Consumer Reports doesn't like '13 Camaros

[trcsr]

I just got an email from a professional magazine that I subscribe to that gives the Consumer Reports list of "15 Cars that love mechanics". At the top of the list? The '13 Camaro! The main issues that were reported are the Climate System, Paint, Trim, and Torque Converter. I don't subscribe to CR and haven't for years, but have read lots of reviews that point to their reports being objective and reliable. I can believe it, considering all of the problems that I have had in just 8K miles with mine. Needless to say I am very disappointed in this vehicle due to all of the trips I have had to make back to the dealer with it. I traded a Mazda Miata for this and the Miata had 32K miles on it and had never been back to the dealer for anything other than routine maintanence. I was happy to get a US - made car (allright, Canada - made, but a US company) instead of a foreign made one, but am very sorry about the result.

[McRat]

JD Powers didn't get the same results. http://autos.jdpower.com/research/Ch...elGroup=Camaro

It is extremely rare for Consumer Reports to give any kind of good rating to anything made in the US.

[Ringo64]

Originally Posted by McRat

JD Powers didn't get the same results. http://autos.jdpower.com/research/Ch...elGroup=Camaro

How is there such a difference between their "Performance and Design" from 2010 to 2013, the performance and design did not change lol.

[trcsr]

Originally Posted by McRat

JD Powers didn't get the same results. http://autos.jdpower.com/research/Ch...elGroup=Camaro

It is extremely rare for Consumer Reports to give any kind of good rating to anything made in the US.

Good response. I have never heard that CR disses US products and don't understand why they would. However, I respect JD Powers and am encouraged by your citing their report. But, I still maintain that my experience more closely resembles the CR report than the Powers report. Thanks for the info.

Cheers.

[trcsr]

Originally Posted by Ringo64

How is there such a difference between their "Performance and Design" from 2010 to 2013, the performance and design did not change lol.

Good point! It does seem strange for that item to change that much over that time period when the design and manufacturing did not change much at all. Maybe my acceptance of Powers over CR was a bit premature.

[Ringo64]

Originally Posted by trcsr

Good point! It does seem strange for that item to change that much over that time period when the design and manufacturing did not change much at all. Maybe my acceptance of Powers over CR was a bit premature.

I mean, I agree with the written review of JD Power. Definitely think the Camaros (at least my SS) are built well, perform well and the quality is definitely there. I just didn't quite understand that little tid-bit ranking they used. Maybe because it stayed the same, they didn't give it points?

CR, I haven't read in a while but the few items they got reviews from that I did read, I never agreed with and always seemed "off" IMO. Like they only published what they agreed with.

[snymat68]

Hmm. I've had my '13 to the shop several times for... wait for it... AC and paint. :-/

[Solstice X]

So far the only issue I had was an ECM that needed to be reprogrammed. Other than that, I have been having so much fun with my Camaro that it's brought my love for driving back. You might have a lemon?

[McRat]

Originally Posted by trcsr

Good response. I have never heard that CR disses US products and don't understand why they would. However, I respect JD Powers and am encouraged by your citing their report. But, I still maintain that my experience more closely resembles the CR report than the Powers report. Thanks for the info.

Cheers.

I don't doubt you've had issues with your car.

However, I'm always skeptical about CR.

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Let's boil away all the BS - All your info other than your email (controlled by fed laws) can be sold or given to anyone, for any reason.

Sure. They Want To Help You! You pay for their reviews, then they sell your info.

[Lacpac]

2012. V6, 11k miles. No issues. Haven't been back to the dealer.

[GEEKFREEKSCOTTY]

Hmmm..

Critical Critic is Critical.

That's how I see it.

Most of these "consumer review" articles are written by PEOPLE who work for companies that profit from other companies who buy advertisement space in their magazines.

The people that write the articles not only have their own skewed opinions, but may also be under financial pressure to write a favorable article for an advertiser or not-favorable article of a competitor of said advertiser.

Also, I'd like to see where the article's author got their data from and how much actual driving did they do with the car? How did they perform their research? In what conditions?

Too many variables in just about any situation for any one specific article to be completely accurate. When checking reviews, I go with the law of averages... if the General consensus of several review articles states that a product is a piece of crap, it generally is. Or, it's a niche product that wouldn't necessarily satisfy the masses.

At the end of the day, the article is written by a person who is paid for their opinion.. and opinions are like assholes.. everyone has one.

[Yellow Camaro]

What are the issues with "paint" people keep having? For one, anybody who didn't have a clear bra installed on this vehicle is an idiot.

Second, when you have such a broad, low vehicle you're bound to get things hitting the paint....especially with summer performance tires as they kick up a lot more grit and debris than an all-season. The key is to protect what you can...

[JamesMyBoy]

I subscribed to CR a few years ago, and finally let it go. It seemed to me that they sometimes would downgrade a product because it didn't do what they "thought" it should, even if that wasn't part of it's intended purpose. They'd dis a vacuum cleaner because it didn't wax the floor (I exaggerate a little)... They seemed biased to me, so I quit valuing their opinions. JD Powers on the other hand, gets input from people that actually own or use the things they rate. That carries quite a bit more weight, in my opinion.

[KaBoom1701]

My 13' runs great!

I run the piss out of it and I'm at 28K so far.

Don't worry about and drive it hard!