree with their assessment, as all opinions are subjective; however, their methodology is without industry influence.
Reply
2-28-2009 @ 7:59PM
flooby said...
oh, you must be one of THEM. Play along, chowderhead.
2-28-2009 @ 8:03PM
bret said...
uh, huh. And later monkeys are gonna fly out of my butt
Reply
3-01-2009 @ 2:45AM
909 said...
"And later monkeys are gonna fly out of my butt"
They could just as easily fly out of your head - since it's just empty space.
3-01-2009 @ 1:23AM
sgentilejr said...
True value in any automobile takes several years of ownership to determine. Test driving a new vehicles does not mean squat about how well it will be running 3,5 or 7 years down the road from now. Longevity, low repair costs over many years is what separates the good from the bad vehicles....not the test drive of a new vehicle or how nice it may look.
You can learn much more about vehicles quality by being observant than buying Consumers Reports magazines.
Open your eyes when you drive. How many cars have tail, brake and license plate lights out at night and what brand vehicles are they. Look at the vehicles you see stuck along the highways and note what brands they are. Look at the flat bed
tow trucks and note what brand of vehicle they are towing. Look at the oldest vehicles you see still on the roads and note what brands they are.Those are the best methods to separate the good from the bad vehicles.
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4-10-2009 @ 10:01PM
azrael4h said...
That's the worst way to gauge automotive reliability. People do not maintain their vehicles; in fact they seem to deliberately try to kill their cars at times. Note the year old Toyota I heard knocking 2 weeks ago.
A large part of Chrysler's own poor perception is due to morons putting the wrong transmission fluid in the transmission. A Chrysler 4 speed REQUIRES (in other words, it is not an option) ATF +4. Yet people who shouldn't even qualify as competent to take care of themselves put Dextron II, which is effectively the same as running it with no fluid at all.
Consumer Reports is a fraud, and anyone who believes a single word in that rag is a fool. Several of their testing engineers were fired from the Detroit big 3 in the past; their chief in fact was a former Chrysler engineer, fired for being corrupt and incompetent.
Only the mentally handicapped, and those on heavy hallucinogenic drugs have an excuse to believe CR. Anyone else is just plain too stupid to know how to live.
CR gave the Toyota Tundra in it's first year on the current full size platform an automatic recommendation. The tailgates collapse, the cam shafts shatter like glass, and the engines sludge up rapidly. All that, and they haven't even gotten to the age my Dodge was when a drunk totaled it. Not even close.
Let me explain that to those who are dumb enough to still listen to CR; they gave a truck, with entirely new body, frame, mechanical, engine, transmission, and electronics; and automatic recommendation. Why? Toyota told them to.
They give the Honda Civic an automatic recommendation, when it has the worst brakes (they'll fail rapidly on the track, under 5 laps at VIR and they've all but faded away on the Si model), transmissions that need replacement at 30,000 miles, and reliability aspiring to that of old British sports cars.
I couldn't even get one to last long enough for a test drive; in 2006 the one I was looking at broke down when I put it in drive. Enjoy your CR-recommended Civic folks!
I'll stay with my "Horrible" Chevrolet that at 50,000 miles has had no issues, or maybe find me another 200,000+ mile Dodge that I can drive everywhere until I get ran down by another drunk.
3-01-2009 @ 2:52AM
tropicale said...
flooby: "Play along, chowderhead."
And what makes you think I'm *not* playing, William Cranium?
Reply
5-05-2009 @ 8:02PM
crhalt said...
The way I see it when the smoke clears ...The BIG3 will be
Volkswagon (WWI) Toyota (WWII) FIAT (Iraq War) and
Ford will be the Great American Car ...Or China will eat
them for lunch.
Reply