On MSN.com today they had a link to Consumer Reports ratings of least reliable cars by class.

Sure enough, the C7 was rated the least reliable performance car.

I don't get what they are saying. I've owned 12 Vettes and have found them to be mostly bulletproof.

 

Nice... none of these issues affect the young a8 drivers who buy fatmat sound deadening.

NEXT!

 

I could let them borrow my car. 20,000 miles and not a problem. My C6 was not this good, nor were the C5's. My C7 in flawless when it comes to reliability.
Of course there are those that are not so lucky, blown engines and crappy 8A's do muddle the brand.

 

wow, my C7 is a combo of composite/fiberglass/aluminum. wonder when t hey went to "all aluminum construction".

 

I call Bull$h!t

 

If you could get to the actual statistics Consumer Reports uses to make those "findings" I believe you would find them invalid. They simply do not have sufficient data to come to any conclusions regarding reliability. They rely most heavily on subscribers to their magazine reporting "problems." Well, you have two problems right there. First, a "subscriber" to Consumer Reports is, frankly, an unlikely Corvette owner. Secondly, WHAT "problems" exactly? The very minor issues get lumped in with the major ones.

But moreover, Consumer Reports is not in the business of analyzing automobiles. It does everything from dishwashers to stereo speakers. Bose sued the hell out of them a few years ago for saying sound fro a Bose speaker "Bounced around the room," a subjective statement that lost them the suit.

I remember years ago in either Road and Track. Motor Trend, or Car & Driver a cartoon that showed some lab coated and bespectacled "scientists" with clipboards taking ample notes as cars were being driven off a cliff. In the foreground one guy says to the other, "Oh, that's just Consumer Reports testing cars again."

If you really want accurate statistically valid data, then join Michael Karesh's Truedelta.com at http://www.truedelta.com,
add your car in there, and once we get a sufficiently large sample, we'll have accurate data. But I wouldn't put much stock in what Consumer Reports has to say. `

 

I guess GM didn't pay enough to get a good review.

 

So when do they get to RELIABILITY! All they talked about was personal preference and issues all high performance cars have. What about wind noise when the top is off!!

 

Blah, Blah, Blah and you would be wrong.

 

I agree with you regarding CU does not give details of numbers etc.

However as a 45 year subscriber ... I believe when CU does not have enough evidence...they do not provide a rating ...
In fairness , I have never been steered wrong with CU...cars included.
I really hope their rating is wrong regarding my C7 ... time will tell.
They are a very trusted publication ...been around forever ..while others have gone to the way side... wonder why car dealers gloat , when the vehicles they are selling get a great CU review ...

 

 

Remember: this is the same Consumer Reports that last August gave Tesla a best-ever, 103 rating out of 100, which means far above the highest rating. And then, after doing all their tests and giving the rating, in political-speak, they had to "walk it back" less than 2 months later because real owners actually told them how not-great the car really was. Maybe Consumer Reports will repeat.

 

We've already seen testimony here from Karesh himself on how Consumer Reports tilts their findings (in another thread). But if you want to find solace worshiping at the altar of Consumer Reports, then by all means do so. I would suggest to you, however, that Consumer Reports is not a paragon of scientific virtue. Depending upon them for reliable results on 'reliability' is like believing CNN provides unbiased news.

Of course, CR does not provide their raw data so you are ENTIRELY in the dark as to what they are really doing. But here's what I mean about invalid: The total production run of Corvettes in 2015 was 34,240. If you are going to do a VALID assessment of issues you would need a RANDOM sample of 380 Corvette owners to obtain a 95% confidence level. Now ask yourself: Was Consumer Reports able to obtain a random sample of 380 2015 Corvette owners to determine their "reliability rating"?

First of all, their ratings come from subscribers. Just subscribers are not a random sample. So you're invalid on that issue alone. Can you in all seriousness claim that CR got 380 subscribers to report their experiences with a 2015 Corvette?

Of course not, so if you;re going to claim I am "wrong," please prove it.

BTW, Consumer Reports is a paywall site. You don't get to see their results unless you (or your local public library) join up and pay them money.

And if you actually believed in Consumer Reports' ratings, you'd never buy a vette.

 

There is always bias in any self-reported data. There is bias in CR and other data sources that have been mentioned in this thread and others.

The new sites that ask us to 'join them' in reporting about our vehicles could be extremely misleading because those who are most likely to join and report might be those who are upset because they've had problems. Or, on the other end of the spectrum, those who want to try and make their decision look good might join and report no problems.

CR has bias of another sort. While they do rely on 'random samples' of data from surveys sent to owners and other sources, there is bias in these types of surveys because those who want to take the time to complete the survey might be those who have suffered issues and are upset - or, the exact opposite.

About the only way to get unbiased data is to follow large numbers of vehicles thru their limited warranty periods as well as VSC/CPO periods and CR does not have access to this type of data (and besides, it would take too much time for mags like CR). My company does have access to limited/VSC/CPO data, as we do risk oversight and analytics for several very large auto OEMs and, when we don't have direct limited warranty data for a particular brand, we can evaluate every brand/model during their VSC/CPO periods via some HUGE VSC/CPO programs that we analyze (and even those periods can have some bias that might need to be modeled).

Another type of CR bias occurs when new platforms, technology, drive-trains, etc. are introduced. EVERY OEM suffers higher claims during the initial periods after major introductions. Every one. These problems get engineered out, and CR will still taint an entire model due to early issues that have been fixed. Kind of a 'hit and run'.

Another issue is how do you define reliability? Is it 'no issues' during the first X months? Is it another measurement? Here's an example:
our C7 was delivered with an issue - the 'Red X'. So if CR or another survey company sent me a survey on my car and I responded, I would count against 'reliability' as measured against other vehicles - and it would have been two issues because the Nav and OnStar both would not work. But the fact of the matter is that the dealer researched the Red X issue, ordered the new OnStar module, called me when the part was in, installed it in under 2 hours under warranty, and I couldn't have cared less. But my C7 might be counted as 'unreliable' because I had 2 problems during the first X months.

BTW, my company also does risk oversight and analysis for OEMs in consumer electronics, appliances, etc. - and I can tell you that CR and others are often wrong - very wrong - in the aggregate.

But alas, I will continue to enjoy my C7 as the wonderful performance marvel that it is, and I hope you do likewise.

 

I put as much faith into anything CU has to say about sports cars as I do pronouncements from the Washington politicians!

 

I think I'll go by my past experience of owning Corvettes rather than take the advice of Consumer Reports. Any brand of car can break at any time. And I'll have a ton more fun in a Corvette than I would a Camry.

 

Perfectly said.

I wonder how many guys have taken their C7's back to the dealer for a "ticking" noise? Most everyone here knows this is Direct Injection, but there is STILL at least ONE thread a week about this. Now, the CF membership represents a TINY portion of Corvette owners, so you can see how something like the Direct Injection "ticking" or cold front tire "crabbing" (another weekly subject) which are both normal, could be used to ding the car's reliability rating in the real world.
Also, I would love to know what CR's sample size was for their determination of the C7's lack of reliability.

Jimmy

 

We go thru this with EVERY Generation of Corvette....some bottom of a bird cage cover writes something to get sales and everyone here or almost everyone gets upset. What Consumer Reports or any other rag thinks about the Corvette doesn't phase me AT ALL. I am not going to preach to the choir about how GOOD the C7 is .... we all know that....but instead suggest that if you do in fact receive that publication give it to someone who has a bird/birds to be put where it belongs....on the bottom of a bird cage.

 

Maybe it was just the new A8, we have been hearing about lots of issues lately with them. My C7 is two yrs old no reliability issues at all, love the car....



Lexus, Toyota, and Audi are the most reliable carmakers, according to Consumer Reports’ just-released annual auto survey. Based on information from its subscribers covering more than 740,000 vehicles, Consumer Reports compiled predicted reliability ratings for 170 models. It found that the biggest problems with many cars are with the new automatic transmission technologies and the in-car electronics.

On the list for 2016, the least reliable car is the Fiat 500L, followed by the Ford Fiesta, Cadillac Escalade, Jeep Cherokee, and Chevrolet Corvette.

The most reliable vehicle of all is the Audi Q3. And top of the pack among small SUVs are the Kia Sportage, the Toyota RAV4, and the Subaru XV Crosstrek.

Consumer Reports also ranked 28 car brands for reliability. This year, Lexus is the most reliable brand, followed by Toyota, Audi, Mazda, and Subaru. Kia is now in the sixth spot. Buick, at number seven, is the only American brand to make it onto the top-ten list.

Honda has fallen to eighth place. Consumer Reports says that’s mainly because of problems with its infotainment system and glitches with the transmissions in new and freshened models.

Based on its latest reliability ratings, Consumer Reports is no longer recommending the Tesla Model S. It earned top scores for performance, but its reliability has come in below average. And Consumer Reports doesn’t recommend any car with below- average reliability.

 

100% Correct. They only solicit their surveys to subscribers...and only require 100 responses to publish a result.