I do not believe CR is biased at all.Lets be real here,look at all the threads over the past year pertaining to problems with the C6.Crank Pulleys falling off,DRL harness too short with bad sockets, roofs delaminating and flying apart on the highway,bad transmissions and clutches,AC units failing and about a million threads on the DBS .Would I take my C6 and leave it at the Airport for an extended trip,absolutly not;why, for fear I will return and not be able to get it started.Go over to the s2000 forums and see how many factory problems exist,none ,that's why cars like that get good reliability ratings.People are adding devices like "prority start" for fear of being stranded somewhere with a dead battery.You call that reliability. You expect that CR would give an excellent reliability rating to the c6 after all the problems in 05.

 

This is clearly the case. I'm not a statistics expert, but I do know that for a sample of a population to be valid it has to be a random sample. CR's data is clearly not random, so by definition it is biased. Since the people most likely to expend the energy to fill out their surveys are those that feel strongly one way or another I would expect mostly negative responses. Positive experiences tend to be expected for expensive purchases.

I still remember reading a CR review of the 1992 LT1. I had just bought an LT1 so out of sheer curiosity I bought the issue. They said it was the quickest car they had ever measured (they tested a 6-speed manual), but one of the test parameters was for ability to carry a wheelchair. I remember laughing so loud my kids came running to find out what was so funny. I've never paid any attention to CR since then.

Another amusing trifle... a friend of mine made a fortune (millions, literally) owning an independent Honda repair business in San Diego. He drove an S2000. Every time I would buy a vette or a BMW he would make faces, telling me I should have bought a Honda. So one day I asked him how business was, and he said it was great. Just maintenance stuff, I asked? No, all sorts of engine, transmission, suspension, electrical, emission-control-related, you-name-it stuff. Only old cars? No, Honda warranties are only three years, he says, which is good for business. Dealers are expensive. So I couldn't help but ask, if Hondas are so reliable how come your shop is so busy? He just smiled. I never did get an answer...

 

Heh, go over to the BMW or Mercedes boards if you want to see a lot of problems. I can tell you things are pretty friendly in the BMW service area. We are all on a first name, been to lunch basis. Got to meet the owner when they simply couldnt figure out why my wifes car was broken and gave up and got her a new one. Yep, owning that nice reliable german car means meeting a lot of new people. Service writers, techs, service managers, dealership owners, tow truck drivers, police officers, ("sir this is a dangerous place to pull over", me, "didnt have much choice officer") various people working down at the local enterprise because there is no loaner available at the dealership, etc.

 

I don't think Consumer Reports, likes any car that is American made.

 

Thing I remember most about CR is that they thought the 1983 Corvette was the worst sports car of the year. Problem was, there were NO 1983 Corvettes ... makes their report (and their data) very suspect in my mind.

 

American car manufacturers have been sucking wind since the 1970's. It takes time for a big company to die but GM's difficulties have not happened overnight. Until they start pleasing their customers, and their shareholders, instead of the UAW and their retirees, the immediate future ain't gonna be pretty.

I love my C6 and will put up with any warts for the thrill of pressing it down the road.

 

This hasn't dawned on some folks yet.

 

CR rates it lower based on owner responses after living with the car for a while. JD only looks at initial response when you first buy the car. JD numbers really don't mean very much except people are usually very happy when they buy a new Corvette.

 

Could not have said it better myself the Japanese quality is way way over rated. The average new car buyer gets most of his information on what is and what is not a quality car from the American press. The American press in general loves to promote the *** cars and down grade the American cars. I for one couldn't care less what what CR thinks about my CORVETTE.

 

German buyers expect perfection, and when they don't get it they make noise.
Japanese car buyers tend to not tell anyone about the problems. They think theirs is the only one with a problem. It will hurt resale. It must be the owner of the cars fault because those things never break.
I have a friend that has an Acura TL. It's on the third transmission. The 3rd one took 3 weeks to get because the parts are on backorder because so many are crapping out.
My brother has an 02 Mercury Sable, and an 01 Toyota Avalon. The Toyota service, following owners manual recomendations, has been 5 times the cost of service for the Sable. The Sable has 82,000 miles and the Avalon 68,000. The avalon has been back to the dealer for 2 minor issues, the sable none.
Anyone remeber the Toyota 3.0 V6. The engines sludge up and fail early due to the design. Hondas always have problems with their power windows failing.
I had an 02 Nissan Sentra that by 7,000 miles had been to the dealer at least a dozen times for different items. I bought a Cavalier and it never went to the dealer.
I can throw out problems with American cars too.
IMO American cars get an unfair bad rep and japanese get an unfair good rep. In reality if American cars were maintained like the owners of foreign cars do, they would both be pretty close to equal.

 

I stopped long ago paying attention to those reports...

BTW just traded my wife's very very reliable ... still new 05 Honda Pilot after 2 months of ownership and 2,000 miles...(9 visits at the dealership...a new tranny and still unresolved issues ) ...lost 4,000$ as the manufacturer of the very reliable SUV could not care less... and got her what will be the next year review non reliable 06 Jeep Commander Limited with a very unreliable Hemi engine with absolutly no issue to report yet

 

I'm trying to come up with one good reason why I should give a damn what Consumers Reports thinks about my car. I need more time.............I'll have to get back to you. Time to take out the Road Rocket and install a smile on my face. Later!

 

and Vette owners dont want "high resale" value ? the argument about other cars having problems, i dont have the time to check other owners at dealerships and what they are there for! your comments about not reporting things truthfully, are you for real ?

 

I quit believing Consumer Reports were the last word for automotive value years ago...Beauty is obviously in the eye of the beholder in the case of CR.

The testers at CR are a different market group from Corvette buyers and value some non-Corvette attributes at a higher priority. Sensuous sporty appearance?...CR could care less about aesthetics. Performance?...CR only cares if it can accelerate briskly onto the freeway to avoid being run down by semi-trailer trucks; beyond that it's gas-wasting horsepower.

CR testers are the original, subjective "home economics" nerds working with a very small sample, and consequently get a very narrow view of the product or consumer acceptance. They want a vehicle that is big and roomy like a Checker, rides like a Cadillac, gets 100 miles per gallon, and never needs any kind of service.

I still think CR can give you good advice on washers, dryers, and maybe TVs...but JDPower is a better survey of car owners.

 

I'm seeing numerous posts that attribute the C6's low rating to CR's dislike for American cars or their love for Euro/Asian cars. Maybe these posters didn't notice that essentially every single Mercedes-Benz model was considered unreliable.

 

I think it is quite true - at least based on the problems I see posted on this forum. The truth is - gm unloaded C6 with all sorts first year problems.

As far bias - that is very un-educated statement - just look at 2004 model rating - it was rated as the best buy

 

I bought a 2004 350z 2 years ago. There was a huge problem with tire feathering. It, of course, started with the '03's and Nissan had not resolved the issue in the '04's or '05's. The 350z forum was loaded with complaints on this one issue. It hit me at 1500 miles. I upgraded the suspension system to the Nismo S-tune suspension and Nissan paid for the tires. That was their fix = new tires. Guys were having to replace tires every 6000 miles. The sound in the cabin was horrible. It costs me $1700 for the suspension but it fixed the issue. To add salt to the wound, my brother, who works in the finance dept. for a Nissan dealer, went to some sort of training class in Dallas, Tx and was told basically that Nissan was going to sweep it under the rug and try to change the suspension in "next year's model." Still hasn't happened unless they have it worked out in the 2006.

 

I have had my C6 for almost a whole year now and have not had one single problem with it...at all.

I see some posters claiming the 2005 C6 is a "bad first model year" just because they see posts here about people having problems and just assume that means it's a bad model year. They don't seem to realize that you will see more posts about problems because people don't usually say anything when their Vette is fine. I'm sure if you did an accurate poll of C6 owners who have had NO problems it would far outnumber the people who have had problems.

 

Sticks & stones ..............