[JGibson]

Originally Posted by Bonanza

Just out of curiosity, what are the "several things" you've purchased lately that were "junk?" How have they "caved to corporate pressure?" If you don't respond regarding this and these "junk things," i.e., what they are and what was the problem, then your comment has little credibility, as in none.

Consumer Reports takes no money from the companies of the products they review. They rely solely on the cost of subscriptions and donations to fund their product research. Their reviews come from their own test results and in many cases, the opinions of tried and true consumers. Millions of people base their purchases on their reviews and autos are one of their main reviews.

They don't have the resources to review as many products as you would think. Most of their reviews come from the public which is a flawed process.

I can get the same reviews from Google, Yelp and the hundreds of other product review sites.

They didn't always allow public reviews as this was before the even had a website or most folks had a computer. They were truly just a magazine.

Their testing headquarters is not very big and they have limited personal. With no ad money and just trying to rely on subscriptions it's a very small operation.

Their last most reliable car report was mainly EV cars which I find odd seeing how some of these EV models are only a year or 2 old.

The last item I bought was some headphones they gave good ratings that turned out to be far inferior to so many other models in the same price range.

They just don't have the ability to be a full pledge review site anymore because of the corporate competition.

Like I said early I wouldn't base my whole car buying decision on CR solely.

[BrianL99]

Originally Posted by JGibson

They don't have the resources to review as many products as you would think. Most of their reviews come from the public which is a flawed process.

I can get the same reviews from Google, Yelp and the hundreds of other product review sites.
....

They just don't have the ability to be a full pledge review site anymore because of the corporate competition.

Like I said early I wouldn't base my whole car buying decision on CR solely.

You are 100% right. Consumer Reports runs an entirely different business model, than they had pre-Internet. They do minimal testing on their own and the do monitor, analyze and use a myriad of other sources to produce their so-called "Recommendations".

You can no longer trust anything they produce.

[Keefelane66]

Originally Posted by Robbb

Totally agree, in fact I read somewhere where one of the big 3 is looking at a dealer less sales program where you buy direct from the manufacturer. I think it might have been Ford.

New Florida Law Bans Direct-To-Consumer Car Sales, Protects Dealer Markups
Governor Ron DeSantis’ new law heavily protects the state’s dealership model while granting Tesla and Rivian special exceptions. June 2023

[Foxtrot]

Had a Forrester because I lived in Chicago, and I could get around easy in 18 inches of snow. Moved here and purchased a Lexus Hybrid, much smaller and 44 MPG. Love it.