Built_Well turned on the Etch-A-Sketch and wrote:

<useless drivel snipped>

> Damn, everytime I think of expanding my horizons beyond
> Toyota, cold, hard survey data and results bring me back,
> keeping me loyal to Toyota.

I'm so happy to hear that.

I gave up on CR about twenty years ago. They have always had an imperfect
ranking - comparing an issue with a turn signal stalk equivelant to a
problem with head gaskets.

Also, pretty much any car/truck these days will be good/bad depending on the
amount of abuse it takes and the designer. GM may have five bad cars and
ten good ones. Do all make the survey? Toyota/Lexus/Scion may have five
bad cars and four good ones. Do all make the survey?



--
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I prefer the JD Powers surveys. But CR has a lot of clout because they
are on the supermarket shelf by the checkout.

The problem still is that they don't differentiate major and minor
problems, like a sludged up engine or a broken plastic trim.



On Jul 23, 3:30*pm, PerfectReign <theperfectre...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> I'm so happy to hear that.
>
> I gave up on CR about twenty years ago. They have always had an imperfect
> ranking - comparing an issue with a turn signal stalk equivelant to a
> problem with head gaskets.
>
> Also, pretty much any car/truck these days will be good/bad depending on the
> amount of abuse it takes and the designer. GM may have five bad cars and
> ten good ones. Do all make the survey? *Toyota/Lexus/Scion may have five
> bad cars and four good ones. Do all make the survey?

Along with the Mercury Zephyr (later known as the MKZ) that I
mentioned
yesterday as a good Mercury product, the Mercury Grand Marquis is
also a very reliable car, according to the C.R. surveys. I think my
uncle once owned a Grand Marquis years ago, and I wouldn't mind
owning
a used one today. Reliable car, the Grand Marquis.

I'd stay away from the Mercury Mountaineer, though--lots of
transmission
problems from 2001 to 2006.

The Lincoln Town Car is another domestic stand-out that would be
good to own, except for the '03 model year (lotsa drive system and
power
equipment complaints for '03).

However, I'd stay away from the Lincoln Navigator entirely. It's '01
to
'06 models are plagued with all kinds of problems: transmission,
electrical,
suspension, brakes, etc.

Some rude fella asked why I cross-posted my original message in the
Ford newsgroup when the word "Ford" doesn't appear once in the
article.
He must not realize that the Mercury and Lincoln name-plates are Ford
products, and I mentioned the Mercury MKZ in the original post.

Consumer Reports does not treat all car problems the same. Quote
from
their Annual Auto Issue:

"Because problems with major engine components, engine cooling,
transmission, and drive systems can be more serious and expensive
to repair, our calculations give extra weight to them."