In a recent blog entry, I listed some reasons TrueDelta’s reliability results can differ from those in Consumer Reports. But how much do our rankings of brand actually differ? In instances where they do differ, what is the likely cause? Consumer Reports bases its brand rankings on the most recent three model years. On TrueDelta, you can specify which model… More →
Month: October 2015
A Tale of Two Tucsons
Which level of equipment do you tend to be most interested in. Nothing but the essentials? Mid-level, with perhaps leather, nav, and/or sunroof? Or all boxes checked? I ask because the cars I test can be any of these. The Hyundai Tucson I tested a few weeks ago was the base-level SE. The Mazda CX-3 I have this week is… More →
Responsibility and Car Recommendations
From Forbes, August 27, 2015: In late August, Consumer Reports announced that the Tesla Model S was such a good car that it had broken the highly influential organization’s ratings scale with a road test score of 103 out of 100, and reaped a PR bonanza for both Tesla and themselves. If you missed the story, you must have been… More →
CR: new transmissions, infotainment systems are key sources of problems
Consumer Reports released their updated reliability ratings today in a presentation to the Detroit-based Automotive Press Association (APA). Their presentation highlighted infotainment systems and new transmission designs as key sources of problems in recently redesigned cars. Problems with both are often resolved with software updates. But in the case of new transmissions, all too often hardware and even the entire… More →
Tesla Model S reliability finally below average in CR
Consumer Reports released their updated reliability ratings today in a presentation to the Detroit-based Automotive Press Association (APA). Their rating for the Tesla Model S finally (almost) agrees with what TrueDelta has been reporting for the past six quarters, and they will no longer recommend the car. Specifically, the predicted reliability for the Model S based on the 2013-2015 model… More →
What a difference a redesign can make
It’s common knowledge that the first year of a new car design can be glitchy. But sometimes a redesign greatly improves a model’s reliability. Two cases I’ve noticed: the 2009 Murano and the 2010 Legacy / Outback each dramatically improved on the repair frequency of the previous generation. (Yes, additional participation by Murano owners would be especially helpful.) Unfortunately, the… More →
Chevrolet Volt: twice as much as the Cruze, or not?
Chevrolet has redesigned the Volt, so car reviewers are once again writing about the Volt. Some will note that the Volt’s base price ($33,995) is twice as much as that of the Cruze ($16,995), though they share a platform and are about the same size. This seems like far too much to pay for the Volt’s raison d’être: the ability… More →