You are correct that I have not read them in years as after what I saw them write about how good Chinon Cameras are (10 years or so ago) I have not picked up one since.
Do you remember what Consumer Reports did to the Suzuki Samurai?
Consumer Reports says they are unbiased but I feel that they let personal opinion into their decision making.
I had a Suzuki Samurai and loved it and never had a problem with it. In fact if they were still made today I would buy another one.
Not saying that was a bad car, but it would flip at 20 MPH avoiding a child in the road. Suzuki's response was a PR nightmare and it took them a while to recover from that. Anyway, CR is good in a lot of ways, they tell you things that the real auto mags wont, like that the visibility is annoying, or its hard to reach the latch anchors or blah blah. But they are incredibly boring people IMHO who hate fun. Its a safe bet that the Toyota anything is going to get a good review in CR, as it will provide the most mundane, uninspired way to get from point A to point B. Plenty of my cars have been both bashed and praised by CR and all the mags for that matter. My suggestion? Pay them not attention. I am a huge car nut and enthusiast, and what I try to explain to people time and time again is that this car is fun in a different way. Its not a sports car and its not trying to be!!!!! (I am known to only drive sports cars so I have found myself uttering this a lot in response to, "but the 1/4 mile is like sooooooo slow".. Like I say, as long as you're happy, who cares.
Consumer Reports car reviews are aimed at the 70% of the population that want to hit the lever on the toaster and "just make it work." Nothing too complicated, none of that "automated manual transmission" stuff, they want "automatic" and they want it now, fast and cheap. The 2008 smart is purchased by early adopters, people who actively sought the little buggers more than 18 months ago, the people who checked every month for an announcement. These early adopters don't care if Consumer Reports says it's crap because we love the car anyway... most of the time. The rest of the time we usually understand it's the first USA model and will have some issues. I would agree that the 2008 model isn't a good match for the 70% who want the car to just-plain-go like their Toyota. What they call flaws, I usually call character, in a positive manner.
My experience -- I've never bought a highly rated product that was Bad.
For the non-highly rated products, you have to read between the lines. The reviewers, like all humans, have personal biases, and judge any product based either on subjective criteria or on objective criteria that might not be yours.
Haven't yet read the CR smart article (not up on its web site yet) but sounds like the criticisms they make are similar to those in the NYTimes, Car & Driver, and others. We all know, that they're not wholly inaccurate.
Bottom , on CR, they're not biased in any commercial sense. Products that do well, are main-stream products. I LOVE my smart car, but IMO, it's a niche player, not a mainstream car at this point -- add another couple of bucks to the price of gas, and we'll see.
What will a CR pan do -- My guess is that it won't be good. CR is one of the better sources of cheap information out there. However, with a year backlog on orders, the Smart should get a chance to prove itself in the market place.
Prospero is right. We have never missed with CR either.
Consumers Reports was almost single handedly responsible for upping the quality of the "Big Three" cars by helping the imports move into the market.
They carry a lot of influence with the car buying public.
We knew when we purchased a first model microcar it might be a PIA. We were willing to make the trade off. The general public does not want unexpected hassles in their lives.
CR was there long before the internet, and for years was one of the few sources of consumer information not controled by big business. A2Jack.
I have two comments, one yea, the ride is different, it has a great feel (for me) I can take corners harder and faster in my Smart than I can in my Saturn. Yes I feel the road, but I want to feel the road, Yes I can hear the engine, but guess what, I want to hear my engine. Hey let them crow all they want, I love my Smart Bee.
I am waiting for the factory Cruise control to be available and I am ordering a cab to replace my Bee. With the people wanting my Bee, I have a feeling I will have it sold in less than a week, heck maybe the day I put it up for sale, (who knows?)
CR can report what they want, like everyone here (well I suspect everyone) I do not really care. I did not buy mine to re-sell, but I want factory cruise and if I am going to replace my passion why not get the Cab. I just don’t want the 10 CD player. Hmmm I wonder if it can be ordered with out the 10 CD player?
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