Sometimes it’s the drivers Mike
Sometimes…NOT ALL…I’ve seen Chevy and sister Pontiac models on CR with very very different ratings…One I remember CR rated the Chevy brakes as good…while the Pontiac brakes were rated BAD…Both cars had the EXACT SAME PARTS BUILT IN THE SAME PLANT USING THE SAME WORKERS…So something is wrong there.
That high spirited Pontiac driver maybe treated his brakes like a Formula 1 driver, no doubt, with the resultant more frequent breakdowns. Also, since much fewer Pontiacs were sold, in cases where the sample size was borderline small, the results could be thrown off.
I subscribe to True Delta, and with a small number reporting on a new car, some models come out as near perfect. A 2007 Corolla in their database has virtually no repairs to date, but will no doubt become "less reliable " as it ages.
As Winston Churchill famously remarked: “There are lies, damn lies and statistics!”.
I also know many drivers who have owned full size Ford cars and pickup trucks and have been happy customers.
I also know Ford owners who have bought their small cars, imports and minivans and those swear they will never own one again. Ford in the past always put more effort in both the quality and the safety of their larger cars and trucks. Even owning part of Mazda with its superb small car know how, did not have much of a positive effect.
I know I was one of those never buying Ford again unless it’s an f-150 or a mustang(and even then, a 1st gen one) due to my Contour having issues. But now, Ford was one of the first cars I looked at when I started shopping.
MAYBE…for that LIMITED example…But there are MANY MANY OTHERS…I’ve yet to pick up a CR and within 10 minutes I’m able to find discrepancies…In either case you have to be skeptical of their data.