“Hey guys, just remember that there are as many models of vehicles as there are tastes and priorities. One man’s prized wheels is another’s rolling pile of shit.”

Now THAT is vulgar (not really):-)

I still stand by everything I said…….

There is a certain amount of usefulness in Consumer Reports reliability data, but, as Max says, (I would not quote this vulgar clown for anything, BTW) it is not current for new cars.”

Well, guess what, the vulgarian Max Christensen is wrong again. Consumer Reports openly and honestly does NOT render judgement on a brand new model as far as its reliability. Check it out. SOmetimes this looks ridisulous, because it is a new model but from a maker that has a very clear (good or bad) reputation for reliability, but even then COnsumer Reports refuses to rate the new model.

I agree with Kit that the MPG CR uses are its own, real, and not lab figures after arbitrary massaging as the EPA numbers. My only comment would be that CR highway numbers may have been too optimistic in the past, probably because they drove their cars at the speed limit, they got 54 HWY with the old Golf Diesel.

If one reads a thorough comparison test in a mag like Car and Driver, and then looks up the detailed reliability and cost, owner-reported data at CR, then one is in far better shape in making an informed decision, far better than based on anecdotal evidence on one or two buyer’s experiences out of the 475,000 every year that buy a new Camry, and, regardless how boring a vehicle the Camry is, it suits their needs perfectly and is bulletproof reliable and of the highest quality.

No matter what vulgar clowns like Max Christensen or your garden variety soon-to-be unemployed Chrysler worker claims.

@ Jim Sachetti
Go suck an egg on everything you said, and there was far too much BS to go into each and every detail. And it was obviou from your first sentence that either you don’t know what the hell you are talking about, or you can’t read:.. ”

Go take an anger management course, you vulglar clown. ANd why don’t you go suck its instructor as well, since this is the only language you apparently understand.

Everybody BUT you in this forum behaved properly and did NOT launch any vulgar personal attacks on anybody else, before you opened the sewer you got for a mouth, and with little or any provocation.

If you continue this disgusting behavior, you can be assured I will keep going medieval on your ignorant carcass, PUNK!

To me, the most useful Consumer Reports car information is fuel economy data. I feel that their tests, along with EPA numbers give a better basis for comparing real world fuel economy of cars than the EPA numbers alone.

“I did not notice any talk about Chrysler quality before you posted this in today’s show (Friday’s),………” Did you not see or read post #2 from Pedro????

The Avenger has it’s share of low points – the dash material, and yes, it does have some blind spots – but find me ONE car that has ever been made that didn’t have some sort of low mark against it???

As to reliability, Chrysler’s warranty claims dropped over 30% last year, and the company in fact had the best year ever so far as warranty claims are concerned – and THAT is a fact! And the experience I’ve had with my car would tend to bear that out ……… again, NOT ONE PROBLEM in over 33,000 miles! How many of you have ever bought a NEW car and been able to say that, regardless of brand????

And one more thing, as to Consumer Reports – I wouldn’t use that rag to line the bottom of a bird cage as it’s such a POS publication and always has been! And as to what they say about the Avenger’s predicted reliability – they are always about 3 years behind the curve on that sort of information, so Chrysler’s strides in improving reliability won’t actually show up in that POS magazine for another couple of years.

And one more one more thing, I have a friend who bought a new Camry about the same time I bought my Avenger. Granted, it seems a little nicer on the inside – but when he rides with me, he remarks about how easy the controls on my dash appear to be, and he also remarks about how nice my car rides. AND, I get better gas mileage than he does ……. about 2 mpg better on average.

“And if Kit does not understand what is wrong with hard plastics, he is beyond hope. If he likes them, he can save a ton of $ and buy himself any 80s POS vehicle for $1,000 or less”

I don’t particularly “like” hard plastics in car interiors, but I don’t find anything wrong with using them for things like door panels, where they are functional and can look just fine. My ‘06 Malibu, with its hard plastic on the door panels, has very little in common with 80’s cars except for 4 wheels and an engine. The Malibu is much safer, goes better, stops better, is quieter and more comfortable, and gets better gas mileage than 80’s cars in the same market segment. The hard plastic door panels don’t change that.

Also, I have read Autoweek regularly for about 30 years. They have reviews of cars that are new to the market. I also read reviews in C & D, Motor Trend, etc., and reviews on web sites like Edmunds. While I’m well aware that the Avenger and Sebring are probably worst-in-class, Consumer Reports correctly rated the displays as easy to read the the controls intuitive and easy to use. And yes, Jim, I know that CR rates the Avenger as unreliable. They also rate ‘06 Minis as unreliable, but I took my chances and bought one anyway. Look at it this way. Worst-in-class, whether the appearance of interiors in the Avenger/Sebring, or the reliability of cars in general, has come a long way in the last 20 years. No, I wouldn’t buy an Avenger; there are way too many better cars in its class, but if I rented one and it didn’t break down, I would be satisfied with my rental experience.

OK if these boobs are from chrome and welded to the front fender? Then an Autonomous Caddy Eldorado 53 or so is the one for you.

I am 100% STUNNED that Consumer reports would praise anything about that dog, but even if it did, apparently it did not help its sales one bit. It is ludicrous to think the Avenger or the Sebring are even cl,ose to the Camry, which sells 400,000 and 475,000 copies a year, and each at far higher actual prices than the Avenger, which is a small Charger wannabe, with all the negatives that come with it (blind spots etc).

And if Kit does not understand what is wrong with hard plastics, he is beyond hope. If he likes them, he can save a ton of $ and buy himself any 80s POS vehicle for $1,000 or less.

Besides their ugliness to the touch and appearance, hard plastics are SAFETY HAZARDS, Kit. And that is just the tip of their iceberg. Have you read no car reviews in any car mag (like Car and Driver) the last 25 years?

PS since you got Comsumer Reports there, what did it say about the Avenger’s predicted reliability? LOL…

And, spend more time on the common sense solution to our foreign oil dependence problem that is staring us directly in the face.

The Automobile is an extension of our personal FREEDOM and designing an electronic tether so that morons that have a lack of oxygen to the brain can be protected from themselves is a marxist idea.

The basic principal of business is “find a need and fill it” , NOT, “take a political agenda and force regulations on an industry to acquire the desired marxist result”.

Somebody please provide some Oxygen to those breathing “thin air” so that they can focus on the problem at hand.

The U.S. has ALTERNATIVE FUEL INFRASTRUCTURE PROBLEMS. Build a Hydrogen/CNG refueling network. Focus thought and energy on Bi-Fuel vehicles that could burn gasoline, ethonol, and CNG.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bi-fuel_vehicle

http://www.anga.us/

Tell Washington regulation marxists to go to hell.

This is OUR Country.

FREEDOM is driving YOUR car without a tether.