Thread Number: 3155
CR and Ojectivity |
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Post# 80902 , Reply# 2   8/30/2005 at 09:40 (6,785 days old) by Jmm63 (Denville, NJ)   |   | |
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I have to agree. I use CR more for a very loosly based opinion on something before I buy lately. Case in point, I bought thier highly rated Frigidaire 10,000 btu window AC this spring, drove 45 minutes to my nearest Lowes, dragged the thing home, installed it, and couldn't believe how LOUD it was. I even called Frigidaire service who came out and said its "normal" Needless to say, it got returned and I bought thier lower rated GE 12K and LOVE it. I wrote letters to CR and to Frgidaire but only got the "we'll forward it on" response. I've ALWAYS thought they slammed very worhty American cars and I no longer consider CR when its time for a new one. Although, I LOVE my Subaru Outback, and so do they. I wonder if the testers don't have some kind of vested interest in the foreign car market. Just my 2 cents |
Post# 80926 , Reply# 4   8/30/2005 at 11:40 (6,785 days old) by toggleswitch (New York City, NY)   |   | |
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Post# 80943 , Reply# 6   8/30/2005 at 15:18 (6,785 days old) by toggleswitch (New York City, NY)   |   | |
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Personally I would love to see SUV's classified as cars to be held to emissions and fuel-economy standards, while being classified as trucks to be prohibited from Parkways. I am not sure about this elsewhere, but in NY state, commercial vehicles may NOT use "Parkways" (bridges are too low.) They may, however use Expressways. Hey California, Freeway? what's a Freeway? There is inevitably some @$$hole trukdriver, with the top three feet of his truck sheared off, crying under a bridge......and always at rush hour. Messes things up for HOURS. Bitter in aisle #1, bitter in asile #1. LOL |
Post# 80963 , Reply# 10   8/30/2005 at 17:56 (6,785 days old) by petek (Ontari ari ari O )   |   | |
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I've been reading CR since the mid 60's when my dad was a subscriber and have had a subscription on and off since then, when it's off I buy it at the newstand. I haven't been impressed with the newer format either for the last couple of years. The seem to be trying to jam more in each issue and in doing so they've reduced the amount of pages pertaining to each item so you're getting less information than you used to. Plus I don't care either for all the ratings on chocolates, wines, condoms etc..I only buy it for the appliances, electronics and car reviews.
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Post# 81007 , Reply# 13   8/30/2005 at 21:26 (6,785 days old) by rinso (Meridian Idaho)   |   | |
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I meant can't put it in a spreadsheet. My typing skills are not a quality process. :o) |
Post# 81039 , Reply# 16   8/31/2005 at 09:29 (6,784 days old) by deeptub (Carbondale, IL)   |   | |
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Over the past few years I've noticed that CR doesn't encourage thrift the way they used to. Perhaps it's just a reflection of their readership, but where it used to be a useful tool to help savvy consumers squeeze a penny five times before they spent it (complete with cranky comments like, "Think twice--do you even need this product"), it's now a big glossy spending guide. It's sort of difficult to read a smallish article about the evils of getting into too much debt and then read a massive section on home electronics, when to purchase many of the items tested would require anyone I know to open a Best Buy account. Hmph. T. |
Post# 81040 , Reply# 17   8/31/2005 at 09:35 (6,784 days old) by Stainfighter (Columbia, SC)   |   | |
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Post# 81184 , Reply# 20   9/1/2005 at 14:25 (6,783 days old) by toggleswitch (New York City, NY)   |   | |
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Post# 81530 , Reply# 21   9/4/2005 at 11:59 (6,780 days old) by roto204 (Tucson, AZ)   |   | |
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I too wondered about the Maytag versus 1-18 thing. Granted, I love my 1-18, but I did have the A608 beside it for a while, and while I found the Maytag to be a quiet, competent (and insanely reliable) machine, I think the 1-18 kicked its butt and sent it home crying on capacity. The PowerFin was smooth and the capacity was good, but it fell far short of the Frigidaire. The Frigidaire ate it in the ratings for water usage, but since it washed far more clothes in a single cycle, you'd think things would end up on a more even keel. I too am unimpressed by CR's current ratings, especially with appliances. It seems like each article these days is basically "well, just about anything washes fine, but here's what we found" and then you get a lot of babbling about ergonomics. I miss the days of the day-glo orange washcloth test, and all their intensive study of turnover versus capacity. At least that seemed to be a worthwhile study with meaningful results. |
Post# 81569 , Reply# 22   9/4/2005 at 19:23 (6,780 days old) by washoholic (San Antonio, TX)   |   | |
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I subscribe to Consumer Reports Magazine & online service. You have to look at the “tests behind the tests” to figure out what they’re testing and how (it’s called “guide to our ratings” in the latest issues). Then make your own call since they seldom test things they way people use them. An example is how they test cotton swatches in the washing machine ratings rather than real clothes (towels, jeans, or dress clothes). Then they only test the “normal cycle” which we all know varies drastically from machine to machine (Kenmore “normal” is a cycle w/ more of a medium agitation/tumble and a medium-high spin, Maytag “normal” is the most aggressive agitation/tumble and the highest and longest spin). It’s like comparing apples to oranges. People who don’t subscribe to CR often pick-up the magazine and buy based on the ratings chart, but actually if you read the article, CR usually doesn’t recommend the products that top their ratings charts. For example, the Kenmore Calypso has been at the top of the ratings chart since it came out (#1 every year except this year it’s #2), but CR did not recommend the Calypso when it first came out because of no reliability data and now CR doesn’t recommend it due to poor reliability data and complaints from consumers that the Calypso wrinkles clothes and causes a lot of lint and pilling on clothes. Bosch dishwashers are always at the top of the ratings chart too, but CR never recommends them either. I think CR needs to rethink the way they do their testing. Maybe if they tested washing clothes in their washing machine tests they would recommend the washing machines that their ratings charts listed as #1. I like Consumer Reports, but nothing is perfect. Jeff |
Post# 81576 , Reply# 23   9/4/2005 at 20:05 (6,780 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.)   |   | |
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Post# 81747 , Reply# 25   9/5/2005 at 18:35 (6,779 days old) by tolivac (greenville nc)   |   | |
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I sent my check and renewal papers into CU yesterday-wanted to try to get their fall vacuum issue. |
Post# 82024 , Reply# 26   9/7/2005 at 10:47 (6,777 days old) by frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie)   |   | |
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I have to go on record in defense of CR. I've been a subscriber for 15 years, and while I miss the more indepth ratings charts of the past (washer charts listing machines' rinsing and spin-dry capabilities and exactly how many gallons of water were used per cycle), I don't think they're very biased in their final judgments. I bought my car by their recommendation and I still have it 11 years later. It's a '94 Geo Prizm (which is actually a twin of the Toyota Corolla). It has 184,000 miles on it and has only had brake pads, belts and a starter motor replaced. Still has the original clutch and exhaust system, etc. I drive the thing all over the country at 80 mph and it's been a great little car that gets nearly 40 mpg on the highway. I wouldn't have considered it had I not read about it in CR. While US cars have certainly improved since then, it's the Toyotas and Hondas which remain very reliable for the long haul. In many instances, Chrysler/GM/Ford cars are reliable for the first couple of years; then the honeymoon's over. Why is that? Some of Toyota's most reliable cars are made in the US. Why can't the US Big Three get the same results? And why does the Corolla blast similar US cars (Chevy's new little Cavalier replacement the Cobalt and the Ford Focus, for instance) out of the water in terms of MPG? I rarely care about what's at the top of their lists; I go by the overall score of the product. For instance, my dishwasher is in the bottom half of the last dishwasher testing, but the overall score for it is still very good. No testing system is perfect, but given the choice between being advised by advertising-driven mags like Consumer Digest and Consumer Reports, I'll take CR every time. |
Post# 82293 , Reply# 28   9/8/2005 at 16:37 (6,776 days old) by washoholic (San Antonio, TX)   |   | |
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Consumer Reports claims to have no outside advertising, but they sure do have a lot of in-house advertising. It seems like every 10 pages has an advertisement for their “how to get the best deal on used cars,” or “how to make your money work smarter.” Then there’s those inserts that fall out on the floor while you’re flipping the pages where they want you to re-new the magazine. And finally there’s the inserts that they want you to tear out and give the magazine as a gift to your friends, and when you carefully tear the insert out; the magazine binding is damaged and falling apart. I like Consumer Reports; I just wish they would leave that stuff out, because I keep the magazines forever and would like them to stay in good condition.
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Post# 82497 , Reply# 30   9/9/2005 at 14:59 (6,775 days old) by frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie)   |   | |
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