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You could park a 5000 pound car on it if you like. I've used them to prop up an uneven table that didn't weigh that much. I don't know how much crap weighs, but it will work as a substitute for toilet paper when you run out of it.
I have to agree with BostonMike above (as usual). I put no weight on the garbage they print. I enjoy reading about cars in car magazines, because the best information on cars comes from journalists who write only about cars and trucks, not toasters, towels, microwaves, and refrigerators.
However, if you know nothing about cars and are looking for someone to tell you which car to buy, you might enjoy Consumer Reports, and give their articles a lot of weight.
On another note, wasn't there a scandal some years back about how companies had to pay to have their products reviewed in Consumer Reports?
I trusted CR until they reviewed product of which I am a specialist in. They got it 100% wrong in that case.
But when it comes to vehicles, I would put SOME stock in them...and some in the large numbers of reports they get of repairs needed. They get those from actual consumers.
Example - I liked the 2010 Passat - but VW often gets low marks from CR. However, I looked up the repair on that particular model, transmission and engine. It appeared that the reports got better with each model year meaning VW had greatly improved the quality control. So I bought one and it has been perfect for 6 years.
As with most data - add it to the other data and then process it with your brain to get the proper results.
For automotive information, I ONLY trust their repair history data, and only as a starting point to dig deeper. Their opinions of cars are extremely biased. I remember they bashed every small truck made (this was in the 80s and 90s) because they had "a too-firm ride." Well, DUH, it is a truck. The car reviews gushed over cushy (mushy) suspensions. Big thumbs down to CR for being fat old farts who just want rolling sofas.
Then there was the fraudulent testing and hatchet job on Samurais. No, CR cannot be trusted.
This anti-performance bias has got better since Mr. Champion took over as their Auto Testing Director. You are right, back in the 80's they described the Corvette as "Heavy and thirsty". Well, OK, so was Anna Nicole, but in both cases you are missing the point!
I find the repair history to be somewhat useful in choosing a used car. I don't over-weight it though, and I put most of my faith in my own ability to evaluate the actual individual car I'm looking at. But the "avoid at all costs" list of used cars is worth paying attention to, IMHO.
I put absolutely zero stock in Consumer Reports. Back in college, we studied them extensively (I have a Mass Comm degree). They have a long history of skewing results to suit their own needs.
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