Lest anyone should think I based my previously stated opinion about CR's objectivity on one incident alone, I have another example of bias from the same period which effectively cemented my negative view of them. In 1997 when I placed the order for my new truck there had actually been three vehicles I was considering. The Dodge Neon, the Dodge Intrepid, and the three quarter ton Diesel Dodge Ram. The decision largely hinged on whether or not I could run Jet A fuel in the truck, and when it turned out that I could use it strait with no additives I went with the diesel. Had I not been able to run it my choice would have been between the compact fun to drive economy car or a full sized comfortable and roomy sedan. I was leaning heavily towards the compact Neon and read CR's opinions with interest. One statement jumped out at me immediately as bias laden swill. Regarding the Neon's mileage hey had written "fuel economy is unremarkable for a car in this class." I found that wording a bit odd, so I went ahead and looked up the fuel economy of a number of other small cars, and even though the Neon got better mileage than many of them, not one of those other cars had been saddled with the term "unremarkable."
They then went on to criticize the noisy cabin at highway speed, which is something I hadn't noticed when I had rented one to play around with. Again I did a little comparison. Another automotive magazine had done a more thorough examination of the Neon and other small cars, which included a decibel meter mounted in the cabin at head level by the drivers seat. After looking up the reading for the Neon(I can't for the life of me remember what it was) I compared it to other small cars and found that it compared rather well, being better than some and not as good as others. But I was surprised to see that it beat out the Acura Integra which had measured several decibels louder. Armed with this new info I went back to see what CR had to say about the Intergra. They had loved the car and had made no comment at all about noise in the cabin. So in spite of what others might believe(which they are free to do) I believe the folks at CR begin their examinations burdened with bias, and consequently seek to confirm their biases through the testing they do. This is not a scientific way to go about things and cannot help but lead to skewed results, which is why I no longer trust their views.
They then went on to criticize the noisy cabin at highway speed, which is something I hadn't noticed when I had rented one to play around with. Again I did a little comparison. Another automotive magazine had done a more thorough examination of the Neon and other small cars, which included a decibel meter mounted in the cabin at head level by the drivers seat. After looking up the reading for the Neon(I can't for the life of me remember what it was) I compared it to other small cars and found that it compared rather well, being better than some and not as good as others. But I was surprised to see that it beat out the Acura Integra which had measured several decibels louder. Armed with this new info I went back to see what CR had to say about the Intergra. They had loved the car and had made no comment at all about noise in the cabin. So in spite of what others might believe(which they are free to do) I believe the folks at CR begin their examinations burdened with bias, and consequently seek to confirm their biases through the testing they do. This is not a scientific way to go about things and cannot help but lead to skewed results, which is why I no longer trust their views.
