Consumer Reports - A Bunch Of Toyota Engineers!

[ragingfish]

Or at least you'd think so...Now I've known for a while that CR is biased. But MY GOD it's worse than ever.I'm sitting here reading the 05 Best Cars issue, and it's mindblowing how mcuh they BASH domestic brands, and PRAISE foreign brands!!! IE -- they discuss the upcoming Torrent, and say "it's based on the Vue and Equinox, neither of which impressed us." Then under Mazda5, it says "Based on the EXCELLENT Mazda3...."I'm sickened. Never again will I support this supremacist magazine. Trashing a car before it even hits the showroom, just because it's domestic.

[Kari]

I remember seeing something back when I first got the Vibe, though I don't remember where, and they were praising the Matrix, even had it in the top 10, and no mention whatsoever of the Vibe, even though they were the same car. Wish I could remember what it was...

[Vibe_dude]

Quote, originally posted by Kari »I remember seeing something back when I first got the Vibe, though I don't remember where, and they were praising the Matrix, even had it in the top 10, and no mention whatsoever of the Vibe, even though they were the same car. Wish I could remember what it was...ya i remeber readin that too. bunch of BS if u ask me...hey if they wanna see toyota excellance they can come for a drive in my rattling and squeaking vibe/toyota product....i love my car but was disappointed in the imperfections in it........my 99 z24 was about the same......and that car is suppose to suck the most...oh well..good thing i dont work for CR.lol

[GMJAP]

I wouldn't say they're praising foreign, just because it's foreign. They've been pretty rough on Audi and especially VW. Even some Mercedes and Mitsubishi.What's up with the Mazda 3? Every review I've read has been very positive....

[ColonelPanic]

Quote, originally posted by Vibe_dude »hey if they wanna see toyota excellance they can come for a drive in my rattling and squeaking vibe/toyota product...AMEN!!!

[kostby]

I remember when CU first began praising the Toyota Camry as 'THE family sedan' - it was much smaller & underpowered (4 cyl) compared to the competition (Taurus, Lumina, Accord). Maybe if you tell a lie often enough, it finally becomes 'conventional wisdom' and people believe it!

[vibe-04]

I don't read CR anymore. I bought a house years back and had to buy lots of big things such as a lawn mower, washer/dryer, chainsaw, you know. So I subscribed and went through all their listings and comparisons and guess what... the washer died a month after the warranty, the string trimmer don’t start half the time and the bar oil leaks on the chain saw. About the only thing that does work great is the lawn mower, and it was listed as poor in their opinion!They coo over Toyota/Honda and snub any North American car. I bought the Vibe because I wanted a 4 cylinder commuter that fits my 6-2 frame. We have a sedan (Honda) and a 4x4 (Bronco II) and I would have bought a Ford/GM because in my opinion, aftermarket and replacement parts are cheaper, readily available and easier get serviced. I've own a Toyota 4x2 truck in the past and year Toyota's are great but CR's ratings are based on feedback and I bet a disproportionate number of readers own Toyota/ Hondas than GM/Dodge/Fords.Buy what you like.. don't listen to others.A

[GMJAP]

I just got the April 2005 Auto issue...... and I'm losing any respect I had for them.Just on the Vibe:shows 2005 with "NO" head protection - WRONG! I'm driving one with curtain airbags!In one place they show Vibe satisfaction as "Very Good", another only "Good".How can I trust the rest of their ratings?

[joatmon]

Mike, I'm sure this will come as no surprise, but if you look at the CR subscriber input to the "best and worst" used cars survey, the only GM cars in the best category is a buick and the two corolla based GM cars (Prizm and Vibe) while the worst category includes 17 GM modelshttp://releases.usnewswire.com...61718

[Houston]

I've been subscribing to Consumer Reports for over forty years and have virtually every time bought what they recommend. They've never - not one time - steered me wrong. There are lemons everywhere - even here - so complain about it and just maybe get what you paid for.

[northvibe]

i agree with houston, ive always bought what they've recommened and never have gotten a back product. the vibe has its down falls, with the stupid plastic rattle on the inside, but hey what do you get for 14k, not the best quality machine on the road. it works great for what i need and im happy

[orbix]

What's funny, though, is that CR likes the Mazda 3, but won't recommend them due to reliability issues...The thing that really bugs me about their reviews is that they make no distinction between engines when reviewing a particular model. For example, my wife's got a 2003 Golf TDI with almost 75k on it- TDI engine''s never been a problem, and doesn't have hardly any of the problems that the standard gas engines do, but they just harp on the standard stuff in the reviews.

[kostby]

(...while continuing to beat a dead horse, just because dead horses are much easier to beat than the live ones. The live ones keep moving out of the way, and occasionally kick back...)On the news this morning, they showed CU's 'Best Vehicles' from their annual auto issue. Not one US manufacturer was represented. ALL Pacific Rim companies.(Dropping into my native Hoosier gosh-darn drunken hillbilly redneck bigot dialect for a moment):"Holy Shiites! Them gol' dang terrorist camel herders that's a-tryin to invade all them US seaports musta sneak-attacked Consumers Union while I wuz a-nappin!""Me & my trusty huntin' rifle is gonna have to have a little talk with them sissies, an learn 'em a few things 'bout disrespectin' Ah-murr-a-kun prod-ucks!"

[ColonelPanic]

What I'd really like to know is, how the hell did the ESCORT get on that GOOD list? Never in my life have I met an Escort owner who has had something POSITIVE to say about their car. But sure enough, it makes it to the good list. (removed)!I'm glad to see that their latest list is carrying on with the Consumer Reports Toyocentric tradition though. Those cars are great, I mean, mine's almost dead at almost 70,000! Kostby, that's why they are so great! They fricken run forever!!!! It's well worth the overinflated price to get that kind of long life out of your transportation appliance. (removed)

[silver_vibe]

Quote, originally posted by ColonelPanic »What I'd really like to know is, how the hell did the ESCORT get on that GOOD list? Never in my life have I met an Escort owner who has had something POSITIVE to say about their car. But sure enough, it makes it to the good list. (removed)!Actually, my wife just sold her 1986 Escort GT (3 months ago) after 20 years of faithful service. She sold it to my nephew so he could learn to drive a 5 speed. It's still going strong. The most expensive repair she ever did to her car was replacing the timing belt about 6 years ago.I loved that car and it wasn't even mine.