USAToday article about CR

[John K]

Article is interesting for the interviews with various people in the industry about CR auto buying issue and their take on top 10 recommendations (no US brands), etc....
link

 

[eljefino]

Buick and Mercury show up okay.

Always interesting to look at how mechanically identical cars under different marques show up differently in CR's reported ratings.

One must ask if it's due to a different demographic (eg old people) driving fewer miles, being easier on the machinery, or disregarding repairs as "regular tuneups".

As an avowed used-vehicle-only purchaser, I gravitate toward the "oldster" makes, with decent luck.

 

[John K]

CR surveys ask you to list how much money you spent on your car under the various categories in an attempt to eliminate subjective answers. When I answer their surveys I have to get out the invoices to answer them.

 

[John K]

It is interesting to see that the spokesperson for Ford didn't dispute the notion that Asian mfrs had fewer problems than the US mfrs.... Also interesting the speculation that we may have reached a plateau in reliability, and further advances may not be cost effective for something as complex as a modern car.

 

[jbas]

Strange, the article didn't list the Chrysler PT Cruiser, which has made CR's lists the last four years. A change in evaluation, or a Quality control problem by the writer, or bad reading-eyesight by me?

 

[moribundman]

quote:

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Always interesting to look at how mechanically identical cars under different marques show up differently in CR's reported ratings.

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I had an '85 Chevy Celebrity and an '84 Buick Century. They were, apart from the interior, the same car. The Chevy was the much better, much more reliable vehicle. The Buick was simply the worst car I've ever owned.

 

[John K]

Moribundman -- Very interesting indeed...

jbas - The PT is still recommended, but not on the top 10 list. If you go to the individual rating it has the checkmark, but the reliability is average and depreciation is below average. We have one (2001 w/manual 5 spd) and I hate it, unfortunately my wife loves it! It has burned oil since day one, and I've tried various viscosities and changed the PCV valve. Uses about 1 qt every 1000 miles, and every once in a while 1 qt every 200 miles!! The car has been trouble free actually other than the oil use, but I don't like driving it. We have about 52,000 miles on it.

 

[ScottB]

Ahhh, John K, you hit one of the other points in the studies: resale!
I'm not sure if some people here read beyond perusing the lists to see is US-made cars are on there.
The overall picture includes many details, and some of that gets lost in the reporting of these lists.

Scott

 

[heynow]

Lexus and toyota share many engines, parts, etc. But toyota specifies a lower failure rate from their suppliers for parts that will be used in lexus cars.