Cars: Consumer Reports Annual Top Picks Options

[dauss]

Honda cleans up in Consumer Reports picks

Sedan, less than $20,000
Honda Civic


Consumer Reports cited the Civic's roomy interior, comfortable ride, good handling and fuel economy. The magazine also points out the Civic's standard side curtain airbags and excellent crash test scores.

The Civic replaces last year's pick in the category, the Ford Focus.

Sedan, $20,000 - $30,000
Honda Accord

The hybrid Accord offers slightly better fuel economy and quicker acceleration, but regular 4-cylider and V-6 versions are just about as good, Consumer Reports says. The magazine also noted the Accord's comfort, roominess and handling.

Sedan, $30,000 - $40,000
Acura TL

Another Honda product, the Acura TL provides a "near ideal blend of comfort, convenience and sportiness," Consumer Reports says. It's a quick car that still gets fairly good fuel mileage, the magazine said, and the interior has good fit and finish.

Luxury sedan
Infiniti M35

Available in rear- or all-wheel-drive, the M35 offers a good balance of performance, comfort and handling, Consumer Reports says. It replaces last year's pick in this category, the Lexus LS430.

Fun to drive
Subaru Impreza WRX/STi

With the WRX and its high-performance STi version, you can have a blast behind the wheel with two more doors behind your back. The WRX is an inexpensive, fun sports car with the practicality of a small sedan, the magazine says.

Small SUV/SUV, less than $30,000
Subaru Forester

Honda just barely lost out in this category. The Honda CR-V was runner-up. The car-based Forester handles and rides well, Consumer Reports says.

Mid-sized SUV/SUV more than $30,000
Toyota Highlander Hybrid

The Highlander Hybrid has quick acceleration, a comfortable ride and a third-row seat. The Highlander Hybrid and the closely-related Lexus RX400h were the only SUVs to earn an overall "Excellent" score in Consumer Reports' testing. The magazine recommended the Honda Pilot as another good choice with a better third-row seat.

Minivan
Honda Odyssey

The Odyssey leads it class in agility, refinement and interior flexibility, Consumer Reports says. Electronic stability control and side curtain air bags are standard.

Green car
Toyota Prius

The Prius takes this category for the third year in a row. With a spacious interior and reasonable performance, the Prius is a good alternative to a mid-sized sedan, Consumer Reports says.

Pick-up truck
Honda Ridgeline

Redefining the pick-up truck, the car-based Ridgeline combines a comfortable ride and agile handling with good payload capacity, Consumer Reports says. There's even a weather-proof trunk hidden in the bed. The Toyota Tundra is another good choice for buyers who need a longer bed and more towing capacity.

I know most of you don't care, because I've posted something similar before, but are you guys noticing a trend? None of these cars roll off an assembly line in Mexico.

[M1N10N]

I buy American; I buy Toyota/Honda

[Spectatrix]

They're all Japanese cars. Fuckin' kickass.

[Seeker]

is it just me, or does every single one of those body styles make you want to puke?

[Divergent Realit...]

the prius does. the ridgeline looks like some of the old transformers. so you know it gave me a hardon when i saw it.

[Seussninja]

DIS MAGERZEEN HATES AMERICA

<3 WRX

[Dogmeat]

They might as well call that magazine "Japanese SuckDick Showcase"

[Seussninja]

They might as well call that magazine "Japanese SuckDick Showcase"

Its not their fault they make superior cars (note that i said CARS)

[Psykopath]

Yeah, I like the WRX and the Prius.

but then again I'm a tree-hugging hippie douche...

[Seeker]

Its not their fault they make superior cars (note that i said CARS)

Nope, but do you know who's fault it is? It’s the American government’s for not imposing tariffs on imported foreign vehicles to protect American workers.

[Spectatrix]

Nope, but do you know who's fault it is? It’s the American government’s for not imposing tariffs on imported foreign vehicles to protect American workers.

You're probably joking, but.... fuck that shit. Things like that only reinforce mediocrity. American car companies need to start making good vehicles. Shit, it's not that hard.

[Dogmeat]

The biggest problem US automakers have is the fucking unions.

If the US auto makers got to dump as much money into engineering and R&D as the foreign auto makers did instead of paying pensions and rediculously high wages to fat lazy as shit union workers there wouldn't even fucking be a japanese auto industry.

Considering all the bullshit that unions cause domestic auto makers I"m personally amazed american cars are as good as they are.

[Spectatrix]

Considering all the bullshit that unions cause domestic auto makers I"m personally amazed american cars are as good as they are.

This is true. Unions seem so pointless nowadays...

I've been told that because of union regulations, GM and others have to keep employees on the payroll, just twiddling their thumbs, even when they don't need them. It is teh UBERghey.

[Divergent Realit...]

Nope, but do you know who's fault it is? It’s the American government’s for not imposing tariffs on imported foreign vehicles to protect American workers.

tariffs on importing the cars does little when they are constructed in america.

[Dogmeat]

This is true. Unions seem so pointless nowadays...

I've been told that because of union regulations, GM and others have to keep employees on the payroll, just twiddling their thumbs, even when they don't need them. It is teh UBERghey.

OMG, union labor mentality is seriously so fucking piss poor it just boggles my mind.

I've never met a union employee who wasn't lazy and blown out of his or her mind on weed.

It was really interesting, when I was in Wisconsin over christmas break, *EVERYONE* I met there was union...

They thought it was the greatest thing in the world because they only had to work 6 months outta the year and they could basically be blown outta their minds on whatever drugs they wanted to be on without fear of a wage less than $20 an hour or a drug test.

Unions need to seriosuly be fucking dissolved in this country, they've done NOTHING but completley kill american productivity in many markets....

[Seeker]

tariffs on importing the cars does little when they are constructed in america.

tariffs on the imported parts

[Dogmeat]

Tarrifs are not the answer.

Abolishing fat lazy union workers would do more for improving the quality of US automobiles than anything else possibly could.

[Seeker]

unions aren't the problem, what's with all the anti-union people on here? you need both unions and the government to stand up for the workers, but sadly only the unions are doing their part

[Dogmeat]

unions aren't the problem, what's with all the anti-union people on here? you need both unions and the government to stand up for the workers, but sadly only the unions are doing their part

Unions are so fucking corrupt and politicized it's not even funny.

Unions gain support by telling a bunch of people they're basically going to be well paid for sitting on their fucking asses all day long and not accomplishing a god damned thing.

To this day I have never met an ambitious union worker, and in fact it's been so contrary I've found it appalling.

Do you realize how many hundreds of millions of dollars that US auto makers owe in pension plans and benefits and other various perks to people who quite frankly haven't done a damned thing to earn any of that but bitch and complain?

Seriously, explain to me how somone who shows up every day to work half drunk who sits on a stool in front of a lever and stamps parts all day long deserves $60,000 a year for that....? And then these people have the audacity to gripe about not geting a raise? Fuck them.

It's that kind of work ethic that has completley fucked America over in the global marketplace, and the labor unions completley condone and even sponsor it because it gets the corrupt ass union leaders their own bank ....

Unions have no fucking place in the world anymore, nobody is being forced to work until their fingers bleed like they were in the 1800's....Unions are completley obsolete and nothing but a detrment to US productivity, *ESPEICALLY* in the automotive market.

[zetec]

as much as I really want to hate it (and oh god damn do I want to), the new Civic Si is seriously some hot shit

the STI is a top performer, and i've gotten used to the Renault ripoff on the grill

the G35c is just plain sex. On wheels.


but yeah, honda really got it's shit together with the new Si. The wait time to get one is about equal to a C6Z06 at the moment. They're all sold before they even hit the lot. (the C6Z06 should have made the list, but I kinda understand why it didn't.)

[False Dude]

The unions are bleeding domestic companies to death. They proclaim to be protecting the jobs of their members while destroying the companies that they are employed by. This is the reason GM loses money on the majority of the cars it sells. Domestic companies should just move all their manufacturing facilites to Canada or Mexico.

They have to change something because they have been passed by Japanese companies and with Korean companies improving quality on their cars and Chinese companies planning to make an entrance into the US market this year they are going to have even more competition.

[impala454]

We had a thread about this before... and wow sure looks like Consumer Reports is still in Honda's back pocket.

[Dogmeat]

I still am laughing my fucking ass off that the god damned faggot ass "Ridgeline" which hasn't even been available to the public longer than at most a year is supposedly the best pickup truck. That's seriously just laughable.

Redefining the pick-up truck, the car-based Ridgeline combines a comfortable ride and agile handling with good payload capacity, Consumer Reports says. There's even a weather-proof trunk hidden in the bed. The Toyota Tundra is another good choice for buyers who need a longer bed and more towing capacity.

"Redefinining the pickup truck"...?

WHAT THE FUCK?

Um, hello, AVALANCHE ANYONE? That thing is a direct ripoff of the Chevrolet Avalanche pure and simple. The only thing it's redefined is that consumer reports is, yet again, bought off by Honda and other japanese auto makers.

[woody]

fuck unions

fuck those cars

i understand that jap cars maybe better, but look at em! I've yet to meet a person that says, "Man, do i want a Prius soo bad. You seen that thing, looks so bad ass". That shit doesn't happen.

[woody]

I've been told that because of union regulations, GM and others have to keep employees on the payroll, just twiddling their thumbs, even when they don't need them. It is teh UBERghey.

I saw this on the news today.
They call it the 'rubber room'

http://www.goupstate.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art...2/1026/BUSINESS

They must arrive at 6 a.m. each day and stay until 2:30 p.m., with 45 minutes off for lunch. A supervisor roams the aisles, signing people out when they want to use the bathroom.

Their job: to do nothing.

This is the "Jobs Bank," a two-decade-old program under which nearly 15,000 auto workers continue to get paid after their companies stop needing them. To earn wages and benefits that often top $100,000 a year, the workers must perform some company-approved activity. Many do volunteer jobs or go back to school. The rest must clock time in the rubber room or something like it.

...

The Jobs Bank at GM and other U.S. auto companies including Ford Motor Co. is likely to cost around $1.4 billion to $2 billion this year.

[zetec]

I still am laughing my fucking ass off that the god damned faggot ass "Ridgeline" which hasn't even been available to the public longer than at most a year is supposedly the best pickup truck. That's seriously just laughable.



"Redefinining the pickup truck"...?

WHAT THE FUCK?

Um, hello, AVALANCHE ANYONE? That thing is a direct ripoff of the Chevrolet Avalanche pure and simple. The only thing it's redefined is that consumer reports is, yet again, bought off by Honda and other japanese auto makers.

in fairness, the ridgeline is the first unibody pickup

creative? yes. good idea? FUCK NO!

you fuck up a unibody pickup, there's no fixing that shit cheaply.

what happens to pickups that are actually used for work?

they get fucked up.

besides, i hate that fucking truck.







the new si still rockin my socks though.

[zetec]

fuck unions

fuck those cars

i understand that jap cars maybe better, but look at em! I've yet to meet a person that says, "Man, do i want a Prius soo bad. You seen that thing, looks so bad ass". That shit doesn't happen.

g35c = sexy
skyline (r34, or the new one) = sexy
rx7 (FC or FD) = uber sexy
rx8 = sexy (and sales are definately agreeing)
even the new civic si = sexy.
lexus IS300 (1st generation, not the new ones. well, they aren't bad, but they ain't sexy) = sexy.
350z = sexy
RSX Type S = not SEXY, but pretty attractive.
EVO/STI = sexy only if you find speed sexy

[dauss]

is it just me, or does every single one of those body styles make you want to puke?

Though there is no law in the US requiring vehicles to include safety features to reduce injuries to pedestrians in the event of an accident, these Japanese car companies do incorporate these technologies to cars sold in the US because of pedestrian collision safety legislation in numerous other countries.

Again, "US" auto manufacturers are behind other car manufacturers. If there is legislation later, all cars will probably require energy absorbing wiper pivots, hood hinges, hood, front fender, and head lamps.

So the reason the cars look like they do is not only to minimize the injury to people inside the vehicles, but also the people that you run over.

[Dogmeat]

in fairness, the ridgeline is the first unibody pickup

creative? yes. good idea? FUCK NO!

you fuck up a unibody pickup, there's no fixing that shit cheaply.

what happens to pickups that are actually used for work?

they get fucked up.

besides, i hate that fucking truck.







the new si still rockin my socks though.

If you ever tried to use that as a work truck and drove it on rough roads all the time you would get so many cracks in the body it's not even funny....It's a horrible idea to have a unibody pickup truck because a pickup truck chassis *needs* to flex. If you tried hauling a 1500-lb load over rough roads over time with that you would literally crack the frame....

I still find it hilarious, the "Consumer Reports" test basicaly consists of driving it around downtown LA or some shit and they call it a fucking pickup truck?

God I am so done with this thread I want to murder people right now because of how gay that magazine is