Taken from the Wikipedia article on Consumer Reports. If you google it you will find quite a few articles on this:
Aside from the child seat thing, that's the most noteworthy case against their credibility.
Which truck to buy...
- Thread starter slowhatch
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lol
That's exactly why I said google it and you can find plenty of articles on it.
Good points there about the Isuzu. The main thing I was referring to was that Consumer Reports is the best, if not one of the best, consumer product testing magazines. This is especially true w/ cars since they typically draw from a much higher rate of questionaires and data.
Over and over, again and again, Consumers Reports has failed. It started with their hatchet job on Suzuki. A senior staffer at CR was quoted, "If you can't find someone to roll this thing, I'll do it myself." after several staffers had noted the Suzuki's unexpectedly good stability.
They tried the same thing with Isuzu.
The Bose debacle.
The child safety seat butcher job.
These are the same idiots that rated the Civic Hybrid at 26 mpg. 26 motherfucking miles per gallon!. I've said before and I'll say it again. I could get 26mpg out of a Civic EX sedan with the parking brake up, the A/C on, and a trunkful of dead hookers. I don't know how you only get 26mpg out of a stock Civic....pretty much any stock Civic by any means other than improper testing.
They were forced to retract their statement that Hybrids would never save their buyers any money
And just how in the hell did they expect a two seat sports car like the 350Z to ride?
No credibility. CR is in business to sell magazines, not to report objectively.
Where did you get your "info" on the civic hybrid?
Honestly, you can think what you want about them or any other car or car magazine, but I will continue to use them. This almost brings us into the import or domestic debate that I've heard time and time again, where when people site consumer reports findings and that being one of the reasons for imports over domestics and then domestic lovers/supports/buyers suggest that they are completely incompitent, biased always towards imports and overlooking everything. Like I've said to people before, Consumer Reports is a great guide to use to help you identify the possible cars you might want to buy and their corresponding problems, attributes etc, but they are not the only tool to use. If your going to Consumer Reports to get info on how fun a car is to drive, handling and performance etc.. you should more than likely use someone else and/or drive the car you might want b/c they can be subjective.
What is it that some people hate so much about Consumer Reports, I mean really? Yea they mess up, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to write them off and go buy a Dodge/Ford/GMC
Honestly, you can think what you want about them or any other car or car magazine, but I will continue to use them. This almost brings us into the import or domestic debate that I've heard time and time again, where when people site consumer reports findings and that being one of the reasons for imports over domestics and then domestic lovers/supports/buyers suggest that they are completely incompitent, biased always towards imports and overlooking everything. Like I've said to people before, Consumer Reports is a great guide to use to help you identify the possible cars you might want to buy and their corresponding problems, attributes etc, but they are not the only tool to use. If your going to Consumer Reports to get info on how fun a car is to drive, handling and performance etc.. you should more than likely use someone else and/or drive the car you might want b/c they can be subjective.
What is it that some people hate so much about Consumer Reports, I mean really? Yea they mess up, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to write them off and go buy a Dodge/Ford/GMC
26mpg is what Consumer's Reports originally published for the Civic Hybrid.Where did you get your "info" on the civic hybrid?
Honestly, you can think what you want about them or any other car or car magazine, but I will continue to use them. This almost brings us into the import or domestic debate that I've heard time and time again, where when people site consumer reports findings and that being one of the reasons for imports over domestics and then domestic lovers/supports/buyers suggest that they are completely incompitent, biased always towards imports and overlooking everything. Like I've said to people before, Consumer Reports is a great guide to use to help you identify the possible cars you might want to buy and their corresponding problems, attributes etc, but they are not the only tool to use. If your going to Consumer Reports to get info on how fun a car is to drive, handling and performance etc.. you should more than likely use someone else and/or drive the car you might want b/c they can be subjective.
What is it that some people hate so much about Consumer Reports, I mean really? Yea they mess up, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to write them off and go buy a Dodge/Ford/GMC
I didn't really give a crap about the hatchet job they did on Suzuki or Isuzu. Writers later testified that the manuevers they had to execute to cause the Suzuki to roll over would have caused a Jeep Wrangler or Ford Bronco II to roll. But when they published the "actual mpg" of the Civic Hybrid at only 26, I knew they were full of s**t. C'mon. Really? REALLY!? 26 mpg. I know fools that bomb around town in their HXes WFO all the time that still get 40 mpg. How in the hell do you only get 26 out of a Hybrid? If I drive real careful I can get my friends Grand Cherokee to average 22 mpg and it's got nearly 4X the displacement. (according to the trip computer anyway
) I've never received less than 27 mpg in my GS-R. NEVER! I can get 26 mpg out of my boosted 2.4. How f**ked up are you when you only get 26 mpg out of a Civic Hybrid?Noted automotive historian Ed Wallace put the final nail in their credibility's coffin by reporting on their numerous poor testing and hatchet job occasion.
$lick Rick
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dont forget that part of your spiel about the difference in results of the srt4 and the pt cruiser gt
I appreciate the inclination that I am obviously a fool and should never read anything they say or take anything they report to be true. I'm def. going to make sure that I dont ever take what anyone else says to be true if they have lied or screwed up before.
Now on a serious not, I am now going to go out and buy only Dodge, Ford or GM made vehicles b/c everything that Consumer Reports says is wrong and unsubstantiated, therefore telling me that everything they say is bad in actuality is good.
Come on guys, did you see what I said? Ok so dont use them as a source to help you buy a car. Then what do you use? I'm sure the whole, "I had a friend that once had a problem w/ such n' such vehicle... so thats why I only buy ...." works really well. Let me reiterate, I use them as ONE of my sources to evaluate a car.
dont forget that part of your spiel about the difference in results of the srt4 and the pt cruiser gt
BWAHHAHAHAHAHAH! I forgot about that
yeah I know...that was supposed to be at my expense...hahah...but you brought up a good pointApparently, to make the SRT/4 go from "Much Worse Than Average" to "Much Better Than Average" in reliability, all you have to do is change the intake manifold.
because the intake manifold is the only major difference between the "Much Worse" SRT/4 and the "Much Better" PT Cruiser GT. Block, head, pistons, cams, valves, rods, crank, turbo,....all the same.
What great journalistic integrity Consumer's Reports shows!
I'm just saying that there has been enough incidents of badly flawed reporting from Consumer's Reports that I question everything they review. I'll check thier articles out occasionally if it's on a car I'm interested in but it's always taken with a grain of salt.
A Ford Ranger with a Lima 2.3 will pull a Bobcat.
It will not stop...but it can get it moving.
A Ford Ranger with a Lima 2.3 will pull a Bobcat.
It will not stop...but it can get it moving.
Stopping is pretty key... our truck now would pull the hell out of one and stop it pretty good but they will not let use even try.
All right, let's get on with the flogging of the deceased equine...I want a truck too. In fact I need one. My PT can carry a lot of stuff when I pull out the back seats but the 60% section on the left is a pain in the ass to put back in when you are all tired and sweaty and s**t and then I gotta' spend the rest of the day vacuuming and cleaning the interior.
I've already decided against a fullsize. I am fairly certain that we will see $4.00+ gallon prices in the immediate future. I can get a brand new Ram 1500 V6, six speed, cloth/carpet...etc... for about 13K or a Silverado Classic 4.3 for about 14K. I just can't handle the 12-16 mpg aspect of it. Even the Ridgeline barely gets 20mpg and good luck finding one for less than $27,000.
So that means 4 banger manual.
Choices:
Tacoma:
Pros: it's a Toyota. It'll go 250-300K miles, interior is decent
Cons: the non-Pre-runner models are butt ass ugly, only comes in plain ass vanilla white
Frontier:
Pros: QR25 motor is durable and efficient, It's practically a full size truck
Cons: XE 4 cylinders are very plain. No PW, PL, Cruise...etc...
Colorado/Canyon/i-290:
Pros: A LOT more horsepower than the Ford V6, looks good with Street Pack
Cons: kinda' heavy (reg cab is heavier than 04 ext cab Frontier) mpg on the low side, can be pricey.
Ranger:
Pros: Mazda power, best fuel economy
Cons: original design dates back to 80's, limited leg room, difficult to find with 4cyl (I think the OHV Vulcan V6 is cheaper for Ford to produce than the DOHC MZR 4
)B2300
Pros: Best looking Ranger ever
Cons: Extended cab SE5 models only exist on Mazda's website
S10/Sonoma/Hombre:
Pros: Cheap, okay gas mileage, will run longer with something broken than most other cars will run. Decent styling, 3rd door, stepside, cheap parts, lots of aftermarket stuff
Cons: 120bhp OHV 4 cyl is gutless, tends to crack cyl heads. It'll either go 200,000+ or die completely at 60,000, seat adjustment levers and window crank handles are usually broken, Hombres are ugly.
Dakota:
Pros: old ass Jeep design 2.5 is durable, good torque, great Interior and exterior styling.
cons: Gas mileage not so good, Old ass Jeep 2.5 not so powerful. (120bhp???) I think 03 was the last year for the 4.
Utility trailer:
Pros: won't effect mpg that much, I don't have to wash it....ever.
Cons: should I really pull a trailer with a turbo 4? I have something like 245ftlbs @3000 rpm
but still I have read things specifically stating do NOT pull a trailer with a gas turbo motor, I still have to wash the wagon after a trip to the dump.
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what?Utility trailer:
Pros: won't effect mpg that much, I don't have to wash it....ever.
Cons: should I really pull a trailer with a turbo 4? I have something like 245ftlbs @3000 rpm
they make a tow hitch for your car right?
some kid on nasioc moved from NY to montana, he hauled his Uhaul the entire way with his 04 wrx wagon
Cool.
Utility trailer it is then
I remember reading somewhere specifically to not tow with a turbo car.
Might have been an old ass Thunderchicken Turbo Coupe manual or something. Maybe in my hooptie SCoupe manual.
I still don't want to take my PT on 17's to the landfill though. too much crap there to gouge a sidewall or worse, bend a wheel.
Utility trailer it is then
I remember reading somewhere specifically to not tow with a turbo car.
Might have been an old ass Thunderchicken Turbo Coupe manual or something.
Maybe in my hooptie SCoupe manual. I still don't want to take my PT on 17's to the landfill though. too much crap there to gouge a sidewall or worse, bend a wheel.