What Do People Over Here Think of Consumer Reports?

[Pushing Fifty]

Before I joined NewBeetle.org, I was and still remain a member over on the Vortex. As everybody probably knows, Volkswagen, with perhaps the exception of the Passat, has had less than stellar reliability scores in Consumer Reports. As a result, the Car Lounge section of that website has many "VW Bashers" who will never let you forget that. I once wrote an article in my club's Newsletter ripping CR to pieces with the following points as my artillery:
1) A very small percentage of specific car owners belong to the Consumer's Union, which is the only group surveyed with questionnaires. The sample size, therefore, is not indicative of the entire base of owners.
2) How can two cars that are essentially the same, such as the Taurus and Sable, for example, have two vastly different scores?
3) How can Hondas be rated "Above Average" for body rust when every third one I see over 5 years old has rotted wheelwells? Granted, I live in the Salt Belt, but does CR only survey Hondas in sunny California?
4) While the magazine claims to put more weight on major parts such as engines, transmissions, and the like when determining reliability scores, in the "Problems Per 100 Cars" say, after 5 years, they do not. In other words, a Volkswagen with 150,000 miles that has had a window regulator, coilpack, and MAF sensor replaced is considered to have three times as many problems as a Kia that has a transmission blow at 30,000 miles.

In short, I think Volkswagens (and European cars in general) are unfairly judged in this publication. Of course, I also acknowledge that if VW's were given high ratings, we would think that CR was the greatest magazine on the planet. Unfortunately, Joe Public will see these black marks in CR and assume that VW's are cars to stay away from. Conversely, the new 2.5 liters and 2.0T's have thus far had much less warranty claims, and I hope that this is indicative of a restored perception of the brand. I have always thought VW's were great cars, regardless of what a magazine or an opinionated auto analyist thinks, and was just curious to see what people over here think...............................

[from Margaritaville...]

While I have been a subscriber to Consumer Reports for the past 22 years, I understand that the used vehicle ratings are a reflection of the feedback of subscribers rather than the controlled environment testing that is performed by their employees on items and services that they compare.

In the '80's the used car department I had worked for used CR auto issue (April) as a guide to point us towards what components to scrutinize more closely when evaluating a trade-in for purchase in a half-hour window. We considered the data reliable in most cases...

[kcfoxie]

I don't trust CR at all.

[Pushing Fifty]

KC Foxie: I know we've talked over here before (about diesel vs. gas) but are you also over on the Tex? I thought I saw that name over there some time ago.

[kcfoxie]

vortex, ncdubs, newbeetle, wral, macnn, vwfixx, nceuro... i visit a lot of places.