Re: You decide: am I really measekite??????



Cal Bubba wrote:
Arthur Entlich wrote:
Consumer Reports has been caught a few times having "stirred the pot" to come up with questionable results, but it is usually a good base. Consumer Reports has a LOT of opinions in it, usually well educated ones, but still opinions.

Art, hello.
Are you sure that you've not got _Consumer Reports_ magazine mixed up with _Consumer Research_?

The second of these is essentially a leveraged one man band of opinion and hype (and, incredibly, can still be useful!). I've only seen Consumer's Union doing what seemed to me to be biased writing regarding automobiles -- a bias against one or two brands, and a bias toward one brand (I think that it was Toyota -- I forgot the other two).

There conclusion regarding cars is that the Japanese brands are more reliable than any other including but not limited to European and American. And they are correct.

My main problem with Consumer Reports is that they never include the specific product that I'm interested in in their test report -- let's say, the particular Brother inkjet that's on sale at Staples near me. And there's a certain type of oriental washing machine that I really want to own again because these things last almost forever, and even better, don't damage the clothing! CU doesn't search out the minor brands. And in a field that I really know very well, audio/hi-fi, people who know anything about this subject almost split their sides laughing or fume in rage whenever CU's recommendations come out.

And they have nice things to say about crap brands if they are reliable and mfg well. They do not do well when it comes to actual usability.

I should point out that, unfortunately, CU has learned the hard way to be very cautious about being, shall I say, "truthful," in certain respects. They had to go all the way to the US Supreme Court after being sued by Bose for telling the truth about their loudspeakers. And more recently, they were legally slammed around by The Sharper Image for telling their readers the truth about their crappy, stingily-built "air cleaners" (to which I'll add, wildly-overpriced).

I have a Akai stereo receiver that CU once top-rated that had required repair annually; its power switch is at the end of an offset-angled plastic lever, with strong use, the something's gonna break. But, obviously, CU has got to refrain in these cases from commenting on the anticipated longevity of the product based on common-sense inspection. This is most unfortunate. When I was looking at washing machines, I saw some that used an impeller that was engineered to break. But imagine what would happen if I said that in print.

Too bad, huh?

But they basically agreed with Wilhelm, PC World, PC Mag and other reputable reviewers when is came to generic ink from the relabelers.
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: You decide: am I really measekite??????
    ... Consumer Reports has a LOT of opinions in it, usually well educated ones, but still opinions. ... Are you sure that you've not got _Consumer Reports_ magazine mixed up with _Consumer Research_? ... I've only seen Consumer's Union doing what seemed to me to be biased writing regarding automobiles -- a bias against one or two brands, and a bias toward one brand. ... I mean, whose responsibility is it if I send this email to the wrong person, huh? ...
    (comp.periphs.printers)
  • Re: You decide: am I really measekite??????
    ... I did indeed recall their being some questions regarding CU's testing process with some cars, specifically Izusu products, but I didn't recall correctly the results of those law suits, in which case, CU won and the courts found the complaints unfounded. ... Consumer Reports has a LOT of opinions in it, usually well educated ones, but still opinions. ... Are you sure that you've not got _Consumer Reports_ magazine mixed up with _Consumer Research_? ... I've only seen Consumer's Union doing what seemed to me to be biased writing regarding automobiles -- a bias against one or two brands, and a bias toward one brand. ...
    (comp.periphs.printers)
  • Article: Japanese Brands Sweep Top 10 Auto List
    ... It's the first time that U.S. firms are absent from Consumer Reports' ... Family sedan: Honda Accord ... Japanese brands also dominated the magazine's vehicle reliability ... The magazine has found that Toyota and Honda vehicles consistently have ...
    (misc.transport.road)
  • Re: General International, Canwood, King Canada, and Busy Bee
    ... just looking for opinions on these brands of tools for the ... >> equipment I need to buy. ... Personal e-mail is the n7bsn but at amsat.org ...
    (rec.woodworking)
  • Re: Which Turntable is Best?
    ... I would welcome any opinions about these two prducts and any recommendations for other brands. ...
    (rec.models.railroad)