Consumer Reports Magazine

[itoy]

I was wondering why Consumer Reports magazine has a very low grades given to the Boxster, specially the 2008 model? They don't even recommend the 2010 model.

[renzop]

Consumer Reports places a great emphasis on "value" and hard, cold numbers. All Porsches are terrible values when measured that way. You canbuy a Corvette that's faster in a straight line, has shorter stopping distances, corners better, is cheaper to repair and has more US dealerships for service. There are lots of other cars that also beat the Boxster in many of these regards.

But cars are not appliances. We want to have an emotional bond with our sports cars. CR does not measure that and because of that their automobile ratings are meaningless unless you think of your car as an appliance.

When it comes to making a buying decision about a luxury purchase like a sports car, the only thing that matters is what you think and feel about it. No one can tell you that your personal choice is wrong or a "bad value" if you enjoy it.

[kls]

You guys must read a different version of Consumer Reports than what I get. The last car issue (April '09) raves about the Boxster. In the roadster category it ranks above the S2000, Mercedes SLK, Corvette, and everything else. They DO recommend it, and they rank as better than average reliabilty. They do not have reliability ratings for the '08 apparently because they did not have enough responses to the survey.

[gschotland]

Originally Posted by itoy

I was wondering why Consumer Reports magazine has a very low grades given to the Boxster, specially the 2008 model? They don't even recommend the 2010 model.

That's it, my Boxster's getting traded in for an Accord.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by gschotland

That's it, my Boxster's getting traded in for an Accord.

Make sure you have them fix the gas pedal first.

[r9i8c7k]

I recently too read a Consumer Reports review of the Porsche Boxster and they failed to recommend it due to repair issues. Yet, consumersearch.com had the opposite review of Consumer Reports.

[Quickurt]

Quite a few years ago, there was some question about Consumer Reports ownership. I DON'T KNOW for sure, but rumor had it Toyo Kogo had major ownership shares of the original magazine publishing company. Toyo Kogo is of course Toyota and a huge number of other Japanese products manufacturers parent company.
Historically, stranger things have happened, but consumer reports has been strangely Japanese products favoring since it's inception.

[landrovered]

Toyo Kogyo was actually Mazda's parent company.

I say good, I am glad consumer reports does not encourage pointy headed practical people to buy Boxsters. It keeps the riff-raff out.

[jcb986]

I believe during the YUGO craze everything got screwed up. Yeah, it is amazing that most Japanese products are always at the top.

[gschotland]

Originally Posted by Adam

Make sure you have them fix the gas pedal first.

Yeah, but the sudden acceleration will remind me of my Box.

[blue2000s]

Originally Posted by landrovered

Toyo Kogyo was actually Mazda's parent company.

And is now simply known as Mazda. No direct relation to Toyota. Considering all the Mitsubishi parts on my Mazda, they may have had some affiliation with Mitsubishi.

[blue2000s]

Originally Posted by Quickurt

Historically, stranger things have happened, but consumer reports has been strangely Japanese products favoring since it's inception.

Originally Posted by jcb986

I believe during the YUGO craze everything got screwed up. Yeah, it is amazing that most Japanese products are always at the top.

I don't see it as strange, the Japanese cars have historically been cheaper to purchase and maintain with lower part failure rates than the US or European products.

[Quickurt]

I'm not talking just cars. The entire gammut of consumer products and before Japanese actually made superior products. I'm not saying it wasn't good, over the long term, because the Japanese have really given us great value since they got their quality up.

[landrovered]

And we can all thank Ed Demming for that!

[d18mike]

Also worth considering that the Boxster, 911 and Corvette ranked at the top of Consumer's Reports recent list of cars that the owners would buy again. If memory serves me all three were +80%.

[blue2000s]

Originally Posted by Quickurt

I'm not talking just cars. The entire gammut of consumer products and before Japanese actually made superior products. I'm not saying it wasn't good, over the long term, because the Japanese have really given us great value since they got their quality up.

They've been the big players in consumer electronics for a looong time.

[pbanders]

Originally Posted by renzop

Consumer Reports places a great emphasis on "value" and hard, cold numbers. All Porsches are terrible values when measured that way. You canbuy a Corvette that's faster in a straight line, has shorter stopping distances, corners better, is cheaper to repair and has more US dealerships for service. There are lots of other cars that also beat the Boxster in many of these regards.

But cars are not appliances. We want to have an emotional bond with our sports cars. CR does not measure that and because of that their automobile ratings are meaningless unless you think of your car as an appliance.

When it comes to making a buying decision about a luxury purchase like a sports car, the only thing that matters is what you think and feel about it. No one can tell you that your personal choice is wrong or a "bad value" if you enjoy it.

Really excellent answer, bravo.

[blue2000s]

Originally Posted by pbanders

Really excellent answer, bravo.

Except for this part:

Originally Posted by renzop

No one can tell you that your personal choice is wrong or a "bad value" if you enjoy it."

Which clearly neglects the fact that your significant other often will tell you exactly this.

[Quickurt]

Originally Posted by blue2000s

They've been the big players in consumer electronics for a looong time.

And I am ooooooolllllddd!! I knew what "Jap Crap" meant!
I'm also old enough that my then future father in law gave me a ration of crap for buying my first Porsche (1968) because it was a "damned kraut car." Not too many years later, a Jewish friend's grandmother disowned him for buying a Porsche. When I bought my first little cheapo Japanese transistor radio - 1966? - my grandfather (Mom's Dad) went and bought me a Motorola radio for my bedroom so I could throw it away. He didn't understand I wanted the mobile battery transistor so I could listen with earphones. But then, my mother's father, my father and all my uncles, as well as my father in law and all the men of his family fought in WWII. All did not come home. All of my family is from Cincinnati, but my Mom's father and all but one of her five brothers fought the Japanese, but all of my Dad's family and all of my wife's family were in Europe. All three lost one son.

[Lobo1186]

a little bit of country bias might be good for the USA right about now. There used to be such an importance placed on where and who built products bought here right in America. That has mostly gone the way of the dodo.

but one thing that is for sure at least for me. when all these imported products I own break down and need to be fixed ill be damned if I use anything but home grown made in the USA tools to fix them.