Consumer Reports

Tesla Model S wins high praise from Consumer Reports

6:00 am U.S. ET | May 9, 2013
The all-electric Tesla Model S sports car received the highest score in Consumer Reports' ratings -- a 99 out of 100 -- along with widespread plaudits from the magazine's automotive testing staff.... Read More »

 

Japanese brands continue to dominate Consumer Reports' rankings

12:45 pm U.S. ET | Feb. 26, 2013
Japanese brands, led by Lexus, Subaru and Mazda, continue to dominate Consumer Reports' rankings of the best light vehicles on the market, claiming “top pick” honors in seven out of 10 product segments and capturing the top seven spots for overall brand reliability and performance. The brands that scored best on the magazine's report cards for 2013 were Lexus, with a score of 79 out of 100, followed by Subaru and Mazda, which both scored a 76.... Read More »

 

FINAL ASSEMBLY

Magazine takes turbos to task

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 11, 2013
Consumer Reports dropped a fly in the turbo party punch bowl when it said its tests of turbocharged cars from Ford and General Motors didn't support the companies' claims about fuel economy and performance.... Read More »

 

Ford, GM turbo engine benefits overstated, Consumers Reports says

7:34 am U.S. ET | Feb. 5, 2013
Consumer Reports said its tests of turbocharged cars from Ford and GM didn't support the companies' claims about fuel economy and performance provided by the powertrain technology.... Read More »

 

FINAL ASSEMBLY

For new EVs, kudos amid the clobbering

12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan. 28, 2013
In its review of the Ford Focus Electric and Mitsubishi i-MiEV released last week, Consumer Reports took issue with the Ford's cramped rear seat and frustrating MyFord Touch controls, and a large lithium ion battery pack that consumes much of the car's "modest cargo space." How did the smaller i-MiEV fare?... Read More »

 

2013 Ford Fusion gets mixed review from Consumer Reports

12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan. 23, 2013
The 2013 Ford Fusion mid-sized sedan won praise for its handling and sportiness from Consumer Reports, but the magazine's automotive experts faulted the car for poor fit and finish and fuel economy that falls well short of claims on the window sticker. The magazine said today that other prominent gripes -- namely the MyFord Touch infotainment and controls system -- also kept the new Fusion out of the top of its mid-sized sedan ratings.... Read More »

 

Ford says U.S. may change hybrid fuel-economy test procedures

9:27 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 15, 2013
Ford, facing criticism for the fuel-economy performance of some of its models, said the Environmental Protection Agency may change its procedures for testing the mileage of hybrids.... Read More »

 

2012 LISTS OF 10

Blunders

12:01 am U.S. ET | Dec. 31, 2012
A look at some of the notable gaffes from the past year.... Read More »

 

Accord helps Honda rebound from Civic jeers

12:34 am U.S. ET | Dec. 18, 2012
Honda Motor Co., hit by Consumer Reports' stinging review for its Civic small car last year, got high marks for the revamped 2013 Accord that the magazine said ranks among the market's best mid-sized cars.... Read More »

 

Ford says it’s talking to EPA about hybrid mileage tests

11:52 am U.S. ET | Dec. 14, 2012
Ford is talking to the EPA about how it tests fuel economy performance on new vehicles following reports that the automaker’s hybrids are falling short of mileage promises.... Read More »

 

Toyota to alert customers about trunk-release defect

3:17 pm U.S. ET | Dec. 12, 2012
Toyota next month is expected to alert about 700,000 owners of three Lexus nameplates in the United States about a problem with the emergency trunk release, Consumer Reports magazine said today.... Read More »

 

2 Fords fall short on mpg, magazine says

12:01 am U.S. ET | Dec. 10, 2012
The Ford C-Max Hybrid and Fusion Hybrid fall about 20 percent short of their fuel economy claims, Consumer Reports magazine said, after running real-world tests on both models.... Read More »

 

Ford Fusion, C-Max hybrid mileage claims to be reviewed by EPA

1:12 pm U.S. ET | Dec. 9, 2012
The federal Environmental Protection Agency says it will review Consumer Reports' data and findings that showed Ford's two newest hybrid models fell below the company's promise of 47 mpg. The magazine said last week it found the Ford Fusion hybrid, at 39 mpg, fell 17 percent short of the company's claim while the C-Max hybrid, at 37 mpg, fell 21 percent short of the claim.... Read More »

 

Chevy Volt again ranked by Consumer Reports as most-loved car

6:00 am U.S. ET | Nov. 29, 2012
The Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid landed atop Consumer Reports' annual owner-satisfaction ranking for the second straight year. Ninety-two percent of responding Volt owners in a poll of the magazine's subscribers said they definitely would buy a Volt again, tops among 240 models, the magazine said today. Several other fuel-efficient models also scored highly, including Toyota's Camry Hybrid, Prius, and Prius C as well as Nissan's Leaf electric car.... Read More »

 

FINAL ASSEMBLY

Consumer Reports pans 4 Detroit nameplates for '13

12:01 am U.S. ET | Nov. 26, 2012
Despite the Detroit 3's post-recession comeback, one thing refuses to budge: Sedans from Ford, Chrysler and General Motors still earn little respect from Consumer Reports.... Read More »

 

Chrysler avoids touch-screen woes by letting Ford, GM blunder

12:01 am U.S. ET | Nov. 22, 2012
Chrysler is emerging as a leader in touch screens by letting Ford and GM jump ahead and stumble. Blunders with the systems, which handle tasks from entertaining with Pandora Internet radio to reading text messages and mapping out directions, have dragged on Ford's showings in surveys by Consumer Reports and J.D. Power & Associates. The automaker said last month that it expects to fall short with quality metrics for a second straight year.... Read More »

 

Latest Detroit sedans fail to win Consumer Reports' recommendations

6:00 am U.S. ET | Nov. 20, 2012
Some of the latest new car models from Detroit automakers received mixed reviews from Consumer Reports and have failed to win a recommendation from the popular U.S. shopping guide.... Read More »

 

DOUGLAS A. BOLDUC

Why Alan Mulally apologized to Bill Gates

12:01 am U.S. ET | Nov. 8, 2012
Ford CEO Alan Mulally said that the first thing he did after agreeing to be a keynote speaker at the International Consumer Electronics Show was pick up the phone. He joked that he “called to apologize to Bill Gates” for taking a spot usually reserved for the Microsoft chairman.... Read More »

 

DOUGLAS A. BOLDUC

Why Alan Mulally apologized to Bill Gates

12:01 am U.S. ET | Nov. 8, 2012
Ford CEO Alan Mulally said that the first thing he did after agreeing to be a keynote speaker at the International Consumer Electronics Show was pick up the phone. He joked that he “called to apologize to Bill Gates” for taking a spot usually reserved for the Microsoft chairman.... Read More »

 

Toyota is tops, Ford drops in reliability ratings

12:01 am U.S. ET | Nov. 5, 2012
Toyota Motor Corp. is back on top, followed by a wave of Japanese brands, in reliability ratings by Consumer Reports magazine. And Ford Motor Co. tumbled in the rankings.... Read More »

 

Gap grows between vehicle sales and Consumer Reports' recommendations

1:36 pm U.S. ET | Oct. 31, 2012
Models such as VW's Passat and Honda's Civic, which lost Consumer Reports' coveted recommended status in August 2011, are among some of the biggest gainers in the United States auto market this year. The disconnect shows that buyers can be more forgiving in showrooms than testers are in labs as industrywide quality gains bring automakers closer to parity.... Read More »

 

Ford drops to near-bottom of Consumer Reports' reliability study

12:47 pm U.S. ET | Oct. 29, 2012
Ford plunged for the second straight year in Consumer Reports' survey of auto reliability and now ranks near the bottom of the annual scorecard. The Ford brand finished 27th out of the 28 brands; Lincoln fell to 26th from 14th. Toyota's Scion, Toyota and Lexus brands ranked first, second and third in a list that continues to be dominated by Asian brands.... Read More »

 

Lexus sedans pose risk for trunk entrapment, Consumer Reports says

6:34 am U.S. ET | Oct. 12, 2012
Toyota Motor Corp.'s new Lexus ES and GS sedans have emergency trunk release handles that break too easily and risk trapping someone in the cargo space of the luxury cars, according to Consumer Reports magazine.... Read More »

 

Farley: We'll fix MyFord problems

12:01 am U.S. ET | Aug. 27, 2012
Unfazed by Consumer Reports' latest scathing criticisms of the MyFord Touch system, Jim Farley, Ford Motor Co.'s global marketing chief, said the company will not shy away from its commitment to industry-leading technology.... Read More »

 

FINAL ASSEMBLY

David, Nissan must really like you, too

12:01 am U.S. ET | Aug. 27, 2012
We're not saying our June profile of David Champion, the auto testing boss at Consumer Reports, was the reason Nissan named him executive adviser of competitive assessment and quality last week. But Champion, who was a quality engineer at Nissan from 1994 to 1997, did have some mighty flattering things to say about his former employer during the interview.... Read More »