DASHOCKER

iTrader: (2)

Consumer Reports is full of recycled rubbish. I unsubsribed years ago. Heck, I still have the free "Buying Guide" from 1999. Anyone interested in it?

LexFather

I am sure you are a lifetime subscriber to Car & BMW or BMW Trend though

rosskoss

No, he's right. CR is absolute rubbish.

IS350jet

Exactly! Acura has an identity crisis. What does Acura stand for? Who do they build cars for? Acura needs help to define themselves and to determine what they stand for.
Lexus had this problem several years ago and underwent an entire makeover of the entire image. Lexus struggled to define itself as its competition had. Think:

BMW= performance
MBZ= prestige
Volvo= safety
Jaguar=British classic luxury
Audi= German engineering.

After Lexus re-defined itself they wanted potential customers to know Lexus as a "luxury" car company. IOW when you hear the brand "Lexus", the first thing you thought of was "luxury".
The marketing worked and Lexus has been very successful with it.

I agree with 1sick, Acura's not a bad car, it just need an image.

DASHOCKER

iTrader: (2)

Acura does have an image. "Precision crafted performance" has been the moto for years. Heck, I owned an Acura prior and they have been around longer than Lexus. You can find out more about Acura and their "image" here http://www.acura.com/ and click about Acura. What is the Lexus image at the present time with the inception of this F brand? Talk about a mixed bag Lets get off of the soapboxes gentlemen.

mmarshall

CR's reliability charts are anything BUT rubbish. They are probably the most comprensive source of auto reliability available today. I myself depend on them, at least to an extent, for a good idea of potential reliability when I go to recommend a vehicle to someone else. Their results, over the years, has closely reflected my own experience with a number of different cars....I have found them to be VERY accurate.

DASHOCKER

iTrader: (2)

That polka dot chart in the back of every Consumer Reports auto issue has remained unchanged since my days in elementary school. Honda Accord Toyota Camry best bets. Said cars forecasted to be best bets in 2025 as well

rosskoss

You mean the same company that admitted to recommending a car without proper reliability data to back it up? If CR is so great, why do they never open up their databases for review or reveal their statistical methods applied? Go ask any CR employee or engineer what methods they use to tally up scores and you won't get a response. Hang out on their forums and it's import heaven. They preach one word - domestics cars suck and are very unreliable and will fall apart.

This is the crowd that forms CR's subscribers and that forms a self perpetuating cycle of sorts.

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

so is this not true or something?

The market and the public itself is a self perpetuating cycle.

IS350jet

There is a HUGE difference between a brand image and a brand slogan.

mmarshall

CR explains exactly how they arrive at their data and the methods involved....what red dots, red half, black, half-black, etc... mean. Statistical averages, number of responses, relationships to earlier years...all that is spelled out on the page explanations if you just read it.

Now, granted, it is NOT a perfect system...and the sudden drop in reliability
for the 2005-2006 Toyota Camry did take CR a little by surprise. They sometimes forecast future reliability based on past experience, except when a vehicle is totally or extensively redesigned. And, even with the latest-generation Camry, they based a good reliability forecast on its many years of above-average performance. It was one of those uncommon instances when
a rapid and foreseen drop in reliability (mostly with transmissions) happened before the latest CR new-car issues could keep up. No system serving that many people and that many issues could have caught that in just a few months.

So the CR system is not perfect....but it is a better system than just about any other one out there....including J.D. Power. And their experience with auto reliability has generally been the same as mine.


Now.....as for domestic vehicles. I won't necessarily say they s**k......and there are some promising ones among the latest batch.......but in most cases the difference in overall quality among American-nameplate and Asian-nameplate vehicles is noticeable and pronounced, especially in hardware and fit-and-finish. The new Chevy Malibu, Cadillac CTS, and Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan are nice examples of what Detroit can do if and when they put their minds to it.

Mr. Jones

it's no secret CR haters also dislike the exact same brands while loving exactly the same brands.

LexFather

A motto or tagline is not image. Is "Impossible is Nothing" (Adidas) or "You're in Good Hangs (Allstate) an image? No that is a slogan.

You ask someone today what an Acura is, they will probably say "what happened to the Legend, or my Legend was fantastic".

Lexus image is the envy of many companies, you sound ridiculous. The company is 92 on the 100 most valued brand names in the world.
http://www.lexus.co.za/about_lexus/n...ts/top_100.asp
Higher than even Nissan at 94. This is a brand new company for the most part. Lexus more than anything has the image of quality and luxury and top customer service. Lexus has an award winning image and one of now hybrids. Clearly they have tons of work with the sporty image, but they HAVE a solid image.

You can go to the exotic forums and the only Japanese luxury brand mentioned, is Lexus.

Right CR is going to be as unbiased as it gets. Its not perfect but until someone does a better or bigger job, you have them and JD power, and a few other independent surveys.

Some have no problem butt humping Edmunds, Motor Trend, C&D, Automobile and the regular, tired mags, with bias, with advertisements, with obvious omissions and mistakes.

Honestly, the BOTTOM LINE, I agree with most of this survey.

DASHOCKER

iTrader: (2)

I did not imply that Acura's motto was synonymous with their image. As I stated above in the parenthesis: Go on their site and read it.
And who would this "someone" be? Could it just be you and those on this board who get a kick out of putting down Honda Motor Co. daily? As an actual former owner of Acura and Honda product, I see their current offerings as an improvement over the old.

Lexus is the envy of many companies?? Now that would warrant one to sound quite ridiculous imo. Quite an accomplishment being #92 out of 100 companies. Just two slots above Nissan based on the survey of all surveys I guess..

. I agree on the luxury aspect. Quality and customer service is all subjective. You can post J.D Superpower links to your hearts content. It is not the gospel.


Yes all independent surveys buddy. Potential buyers are fooling themselves if they rely soley on them. Heck my purchasing decisons were not based on surveys and I am a very happer camper. No problems to report to date

Yes..Those who swear by mags and have not driven the cars for themselves. I am not a magazine reading bon bon eater. I go to my share of driving events to experience them hands on.

That is great.

IS350jet

Nobody is putting down Honda. As a matter of fact you will not find a bigger Honda fan than myself on ALL of CL. I've owned Honda's since I was a kid. I'm currently driving my 12th. I've loved every one of them, and plan on owning more. My IS is one of the few non-Honda cars I've ever owned. Just because Acura suffers from an identity crisis doesn't mean they're bad cars. Fact is they're great cars, awesome cars. I sometimes feel bad for Acura because the RL is truly an amazing automobile, even though it didn't do well, sales wise.