Consumer reports 5 worst car brands.

[IndyIan]

I highly agree details matter. My point exactly. CR does not offer details; quite the opposite. Small sample size with a captured group.

But if you are in the captured group with typical usage(most of us are), then aren't the results relevant? Lots of vehicles in their surveys aren't represented enough, so they don't report on detailed problems with them, but they must use other's data to rate a vehicle that they don't get enough of a survey sample to use?

TBH, I was surprised how my sample of two Foci had mostly the same issues at the same mileages, so I think even a small sample of 25 or 30 cars, has a very good chance of representing how the whole population of a vehicle model year is doing.

 

[jkasch]

There’s an inverse relationship between CR recommendations and my personal experience. Currently own two Jeeps and a Dodge. Most trouble free vehicles I’ve ever owned in 57 years of car ownership.

Same goes for other products. Electronics, appliances, etc.

 

[Arch Stanton]

CR is just another data point when shopping for a new or used car. There are several other sources out there reporting on reliability of car brands. There may be something to it when they all are in general agreement on brands that are reliable and ones that are not. Or maybe the reliable brands do a better job of paying the sources off than the lesser reliable ones do as many people on here think.

 

[AZjeff]

The sample is completely self selecting - not random.

People either believe CR religiously or they do not. So if they have read CR for 2 decades there going to buy a Honda. Because thats what CR has said for 2 decades.

How does this account for all of the vehicles of every make that CR subscribers buy and report on?

 

[Pablo]

I thought Rivian was all that. hmm.

 

[JeffKeryk]

The small sample size I get but are you saying the CR subscriber group doesn't represent a true cross section of owners so results aren't valid? CR publishes a yearly auto issue with reliability data by year model and specific category IE AC, trans, suspension etc. I recall it calling out certain years of Mazda5 cars for rear wheel bearing failure. Not detailed enough?. When we subscribed years ago I'd study it for hours. Maybe it's different now but we don't subscribe so I don't see it.

Yes.
CR subscribers are not a representative survey group. They are subscribers to a magazine.
Also, check the survey sizes. A lot more Camrys than Caddys.

One year a car might be, "the highest quality we've ever tested" and the next year it's not recommended. What happened?

 

[SC Maintenance]

How does this account for all of the vehicles of every make that CR subscribers buy and report on?

1000 people buy Honda.
25 buy Cadillac, or whatever.

For better or worse, its a self selecting group. No statistician would ever consider it a random sample.

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

Why would GMC be worse than Chevrolet? Interesting dynamic there. Apparently some of the Chevy vehicle not rebranded as GMC are more reliable? Taken with a grain of salt of course since i don't know all the factors CR uses.

So many reasons one can differ from another in the NewWorldOrder of "Manufacturing ANYPLACE Across the Globe" - Anywhere, anyplace with the cheapest slave wages has been the corporate moto, as far as making a wide range of products, especially vehicles.

The first possible that came to mind was this one: Certain Chevy pick up that rates higher than a GMC one may have the very same parts designed into both, YET sourced from different countries across the globe. Possible quality control or actual manufacturing quality issues from one country to the next. Many manufacturers keep finding the hard way that the quality from one corner of the globe can sure be different from another place.
CR uses lots to come up with their coveted ratings. They do happen to be one of the better trusted of the so called Power/Ratings systems. Organizations like the long running JD Powers Ratings are a lot harder to put any faith in since they have admitted talking sponsorship money from automakers in the past.

 

[Zee09]

I was hoping to see Honda

 

[Pablo]

I was hoping to see Honda

Honda is like that Zeeeee09 guy, just sorta bugs you, but not enough to lodge a complaint.

 

[02SE]

After Consumer Reports was caught altering their long-established handling testing procedure for the Isuzu Trooper and Suzuki Samurai, to achieve the bad result they reaaaaaaaaaaaally wanted to publish, I lost any respect for their 'test' results. They proved to be biased hacks with an agenda, and no valid opinion or results.

 

[walterjay]

I have read their reviews for a few years. They are not objective when they test a car. The comments they make have nothing to do with reality. Mary the tester doesn't like the dash or as in the case of the person testing the Honda Pilot stated the cars feels like "an apartment building on wheels".

 

[fdcg27]

After Consumer Reports was caught altering their long-established handling testing procedure for the Isuzu Trooper and Suzuki Samurai, to achieve the bad result they reaaaaaaaaaaaally wanted to publish, I lost any respect for their 'test' results. They proved to be biased hacks with an agenda, and no valid opinion or results.

I mean, what's wrong with a vehicle that likes to try to roll over like a trained dog?
CR had no reason to try to come up with a gotcha on either of these vehicles and they didn't.
They merely reported what they found. They weren't "caught" at anything.
CU exists to serve its members and CR is today the bible of educated higher income Americans.
In the absence of CR, there is no good information on what to buy and what to avoid, since most online reviews are either phony or comped.

 

[4WD]

I mean, what's wrong with a vehicle that likes to try to roll over like a trained dog?
CR had no reason to try to come up with a gotcha on either of these vehicles and they didn't.
They merely reported what they found. They weren't "caught" at anything.
CU exists to serve its members and CR is today the bible of educated higher income Americans.
In the absence of CR, there is no good information on what to buy and what to avoid, since most online reviews are either phony or comped.

I witnessed a Trooper try to beat a yellow light whilst turning - it landed on its side and skidded into a curb - it was nighttime and the sparks were flying …
If they had been going faster - it’d have gone full tumbleweed

 

[02SE]

I mean, what's wrong with a vehicle that likes to try to roll over like a trained dog?
CR had no reason to try to come up with a gotcha on either of these vehicles and they didn't.
They merely reported what they found. They weren't "caught" at anything.
CU exists to serve its members and CR is today the bible of educated higher income Americans.
In the absence of CR, there is no good information on what to buy and what to avoid, since most online reviews are either phony or comped.

No, they intentionally changed their testing procedure to achieve the result they wanted to push.

Biased, hack testing. Nothing more.

https://www.motorbiscuit.com/the-90s-scandal-consumer-reports-hopes-you-forgot-about/

 

[JeffKeryk]

CU exists to serve its members and CR is today the bible of educated higher income Americans.
In the absence of CR, there is no good information on what to buy and what to avoid, since most online reviews are either phony or comped.

Are you being serious or poking fun?
I can tell you anyone who understands proper statistical analytics will tell you CR is anything but statistically correct.

Start with Sample Bias, which occurs when the survey participants are not representative of the entire population being studied per the topic. The survey population is CR subscribers!

My pet peeve is Questioning Bias, or way questions are phrased can influence responses, potentially swaying answers towards a specific outcome or a too general conclusion.

There is so much more... CR's methodology and the interpretation/reporting of the data is bunk.

Take it as a data point.

 

[jws926]

Never heard of Stelantis before, thought it was FCA (Fiat/Chrysler Auto)

It was FCA till about 2021 , FCA merged with PSA Group(owners of Peugeot,Citroën, DS, Opel and Vauxhall) and out came Stellantics.

Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Dodge, DS Automobiles, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, Ram Trucks, and Vauxhall are all owned by Stellantics.

 

[4WD]

Are you being serious or poking fun?
I can tell you anyone who understands proper statistical analytics will tell you CR is anything but statistically correct.

Start with Sample Bias, which occurs when the survey participants are not representative of the entire population being studied per the topic. The survey population is CR subscribers!

My pet peeve is Questioning Bias, or way questions are phrased can influence responses, potentially swaying answers towards a specific outcome or a too general conclusion.

There is so much more... CR's methodology and the interpretation/reporting of the data is bunk.

Take it as a data point.

Being their results never match mine - I’d like an integrity report on the CR consumers - so that I never buy a car from any of them …

 

[JeffKeryk]

Being their results never match mine - I’d like an integrity report on the CR consumers - so that I never buy a car from any of them …

Personally I do all the research I can before buying a car.

And if you believe that, I have a bridge, or whatever, to sell you. I buy what I want.

 

[Hohn]

Never heard of Stelantis before, thought it was FCA (Fiat/Chrysler Auto)

One can hardly keep up with the frequency of business name changes.