Why Are Some Of The Losers In The Consumer Reports Reliability Study Winners In The Showroom?

The Consumer Reports Annual Auto Reliability Survey, released on Tuesday afternoon, is intended to provide shoppers with a sense of the projected reliability of new models. But as the sales of some new cars indicate, a poor showing in the study does not translate to poor performance in the marketplace.

The Chevrolet Cruze, equipped with either the 1.4-liter or 1.8-liter engine, received the worst rating of any small car in the survey. Through September, however, Chevy had delivered 187,524 Cruzes in the United States, making it the highest-selling car in its segment, according to data provided by J.D. Power & Associates.

 

800over - 10/27/2011 1:11:34 PM

+1 Boost

This has nothing to do with their testing....all of this info is from people who fill out their surveys. You can argue bias...but it has nothing to do with the testing.

Willis - 10/27/2011 11:34:04 AM

+3 Boost

Because the reliability differences between the first and last place aren't that big at all. Car at the top has one problem per year. Car at the bottom has three problems a year. Big deal.

I myself don't even take Consumer Reports seriously when it comes to their car reviews.

Agent009 - 10/27/2011 12:16:55 PM

0 Boost

Bingo!

Willis - 10/27/2011 7:18:36 PM

-2 Boost

Badgewhore, that's BS. This whole "Japanese cars last forever" claim is a myth. Virtually any car will last and be reliable as long as it is maintained properly.

And from personal experience, the various European cars I have owned have been good to me. They've been reliable with very few problems over the years. I keep my cars for a long time so I can speak from experience.

Agent009 - 10/28/2011 10:17:52 AM

-1 Boost

I drove my 98 A4 to 200,000 miles and it cost about the same as an Accord I drove the same distance. The difference was consumables.

Every time the accord needed brakes the rotors needed to be replaced as well. On the A4 I could simply turn them and replace the pads. Simple things like that added up and the two were within $100 after 200K. Effectively no difference.

Agent009 - 10/27/2011 12:20:17 PM

-7 Boost

1911 - It didn't help that Toyota was guilty of caught not reporting or delaying reporting of issues.

Once caught with the hand in the cookie jar and flood ensued.

The result is they may not break quite as much, but they also aren't as safe. History has also proven that if it is out of the norm then the company line was to deny.

Patronus - 10/27/2011 12:28:05 PM

+1 Boost

Because reliability is not everything.

Hoorayforpeepee - 10/27/2011 1:06:38 PM

+1 Boost

domestics will do even better I suspect if the new '' Buy American '' bill passes through congress and the Senat.

Hoorayforpeepee - 10/27/2011 4:05:16 PM

+1 Boost

good point

uaw_lax - 10/30/2011 3:44:08 AM

-1 Boost

Companies are Global your argument is lifeless. GM is an American company toyota is simply Japaneses and it's profits go back to Japan it's just that simple.

enthusiastx11 - 10/27/2011 1:18:06 PM

0 Boost

two very, very simple reasons:

1. the range of reliability ratings has narrowed so much in the past 15 years that the best rated and worst rated aren't very far apart

2. consumers don't buy cars based solely on reliability any more for the reason mentioned above....not much difference.

xjprou - 10/27/2011 4:23:09 PM

+2 Boost

Could it be that the biggest loser in this article is CR. It seems that they have lost all their credibility for this kind of tests.

wins555 - 10/28/2011 12:43:52 AM

+5 Boost

Just to make you happy.

85bmw745i - 10/28/2011 6:08:31 AM

+6 Boost

Because if they simply sat there and did nothing about the complaint, it would look even worse on their part. Remember that Chrysler also had recalls for the same thing, as some of them used accelerator controls from the same company.

fourmccs - 10/27/2011 5:56:35 PM

+1 Boost

I am with the, CR aren't the most reliable group of testers in the world, crowd and some of what they call reliability issues just aren't. Some are valid but is some cases it's people who don't know anything about their cars or what's going on inside.

knowitall1985 - 10/27/2011 6:12:05 PM

-1 Boost

Because guys will buy a POS if it looks good and they think it will get them laid...........

Fijian - 10/27/2011 6:26:30 PM

-2 Boost

When a new model comes out CR PREDICTS reliability.Usually Japan gets a free ride.Even GOD cannot predict reliability.I have owned many cars from many manufacturers.The American cars were the most reliable.I know too many people with Japanese cars with blown engines and transmissions with lower than 70k miles.They need to stop taking bribes.

USNA1999 - 10/27/2011 6:43:38 PM

0 Boost

Because consumers have become smarter shoppers and don't rely on garbage that CR prints. CR continues to lose credibility and as Willis stated:
"Because the reliability differences between the first and last place aren't that big at all. Car at the top has one problem per year. Car at the bottom has three problems a year. Big deal."
Whoever purchases a car solely based on what this people say is an uneducated dumbass that is NOT an auto enthusiast!

Fijian - 10/27/2011 8:31:06 PM

-3 Boost

Or a Badge Whore

85bmw745i - 10/28/2011 6:09:37 AM

+5 Boost

So whats the excuse for America building utter crap from the 70's on up to mid 2000's?