New smart road test - Smart Car of America Forums : Smart Car Forum

louis bolieu · 10-03-2008, 12:14 PM

Have you seen the November Consumer Reports new analysis of the 451 smart (p. 63)? The article has a lot more things CR hates about the smart.

Louis

John_H · 10-03-2008, 12:15 PM

CR always hates the Smart. Go figure.

**jediknight36** · 10-03-2008, 12:21 PM

I love CR when it comes to most purchases, but CR dosnt test the cars in the long run. After a few years, CR will like the smart better.

fmaxwell · 10-03-2008, 02:46 PM

Consumer Reports is not a magazine for car enthusiasts. It's a magazine for people who have little interest in cars but need to have one anyway -- the kind of people who see a car as nothing more than basic transportation. These readers hate shopping for cars, reading about cars, and would never consider purchasing aftermarket performance or appearance products for their cars.

So I'm not surprised that they don't "get" the smart fortwo.

**jediknight36** · 10-03-2008, 02:53 PM

Im not a car enthusiast. Im a smart enthusiast. That, and small things are cute. More people get it when you talk to them.

Trena · 10-03-2008, 03:03 PM

I don't have subscription to CR. Can someone scan in the article and post?

Red_fortwo · 10-10-2008, 08:29 PM

I have never owned a vehicle that CR has had a kind word for. And I've loved them all. CR is for people who need to be intellectually misinformed.

SmartPassion · 10-10-2008, 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fmaxwell

Consumer Reports is not a magazine for car enthusiasts.

You can say THAT again. I know someone who would put the editors of CR on an altar if that was possible. That individual couldn't care less about cars (a fridge was actually more exciting to the person) and follows nearly every suggestion put out by CR.

SuperGeek · 10-10-2008, 10:06 PM

CR is great for reviewing a toaster or fridge. But every high-end piece of audio equipment or even kitchen appliance was reviewed by them as being too much money for the feature set... I'm talking about Denon, Onkyo and Yamaha receivers. Sony got better ratings because they had more buttons and the reviewers couldn't tell the difference in sound. I compared an Onkyo they rated comparable to a Denon AVR-2000, and purchased the Denon. I was immersed in a sound stage that you simply can't describe in a magazine; the Onkyo was rated higher because of a feature or two, and it was a hundred bucks cheaper.

After three or four of these experiences, I came to the conclusion that I wasn't in the 80% majority they were targeting.

Of course, now that I'm married with responsibilities and little credit... I'm in exactly that 80% of "settling for second best." Except with the Smart. The reviewer just doesn't 'get it.'