Consumer Reports 911 #1 and Boxster #3
 

I always considered those guys at Consumer Reports as fun-busters. They are (usually) about the "best bang for the buck;" and I tend not to pay too much attention to what they have to say. It is not that I disagree with them but I don't quite like to be told its silly to buy a $60K car when you can have 3 Camrys with some change left for $60K.

So, I am pretty surprised with thier report which was on CNN.com. They may have done similar reports in the past but I never noticed. They rated the the 911 on top of 14 other luxury sports car. The Boxster is 3rd ... ahead of the 350Z, the Z4, Viper and SL 550. The link is below.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/AUTOS/08/30/cr_supercars/index.html

:cheers:

CR has of course always had a utilitarian viewpoint of the automobile, so it's not surprising that their conclusions are typically at odds with the enthusiast viewpoint.
What is most surprising to me is that they would choose to make the investment in purchasing 14 high-dollar sports cars to test in the first place.
In any event, bully for them in making the obvious correct choice of the 911 over the Plastic Fantastic, and for perceiving that the Box provides almost all of the performance of the 911 at 2/3 of the price.

CR did not give the 911 nor the Z06 a recommended rating. Only the 350Z, the Z4 and the Lexus SC got a "recommended".

I think that Consumer Reports serves as a nice counterbalance to the enthusiast press. As someone who has bought a Camry, an Infiniti G20, a Miata and a Boxster (among other cars) based partially on their recommendations, I find that my long-term ownership experience tracks pretty closely with their reviews of the car. They've all been great cars in the context of their design goals and price level, and that's what I expected based on Consumer Reports reviews.

Yes, Consumer Reports might be stating the obvious when they do something like point out that a Camry is more practical transportation than a Boxster. But, in the course of their review, they usually get the relative quality of the cars within the grouping correct. Their reliabilty data is also very helpful. Use Consumer Reports to make sure you know what you are getting into when you buy a particular car and you can avoid some nasty surprises.

I have a friend who bought an AMC Pacer and a Chevy Citation based on Car and Driver designating them as "Car of the Year." I enjoy reading all the enthusiast magazines, but there is only one magazine I really trust.

I think that Consumer Reports has reviewed the Boxster three times. It was top rated twice and tied for best once. Yes, they are very cautious about recommending it due to reliablity problems. To be fair, Boxsters have some reliability problems as the readers of this board well know. I'm glad I knew that before I bought one. At least an RMS leak won't catch me totally by surprise.

Here's something CR got right: calling the Cadillac XLR an "elegant poser."

Hi,

I think everyone here wants to sing Consumer Reports praises because they were nice to the Boxster.

Had their report on the Boxster been less favorable, I suspect this Forum's reaction to CR would have been as well. There may be some question to the objectivity here...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99