Consumer Reports collects its data from its subscribers. The people who subscribe to CR may or may not be representative of the general population. The people who subscribe to CR may drive their cars differently and maintain them differently than other segments of the general population. I subscribe to CR because I like to see what rich people buy. I fill out the CR questionnaire on my vehicles and household appiances every year. I doubt that I am typical of the population in general.
Back in the early 1960s when I needed a car, a mechanic I knew told me to stick with Chevrolets or Fords. His reasoning was that parts for Fords and Chevrolets were readily available and these cars were familiar to all mechanics and the problems with different models of Fords and Chevrolets were well known and there were fixes for these problems. I bought a 1955 Pontiac that was recommended by CR as a good buy as a used car and it was a disaster. The oil passages in the studs for the rocker arms would plug up and there was no cheap repair. The Chevy 6 and the Fords had the same problem, but bypass oil lines were available and could be installed without removing the cylinder head.
Back in 1965, I bought a Rambler. I had that car when I went back to school for the second round of graduate work. The town where the University was located did not have a Rambler dealer. Some parts my independent shop that took care of the Rambler had to have parts shipped in from a Rambler dealer 50 miles away, adding to the expense of repairs.
I replaced the Rambler with a Ford Maverick. The interior made a school bus seem luxurious and it rode like a wheelbarrow, but parts were readily available and the local discount drug store had Preparation-H available at a good price to take care of the problems of the wheelbarrow ride. I bought the Maverick used and it consumed one quart of oil every 300 miles. The local mechanics all knew the problem was caused by valve stem seals. The seals could be replaced without removing the cylinder head by injecting air into the cylinder to hod the valve in place when the keeper is removed to replace the seal. That reduced the oil consumption to 1200 miles a quart.
If my mechanic friend were alive today, he would probably tell me to stick with the Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic. Subaru, Mazda and Nissan are out because the dealerships are 60 miles away.
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