All in all, I use the CR ratings to ferret out the solid black items and avoid cars so rated.
CR is GREAT for that. I use CR as ONE resource in buying a car. The last car we bought was my wifes Lexus Es-350. We had several vehicles in mind to look at (even a couple American cars). I must have spent 40-50 hours of research to narrow the list down to just 4 vehicles. Then we test drove them and my wife chose the Lexus. Buying a car is a very expensive purchase. Spend the time doing the research.