In the wake of Toyota's huge floor mat recall, theorists have come up with several survival strategies designed to overcome a throttle that's stuck wide-open. Putting some of these theories to the test – and debunking several myths in the process – is the team over at Consumer Reports.
With a large test track and a fleet of vehicles at their disposal, the magazine's engineers initially focused on the "just step hard on the brakes" method of bringing the car to a halt. Interestingly enough, CR tested a Mercedes-Benz E350 and a Volkswagen Jetta Wagon – both fitted with drive-by-wire "smart throttles" that are designed to ignore conflicting inputs (throttle and brake at the same time). CR reports that these cars simply shut down to idle and came safety to a stop. The story was a bit different with a Toyota Venza and Chevrolet HHR, however. When the brakes on those vehicles were firmly applied at 20 mph, their transmissions downshifted to fight the deceleration. The vehicles were both eventually brought to a stop after the first test. However, when the test was repeated at 60 mph on brakes that had been cooled since the earlier run, both vehicles quickly suffered fade from their overheated brakes and were unable to come to a complete stop.
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No one can dispute the importance of tires on dry, wet or snowy pavement, but some buyers tend to pick their rubber based on price alone. For the more quality-minded customer, Consumer Reports conducts an annual tire test and this year's battle of the road rubber was the biggest ever with 69 models duking it out for supremacy. CR's tire engineers rated models based on several categories, including dry and wet braking, handling, hydroplaning resistance, snow traction, ice braking, ride comfort, noise, rolling resistance, and tread life. CR also claims that the new ratings, available in the November edition of the magazine, gives consumers the ability to compare individual performance characteristics like grip and tread life within a specific category.
The biggest winner this year was the Michelin Man, with the puffy white tire boss scoring top scores in all four categories. The Michelin HydroEdge was the top model among S- and T-rated all-season tires, the Michelin Primacy MXV4 scored top marks for H-rated tires and Michelin Pilot Exalto AS won in the V-rated all-season radial category. The Michelin X-Ice XI 2 topped CR's ratings for winter tires for passenger cars.
While Michelin won big, the top-notch radials were also among the highest priced in many categories. Other stand-out performers costing less include the Hankook Optimo H727, Nokian WR G2, and Dunlop Signature in the all season H and V speed rating category. The General Altimax Arctic took second place for winter tires.
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It seems like only yesterday we brought you news that Consumer Reports recommends the Mustang over the Camaro and Challenger. In fact, it was yesterday. Now, if you read the post's fine print, you saw that the Ford racked up 78 points to the Chevy's 71 and the bloated big old Dodge managed just 53. We mention this because CR just released the results of a new survey where 80% of the respondents said they would consider purchasing an American car, whereas less than 50% said they would consider an Asian or European brand. But as it turns out, not all American cars are created equal.
Almost least surprisingly, confidence in Ford is up the most -- a big 17% over last year. Why aren't we surprised? With products like the new 2010 Mustang, Flex, Taurus (and SHO), F-150 and Transit Connect (with the Euro-Focus looming) how could consumers not stop and take a second look? And with all-stars like the Shelby GT500 and Raptor SVT, third, fourth and fifth looks are in order.
Most surprisingly, confidence in recently bankrupt and mondo-pruned back General Motors is up 6% compared to last year, possibly proving the maxim that GM is too big too fail. Least surprising is the word on Chrysler -- consumer confidence has fallen off a whopping 25%. True, like GM they went belly up. Unlike GM, the Pentastar'd maker sells the Caliber, Sebring, Journey and Nitro -- Jeep Compass, too. And of course, Mopar's fate now rests in the hands of Fiat. Not exactly a sleep-easy prescription.
Sorry Transformers fans, but your precious Bumblebee just got his butt whooped. Color us not surprised. Because for anyone that's ever driven the Detroit Three's nouveau muscle cars (and seriously evaluated them), the 2010 Mustang GT is clearly Best of Show material. It's just too refined, too capable and let's be honest, too good. Especially when compared to the cetacean Dodge Challenger RT. How obvious? Even Consumer Reports says so.
True, it used to be getting your sports car endorsed by Consumer Reports was kinda like Tipper Gore and Joe Lieberman banging their heads and flashing approving devil signs at your band. But somewhere about ten years back, the ad-free, subscriber-funded mag began testing cars that enthusiasts might actually want to buy. And then they began factoring in metrics like acceleration, handling and braking, while still lowering eyelids with stats on mileage and reliability (we kid, we kid).
So yeah – straight up, the 315 horsepower Ford Mustang GT got a rating of "Very Good" and 78 points, whereas the 426 hp Chevrolet Camaro SS got "Very Good" but only 71 points, whereas the 370 hp Challenger RT received a rating of merely "Good" and just 53 points.
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For the second straight year, Consumer Reports has seen fit to release a second set of Top Picks comprised solely of American automobiles, and we're betting there will be plenty of discussion regarding the merits of such a distinction from both the pro-import and pro-domestic crowds, just as there was a year ago. We'll leave that up to you in the comments, but please remember to be civil. Getting to the actual rankings, there were enough surprising omissions from the list that CR decided to list its Top Performers, which don't necessarily earn a Recommended rating, alongside the actual Top Picks. Taking top honors in the Small Car category for '09 is the Ford Focus. Back in 2008, no American automaker had a small car that CR felt comfortable recommending. Ford also took the win in the hotly-contested Midsize SUV category with its Taurus X, though that model is currently scheduled to be cancelled after MY2009.
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As we reported yesterday, Consumer Reports' annual 2009 Auto Issue has just been released, and it seems that American automakers just can't catch a break from the popular magazine. Included alongside the Automaker's Report Cards are a list of cars that offer the best calculated value over a five year period. Hybrids, despite their initial cost disadvantage when the dotted line is first signed, managed to take five of the top several slots. The 2009 Toyota Prius Touring model bested all contenders as the top overall value out of all 300 vehicles CR tested for the '09 season. While perusing the results, we noticed the complete absence of any American automobiles on the Best Value list. We'd expect to see horrible performances from such vehicles as the HUMMER H2, which CR says will cost its owners $82,250 after just five years of ownership, but we're a little surprised to see that cars like the Ford Fusion or Chevy Malibu couldn't crack the top 5 family sedan list. Better luck next year.
In what may be the least surprising news you read all day, Consumer Reports has released its annual 2009 Auto Issue that contains Automaker Report Cards. These report cards compile all of CR's road test data and predicted reliability ratings for all vehicles in its database, and Japanese automakers have again earned top rankings just as they have for as long as we can recall. Honda, Subaru and Toyota came out on top after all the scores were tallied, with every single Subaru model earning a Recommended rating from CR. Honda was the brand that fared the absolute best in predicted reliability, with just its Element small SUV barely failing to make the grade as a Recommended nameplate. Toyota also fared very well in reliability testing, as we've come to expect from the world's largest automaker. European automakers managed to get a shout out for offering unmatched performance, comfort and safety along with incremental increases in overall vehicle reliability. American automakers got their own separate report cards, which you can see by clicking here. Of the Detroit-based manufacturers, Ford came out victorious with its Flex and F-150 earning top ratings and many of the rest of its models scoring well. General Motors managed to sneak eight vehicles on the Recommended list: the new Pontiac G8, Cadillac CTS and Chevy Malibu, along with the Corvette and each of the Lambda-based CUVs. Chrysler pulled up the rear again this year among all automakers without a single vehicle earning a positive score from CR.
As gas prices shot for the moon last summer, the tide of scooters and small-bore motorcycles began rising right alongside as commuters did all they could to save a buck or two on fuel bills. The folks at Consumer Reports took it upon themselves to reintroduce motorcycle testing to the popular magazine for the first time since 1981 in order to help their readership make informed purchasing decisions. Safety is of paramount concern when riders first take up the switch from four to two wheels, and this fact is hammered home by the rag's editors who designed a new 5.2-mile course that tests each motorcycle's handling characteristics, acceleration and braking capabilities. So, uh, how'd it go? The big winner was Vespa who's LX scooter managed to take top honors in the smallest 50cc class and also performed well against the slightly larger 150cc competitors where it tied with the Kymco People for the win. CR's first series of tests stopped at the 250cc class, where the Kawasaki Ninja handily dispatched the Honda Rebel to earn the recommendation. Full results are now available online to subscribers, who will also get to read the results in the March 2009 issue of Consumer Reports.
The folks over at Consumer Reports have ranked the Honda Fit Sport top among tested subcompact cars in their March 2009 issue. "We found the new Fit the most practical and enjoyable car in this month's group," says Consumers Union. The world's largest independent consumer product testing organization, who don't claim to be enthusiasts, ran the small Honda against the Suzuki SX4, Nissan Versa, Toyota Yaris, and Chevrolet Aveo. Compared to the rest of the group, the Honda Fit Sport 5-speed was the quickest to 60 miles-per-hour (an asphalt-melting 9.2 seconds) and sipped the least amount of fuel during testing (a not too shabby 33 miles-per-gallon overall). The CU testers were pleased with the Honda's versatile and flexible interior, but not with its dismal headlights. Of the five, only the Fit and SX4 were recommended. The Yaris and Aveo scored too low in testing to make the cut, and the Renault-based Versa sedan has proven too unreliable. Better luck next year, guys.
Hyundai made it clear from the onset that the new Genesis sedan would upset the balance in the luxury world, particularly at the expense of Lexus. Consumer Reports' latest round of testing proves that Hyundai has succeeded in dethroning Toyota's luxury arm as the latest credible entry into the "Upscale Sedan" arena. Just as Lexus was once the upstart that ruffled feathers, it's Hyundai's turn, and they are making the most of the opportunity with a win against all comers from the likes of Acura, Lincoln, Saab and Lexus, which had previously held the top overall spot with its ES350 sedan. Despite the Genesis' win in direct testing, Consumer Reports doesn't have enough data to rate the sedan as "Recommended." The same goes for the ES350, which means that the Acura TL is the only competitor in the segment that officially gets CR's nod. Regardless, consider the gauntlet officially thrown at the feet of the established Japanese players, and we look forward to Round Two when Hyundai sends a shot over the bow of the sportscar world with the Genesis Coupe.
