Best Auto Maker?

[rowhard]

I remember hearing or reading a customer satisfaction report a year or so ago, Toyota was ranked #1 and Mercedes was ranked 8th, and that was in Germany, sad. But damn I like the 500CLS. That is one pretty saloon car

[Joe_Black]

One thing to consider also is that Consumer Reports will not hesitate to "make up" data to support an agenda they may have. Case in point: The Suzuki Samurai and 1st-gen Isuzu Trooper. They felt that America was headed for disaster on the eve of the SUV craze, so picked to "low volume" (meaning likely not large enough to fight back much) manufacturers to use as scapegoats for the rollover craze. If I remember correctly, it came out that it took something on the order of 46 attempts to get the Samurai to roll and about 38 for the Trooper. Both manufacturers sued CR, especially after video tapes were leaked showing all the takes to get a rollover, and each case was quietly settled in the favor of the manufacturers.

So when looking at CR think of them as the overprotective aunt who will lie about something just to keep you out of trouble.

[UtahVXer]

They also said the biggest problem for U.S. manufacturers is that "they have to take billions out of new car development or marketing to cover the legacy costs for retiree benefits."
About a year ago, I read that GM spends more on health care costs than it does on steel! On the one hand, these union benefits are great for employees; but if the jobs go overseas because U.S. companies can't compete then nobody benefits, least of all the union workers who lose their jobs.

[Chopper]

Be grateful for the Japanese, Korean, and German guys... without them we'd have very few auto plants on American soil