Dropping Consumer Reports, again

I dropped Consumer Reports, too several years, ago, when they conspired to advocate expensive, NOT YET READY FOR PRIME TIME technologies alike automatic braking and lane keeping.

All of these technologies transfer the responsibility of the driver to pay attention to driving and gives the novice a false sense of security to dissuade them from learning to develop defensive driving skills for a lifetime.

The manufacturers, dealer, and finance companies love this technology, since it boosts their income at the expense of the consumer. Nearly all vehicle models add $10,000 to the price of a new car.

Electronic devices are cheap to manufacture with high profit margins, but are quickly outdated like your smart phone and laptop computer.

Owners are baited by new technologies for their 3-4 year old vehicles to enslave them to new financial burdens.

Insurance companies love the higher premiums as the cost of repairs to these technologies boost both their and the bottom line of dealer repair shops.

All results to less experienced and less attentive and financially burdened stressed drivers and owners,

 

Our experience in our Model 3:

1. Reliability - same, no service needs here
2. Stiff ride - agree on precision, also really tight in corners, no problems there
3. Distracting controls - there is some room for improvement, but most of this is user transition
4. Long charging time - fastest EV charging times out there

What did they feel was wrong with the rear seats?

 

i've long since given up on them, since they consider infotainment a serious part of reliability.

mostly, i want to know what mechanical issues are going to prevent me from getting from point a to b over an ownership period of x years

 

After a poor pet food review, no actual testing, I started wondering what they were getting wrong in areas that I didn't have personal knowledge of.

 

You have a right to your opinion but I think you are out of date. Now that automatic emergency braking and other safety feature are included in all Toyotas, there is no way they add $10,000 to a $15,000 Yaris or $20,000 Corolla for example.

As an older driver with many years of defensive driving experience, I am not arrogant enough to believe that I will never lose attention or react quick enough in a dangerous situation, so I appreciate automatic emergency braking and bicycle/pedestrian detection. I don't use cruise control or lane assist.

I still subscribe to Consumer reports while being fully aware of their biases. I do think their customer surveys are of value while their reviews are quite subjective. They like to trash popular vehicles to get attention for themselves. Also, their emails and marketing materials use the same manipulative methods that they criticize when other companies use them.

 

This past week I found out how dangerous all these new technologies really are my the Tesla Model 3. I was involved in several near rear-end collisions and other incidents. It was horrifying.

You see, I went on a business trip and I rented an ICE car. My first car rental since before the Tesla (~16 months ago). On other trips I've just used Uber lately. I've gotten so use to regen, one foot driving and all the automatic features that I really had to concentrate to be safe in an unknown area, driving in traffic with a tiny phone screen GPS. The large Model 3 screen with lots of map space is golden. The display showing surrounding cars -- nice. The immediate accelerator pedal response is now normal both for increasing or decreasing speed. Automatic headlights are great (in my rental the display lit up brightly so you'd forget that the headlights weren't on.) Forgot the parking brake several times. Carrying a brick-sized FOB in my pocket instead of just a phone is archaic!

I can't say it nicely...ICE cars just suck. To be a bit fair, there are nicer ICE cars than most rentals.
It is hard to imagine very many people driving a Tesla then going back.
CR needs one or two people to drive a Tesla for a couple of months then do reviews.

Mike