“A three percent difference every year In one area over five years is a fifteen percent difference over five years, at the very least.”
I totally disagree with your logic. A person is generally going to buy one of the vehicles of a given model year, but not all five. Furthermore, from my experience, a problem that shows up on many vehicles (and every manufacturer has them) is corrected, often with revised parts or procedures. This had been my experience more often than not and much of this is handled while the car is under warranty (which is where a warranty like GM’s 100,000 mile/60 month warranty shines).
You’re talking a 3 to 4 percent difference in respondents’ claimed problems. Out of how many cars ? Take a million surveys and divide by 300 car models and divide that by 6 model years. Let’s say you get an average of 600 surveys per vehicle. Some vehicles receive way more than that and some way less than that. How many complaints per survey ? Who knows how many each car received ?
Let’s say that a particlar trouble spot on a certain vehicle received 39 complaints about Body Integrity and another vehicle received 40 complaints. Still, a third vehicle received a whopping 41 !
The first car scores a Much Worse Than Average Rating, The second car an Average Rating, and the third a Much Better Than Average rating. That’s the significance we’re talking about, here . . . 3 or 4 percent.
It would be much more meaningful if CR didn’t translate data into shaded dots. Actual numbers of problems reported per model, per model year, per trouble spot would reflect both how many surveys are represented and how frequent the problems are. The way it’s currently done is more dramatic and sells more magazines, but I find to be of little use.
By the way, very few vehicles in very few problem spots have 5 consecutive years of black spots as you used in your example. I have to try not to laugh, but in my example above using Body Integrity, one vehicle did suffer that rating for 4 years straight. It’s a Jeep Wrangler. I laugh because if somebody wants a vehicle like a Wrangler, what else is like a Wrangler ? Besides, do they expect the same Body Integrity as on a car made for highway use ? Nonetheless, this “poor” Jeep rating drags down the whole overall Jeep Wrangler rating (which is just Average, by the way).
"Body Integrity: Squeaks or rattles, seals, and/or weather stripping, air or water leaks, loose interior trim and moldings, wind noise."
Looking at the black spot, one can’t tell which of those things the Jeep did “poorly” in, but I hope none of those Wranglers had wind noise !
I do look at these ratings. I don’t take them too seriously. I do my homework. I choose vehicles based on sound sources and information.
My Mr. Coffee, a CR Best Buy from years ago is still making some mighty fine brew.
CSA
