I just ask on here, my own little dysfunctional focus group.:D

I have used CR as a guide for years. And as a guide, not as the ultimate choice. My only issue is that by the time the ratings comes out, the item has already been replaced. You are then to decide if the replacement model for the one that is highly rated is as good? I do think like them on the most part and items I buy generally are rated well. Where else would you find out that a Dyson vacuum cleaner is not as good as one that cost 1/3 the price?

I've always felt they display a bias against products made in the US - sometimes warranted, but often not. If you value the opinions expressed at wine and cheese parties thrown by academics or the art community, or if you're in sync with the tastes expressed, for example, on NPR, then I think you'll be at home with Consumer Reports...

Totally different take than our enthusiast bias, but has reliability data that can't be matched elsewhere.

They finally seem to have noticed that proper handling can be a safety issue, as their latest reviews don't hate sports cars so much....

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1265214914.jpg

Any specific product examples to back this up?

They're strongly pro government regulation, consumer "activists" in the Ralph Nader mold:

IN BUSINESS - IN BUSINESS; Testing Toasters, Boots and S.U.V.'s - NYTimes.com

and then there's this from Newsbusters:

Consumer Reports Tosses Political Neutrality Away With Pro ObamaCare Ad | NewsBusters.org

Consumer Reports Tosses Political Neutrality Away With Pro ObamaCare Ad
By P.J. Gladnick (Bio | Archive)
Mon, 10/05/2009 - 08:41 ET

So much for any claim of political neutrality on the part of Consumer Reports. They have now come out in support of ObamaCare which you can see on their website along with their TV ad. Here is the message from the president of Consumers Union, Jim Guest, publisher of Consumer Reports:

Health care has been a top priority of Consumers Union since we started back in 1936. In the pages of Consumer Reports and the advocacy work we do for consumers, we've long argued for better health care that's more affordable and reliable.

While working for better health care is not new for our organization, today we are doing something that we've never done before. For the first time ever, Consumers Union is weighing in with a TV ad that calls on lawmakers to find a solution for health reform.

You've also never engaged in partisan politics before. Say goodbye to your credibility, Consumer Reports:

You may wonder why we are injecting ourselves so publicly into a heated debate that has generated an enormous amount of concern and confusion. We believe that so much attention has been focused on the politics of health care that we're losing sight of the core problems. Health costs are skyrocketing, which affects all of us, and if you get seriously sick, having insurance is no guarantee that you'll get the care you need.

We are in the business of providing information and advice that helps consumers. We don't make campaign contributions. We don't endorse candidates. And we don't care who gets the credit for fixing the problems with health care—we just need them fixed. Doing nothing about health care is not a solution.

Too many Americans are just one pink slip away—or one major illness away—from losing their health coverage. That's why policymakers need to find a solution this year.

You might not endorse candidates but you sure are endorsing a highly unpopular Democrat health care bill that will be costly to the taxpayers. Here is an excellent analysis from Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion about the decision by Consumer reports to toss away both its political neutrality along with its credibility:

Consumer Reports has decided to weigh in on the health care debate in favor of the Democratic health care proposals, or what CR euphemistically calls "health care reform." Having decided to take sides, I think it is fair to hold CR to the standards it expects of the manufacturers and service providers reviewed monthly in its flagship magazine, and on its website.

Here is the mission statement of Consumers Union, the tax-exempt parent company of Consumer Reports (emphasis mine):

Consumers Union (CU) is an expert, independent, nonprofit organization whose mission is to work for a fair, just, and safe marketplace for all consumers and to empower consumers to protect themselves. The organization was founded in 1936 when advertising first flooded the mass media. Consumers lacked a reliable source of information they could depend on to help them distinguish hype from fact and good products from bad ones. Since then CU has filled that vacuum with a broad range of consumer information....

Is the CR position, as laid out on its health care reform website, consistent with its mission statement? Does it provide information which empowers consumers can make a fully informed decision? And does CR present the negative as well as positive aspects of the pending health care proposals, so that consumers can distinguish hype from fact?

Unfortunately, the answer to each of these questions is that CR has not lived up to its own standards. The presentation on the CR health reform website is completely one-sided and presents only the best case scenario as to health care reform proposals on the table. As discussed below, CR's presentation is partisan, and potentially misleading, in numerous material respects. CR's presentation is what one would expect from an advocacy group with a political axe to grind, not the heretofore non-partisan name in consumer protection.

Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion has even more detailed analysis about the foolish nature of the decision by Consumer Reports to come out in support of ObamaCare. Read it as the requiem for the neutrality of Consumer Reports.

I was thinking more about their testing and rating of products. Which is what I thought this thread was about.

True, CU takes positions on issues pertaining to consumer protection, product safety, and now apparently healthcare reform. Do you think those taint their tests of dryers and vacumn cleaners?

Not necessarily; but given their political orientation I could easily imagine that they would tilt in favor of products manufactured by companies that they felt were more PC, "green", etc., even if it had nothing to do with the quality or reliability of the product. I'm not saying that all (or even most) of their reviews are biased, but if there is a political aspect to the product they're evaluating, I'm not sure I'd trust their objectivity.

What is the political aspect to washers, dryers, vacumn cleaners, handsets, TVs, leafblowers, tires, floor waxes, deck stains, etc etc? I think you are imagining things, alright.

Consumer activists like the ones who run CR can find a political aspect to most of the products that you mentioned (like I'm sure you could, and probably do).

How much CO2 went into the production of that tire?
How ecofriendly is that deck stain?
How much of their profits did the manufacturer donate to "progressive" causes?

Look, like I said most of their reviews may be OK, but they do have a political agenda as you acknowledged. The fact that they take public, macro political positions on things like health care, government regulation, etc. compromises their objectivity. That shouldn't be too difficult for you to imagine.