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  Nov. 3, 2010 3:16 p.m. Tom Heath Webmaster

  Discussion: Are the folks at Consumer Reports crazy or have I been living under a rock? They called the Porsche Boxster the most reliable "sporty car". I'm not sure what else was included in their study, but it beat the Corvette Z06 and the BMW M3 for the title. Somehow I suspect lower-end cars like the MX-5 and Ford Mustang weren't included, but I've been wrong before.

  Be cool and join the discussion over on classicmotorsports.net to liven up the neighborhood.

  Speaking of Porsche content on the Classic site, I just posted the Porsche 911 Buyers Guide in the Classic Motorsports Article Archive in case you're ready to go shopping.

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  Nov. 3, 2010 3:54 p.m. unevolved HalfDork

  I stopped listening to Consumer Reports' car reviews when they chided a 911 GT3 for having a "choppy ride" or something similar. The magazine caters to people that view cars as nothing more than transportation appliances.

  Texas A&M Racing

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  Nov. 3, 2010 4:10 p.m. Cotton Dork

  unevolved wrote: I stopped listening to Consumer Reports' car reviews when they chided a 911 GT3 for having a "choppy ride" or something similar. The magazine caters to people that view cars as nothing more than transportation appliances.

  +1

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  Nov. 3, 2010 4:20 p.m. oldtin HalfDork

  Did my part.... and who cares about new car reliability - should be 100% - less = manufacturing defect - the days of rusting vegas on the dealer lots and bmc quality are past. Cars should work when new. Ask about reliability in a few years when the cylinder liners slip or the idrive goes bat E36 M3 crazy. Or just compile the obdII recorded faults - let the cars tell you who's the most reliable.

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  Nov. 3, 2010 4:24 p.m. TJ SuperDork

  Cotton wrote:

  unevolved wrote: I stopped listening to Consumer Reports' car reviews when they chided a 911 GT3 for having a "choppy ride" or something similar. The magazine caters to people that view cars as nothing more than transportation appliances.

  +1

  I stopped listening to them when I figured out that they rate cars based on how many cupholders they have.

  {Place witty saying here}

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  Nov. 3, 2010 4:26 p.m. Otto_Maddox Reader

  CR has its problems but their car reviews have improved immensely over the years. They love Miatas, BMWs, Porsches, etc. They bemoan needless complication (such as I-drive and the like) but adore sharp handling and tossability. I don't get the hate.

  As for reliability, they are spot-on when it comes to mass market models, but the closer you get to the sales fringe, such as Porsches, CR is far less useful.

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  Nov. 3, 2010 4:30 p.m. JFX001 SuperDork

  1) Boxster

  2) Corvette Z06

  3) BMW M3*

  • Appliance Monthly said: The BMW M3,which ranked third in the reliability survey,is not recommended because the magazine has not tested it.Other versions of the BMW 3-series are recommended,though.

  Easy like Sunday Morning.

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  Nov. 3, 2010 4:30 p.m. Giant Purple Snorklewacker SuperDork

  Tom... the 89-94 Carrera 2 and 4 seem to be missing from your buyers guide. Rare as the non-RSA 964s might be in the wild... I assure you they exist ;)

  Lord of drivel and harbinger of Floundering

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  Nov. 3, 2010 4:32 p.m. Duke SuperDork

  I stopped believing anything Consumer Retards says about cars when they panned the Isuzu Rodeo while fawning all over the Honda Passport. Somehow the exact same interior was suddenly "rugged" and the exact same truck was magically "reliable" when there was an H on the hood instead of an I.

  Junior Brown is my hero.

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  Nov. 3, 2010 5:25 p.m. Schmidlap Reader

  Porsche has been at the top of JD Power's initial quality survey and long term dependability rankings several times over the last several years, why wouldn't the Boxster be one of the most reliable sports cars? I know the early models had engine problems, but that was more than 10 years ago. Do the current ones have massive flaws too?

  Bob

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  Nov. 3, 2010 5:52 p.m. Xceler8x SuperDork

  Duke wrote: I stopped believing anything Consumer Retards says about cars when the panned the Isuzu Rodeo while fawning all over the Honda Passport. Somehow the same exact same interior was suddenly "rugged" and the exact same truck was magically "reliable" when there was an H on the hood instead of an I.

  Duke nailed it. Saw the same thing happen to the Ford Ranger v the Mazda B2200. Same truck. Same assembly line. Somehow the Mazda offering was better by their estimation.

  Flawed.

  You are what you do, when it counts.

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  Nov. 3, 2010 6:45 p.m. Jensenman SuperDork

  CR is so full of crap... the Suzuki Samurai debacle, the Trooper rollover fiasco, the aforementioned Passport/Rodeo and Ranger/B series, the list is seemingly endless. For those who do not know the whole story, Isuzu actually won their lawsuit but by then Trooper sales had recovered and the court awarded only a symbolic amount. Suzuki finally won their similar lawsuit a couple of years ago.

  Maybe they have cleaned up their act recently, but I still don't like their overall attitude. Reminds me way too much of PETA and all the other 'we have sheepskins which proves we are smarter than you so shut up and do as you are told' so called progressives.

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  Nov. 5, 2010 9:55 a.m. Otto_Maddox Reader

  In reply to Xceler8x:

  I'd love to see either of those examples. Everybody remembers stuff like this, but I've been a subscriber for years and I just haven't seen this happen.

  Maybe I am the one with the faulty memory, but as I recall the Passport had below average reliablity according to CR. I have all the old car issues at home if anyone would like me to check.
  

  I actually have a 2009 Consumer Reports Buyers' Guide in front of me and the reliability ratings for a B2000 and a Ranger are basically identical.

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  Nov. 5, 2010 11:09 a.m. MadScientistMatt Dork

  Duke wrote: I stopped believing anything Consumer Retards says about cars when they panned the Isuzu Rodeo while fawning all over the Honda Passport. Somehow the exact same interior was suddenly "rugged" and the exact same truck was magically "reliable" when there was an H on the hood instead of an I.

  Exactly. There's quite a few times I've seen them assign wildly different reviews and reliability ratings to badge-engineered corporate twins. Looks like they've never done a serious analysis of how reliable their own reliability ratings are.

  "Mad Scientist" Matt Cramer

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  Nov. 5, 2010 11:17 a.m. DoctorBlade Reader

  I've never believed their car ratings in the slightest. I recall one day, a decade ago, when they said in one issue "We have a sports car we can finally recommend you by, if you need one" or some such sentence. I gave up.

  I suppose you can kinda trust them on Washers, TV's and whatnot.

  "Meh."

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  Nov. 5, 2010 11:17 a.m. FlightService Reader

  Duke wrote: I stopped believing anything Consumer Retards says about cars when they panned the Isuzu Rodeo while fawning all over the Honda Passport. Somehow the exact same interior was suddenly "rugged" and the exact same truck was magically "reliable" when there was an H on the hood instead of an I.

  I have questioned consumer's report for years.

  I love how they pan the Crown Vic, yet it outlasts almost every vehicle it is up against.

  If it is Honda or Toyota, they love it. Everything else is just garbage, in their very biased opinion.

  Italian cars are like Italian woman, expensive and only beautiful on the outside.

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  Nov. 5, 2010 11:36 a.m. JoeyM Dork

  Tom Heath wrote: Be cool and join the discussion over on classicmotorsports.net to liven up the neighborhood.

  [sigh] I logged in @ CMS, looked at the petty whining about your turn of phrase, and then moved back over here. I already have strong doubts about fitting in here, I CERTAINLY don't belong there.

  Oct. 30&31, Orange County Convention Center; MSCC's 50yr celebration

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  Nov. 5, 2010 11:42 a.m. FlightService Reader

  In reply to Tom Heath: nice article BTW

  Italian cars are like Italian woman, expensive and only beautiful on the outside.

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  Nov. 5, 2010 12:15 p.m. foxtrapper SuperDork

  They get their reliability ratings by customer feedback. Which is why two identical cars, badged differently, can fair differently. The end users perceive them differently.

  As others have noted, Porsche has been quietly becoming the premere maker of well engineered automobiles.

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  Nov. 5, 2010 12:23 p.m. Otto_Maddox Reader

  foxtrapper wrote: As others have noted, Porsche has been quietly becoming the premere maker of well engineered automobiles.

  I am more of the opinion that this was true until the late '90s, then Porsche took a massive nosedive in quality and reliability. It appears they have improved in the last few years, but I am not yet convinced.

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