Originally Posted by ember1205
But there is no appreciable amount of data. By their own admission, their sample size is miniscule - "329,000 vehicles in our 2020 surveys, detailing 2000 to 2020 models." If we were to assume even breakdown by model year, that's 16,500 cars from each model year.
Let's assume that the complete list of manufacturers is: Chevy, Cadillac, GMC, Buick, Ford, Lincoln, Dodge (inclusive of RAM), Fiat, Subaru, Honda, Acura, Toyota, Lexus, Infinity, Nissan, Land Rover, Jaguar, Mercedes, BMW, VW, Jeep, Audi, Volvo, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda, Chrysler, and Mini. That's 28 of what are arguably the most common and well-known brands on the roads. If we again assume equal division among all manufacturers, that's less than 600 cars from each manufacturer, for each model year. Split that among the various models within a brand and you end up with what? MAYBE 100 of any one specific model but not accounting for differing trim levels? That number effectively represents the ANNUAL sales numbers per dealership on most models!
CR is not a comprehensive review, and owners that respond are more likely to respond because they want to complain as opposed to wanting to praise.
Viewed in another light, 329,000 surveys sent out for 2020 represents .1% of the US population. That's one tenth of one percent.
Could there be useful information to be had at the hands of CR? Sure. But, you have to take their information with a grain of salt by knowing that you are not being shown data that represents a true sample size of any specific car out there.
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