I miss the days when even the family sedan could pull a trailer without tearing itself apart. I dislike the fact that if I want a semi-decent camper I have to get a big pickup truck that just takes up space for 51 weeks of the year.
My best haul in the CRX was getting a rolling mechanic’s tool chest from a big-box hardware store. The workers in the lumberyard refused to believe it would fit in there, but it did, and the hatch still closed. The suspension was so stiff on that thing that the car barely squatted down even with all that weight back there.
Won’t the harpsichord go out of tune bumping around on the road, or is a tuner going to tweak it once it’s on-site? I’ve always been a fan of that instrument. The harpsichord solo in Brandenburg 5 is fantastic.
@shadowfax I assume the harpsichord will be tuned after we deliver it. A violinist friend of mine is giving recital and his accompanist owns the instrument. We are moving it from her house to the church where the concert will take place. I have performed several Baroque works for horn and harpsichord. I did one performance on a valveless horn–we wanted to play on period instruments. I decided that the valve on the French horn was a,wonderful invention.
I have found CR to be a great asset. My uncertain memory is I used to read it in high school in the 50’s, but am not sure of that.
Perfect? probably not, but without it we get things like a fellow I knew who had an 80’s 9 passenger Pontiac wagon, and claimed he got 24 mpg at 70 mph, and implied something was wrong with mine because I only got 17. Or the people on this board who insist Toyota and Honda are no better than any other car, it is just gullible people who imagine it, and lie about all the many repairs that are truly made.
@irlandes Yes, CR has been a good GUIDE for purchasing things since I started reading it in 1965. I don’t follow all their advice, but their findings are infinitely better than the chatter you hear in a bar about how “good” their cars or trucks are. That holds true for so-called “East of Iceland Forever” groups who worship European cars as well as the six pack “USA Forever” gang.
A friend who was contemplating buying a truck to pull his fifth wheel camper was offered a Dodge Ram by a relative. The relative claimed 34 mpg fuel consumption. When he asked me about this claim I had to tell him this was either a deliberate lie to sell the truck or just wishful thinking and incorrect calculations.
On this site we get regular questions about gas mileage and most are based on incorrect measurements.
The difference between CR and every other resource is that their guidance is not tainted by the money from advertisers. Their guidance is not perfect but it is as close to objective as you will find. Who would you rather get car reliability information from? The somewhat subjective input of actual owners or the owners of the companies that sell the cars? I have used the CR car ratings for years and have found them to be spot on. I bought a 2014 Mazda6, which is a great car. The only issue I had was with a defective GPS unit that was replaced under warranty. What does CR show for my car? Everything is reliable EXCEPT the GPS unit. That is scary accurate.
I agree with the above. But one point: CR pretty much ignores what happens to a car more than 8 years old, from what I can see. Whereas the readers of this site seem to keep their cars closer to 20 years.
@BillRussell. Quite true! I look at the oldest year, usually 9 years, and compare. If the reliability falls off rapidly towards that point it indicates that remaining life is limited.
The other thing that’s really important with aging vehicles is whether parts are economically available. A friend buys older Mercedes and BMW luxury cars, and the parts are astronomically priced! On the other hand any F150 Ford truck up to 30 years old is readily reparable at an affordable price.
So, past sales volume is as important with an older vehicle as is reliability.