[K_OS]

Quote:Yonkers, New York - On Friday, Consumer Reports, an independent, non-profit test group, announced its annual "Top Picks", the Top Ten vehicles recommended by the magazine. But on Sunday, based on new crash test results by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Consumer Reports removed the Ford Focus as its Top Pick for Small Cars.

"Consumer Reports has removed the Ford Focus as its Top Pick for small cars because it performed poorly in insurance industry crash tests that were announced on Sunday," said a news release. A replacement for the Focus was not announced.

The other nine Top Picks are:

    * Family sedan: Honda Accord
    * Small SUV: Subaru Forester
    * Midsized SUV: Lexus RX330
    * Upscale sedan: Acura TL
    * Luxury sedan: Lexus LS430
    * Three-row SUV: Honda Pilot
    * Minivan: Honda Odyssey
    * Fun-to-drive: Subaru WRX/WRX STi
    * Green car: Toyota Prius

To be considered a "Top Pick", a vehicle must score at or near the top among competitor vehicles, show average or better reliability according to the company's subscriber survey, and perform adequately if crash-tested or included in a government rollover test.

Two other small cars that received favourable ratings in Consumer Reports' April Auto Issue, the Hyundai Elantra and Mazda3, also are no longer recommended by the magazine because of poor performance in the new side-impact crash tests, conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

The magazine has also removed four other vehicles from its recommended list because of their performance in IIHS side-impact crash tests. They are the Honda Element, Mitsubishi Outlander, and Suzuki Grand Vitara/XL-7 small SUVs and the Nissan Altima sedan. (The Altima was tested without its optional side- and head-protection air bags.)

[NOS2Go4Me]

That's horseshit!

[2001 ZTS]

NOS2Go4Me,Mar 7 2005, 02:43 PM Wrote:That's horseshit!
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THATS HILARIOUS!

[Focus Is Art]

2001 ZTS,Mar 7 2005, 03:19 PM Wrote:

NOS2Go4Me,Mar 7 2005, 02:43 PM Wrote:That's horseshit!
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THATS HILARIOUS!
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Thats consumer reports, what do you expect?

[2001 ZTS]

They must be having fits on FocalJet. :lol:

[meford4u]

Who wants to volunteer their SEDAN to receive a side impact from my truck. We have to prove CR wrong somehow.

[ANTHONYD]

meford4u,Mar 7 2005, 12:17 PM Wrote:Who wants to volunteer their SEDAN to receive a side impact from my truck.  We have to prove CR wrong somehow.
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I'm in.

And it took them long enough to remove them.

I was surprised the damn car made the list for so long.

[naz]

how did the 'premium' compact cars like the c-class, a4, is300, 3-series etc do in these tests? i think pretty much everything would get smoked by a big SUV or pickup in crash.. especially if those 'brush guard' metal things are fitted to the SUV/truck

[2001 ZTS]

naz,Mar 8 2005, 03:29 AM Wrote:how did the 'premium' compact cars like the c-class, a4, is300, 3-series etc do in these tests?  i think pretty much everything would get smoked by a big SUV or pickup in  crash.. especially if those 'brush guard' metal things are fitted to the SUV/truck
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It was a sample test. There was only 15 cars tested. Logically they concentrated on the top 15 best sellers. As noted with the Focus not all variants (body style & doors) were tested.

Only because you are considering buying, the Impreza was not tested though normally it does well. WRX's do have side impact airbags which was the main recommendation of what was discovered as a result of this (1st) round of testing.

Subaru by volume of sales usually ends up in the 2nd tier of testing and the results usually included in Subaru commercials. ;)

[DILATED]

Not a single domestic car on that list...I'm not surprised....

Vito :)

[K_OS]

After Consumer Reports removed the Focus from there list this quote from Phil Marten will seem like Ford has failed once again.

from this Canadian Driver article.

Quote:The story: For 2005, Ford has given the Focus what you might call a "mid-cycle refresh". That means the Focus sold here in North America is not the same as the all-new one sold in Europe. Instead of a complete renovation, Ford chose to tweak the existing Focus. Ford product development Phil Martens says the company made this choice to save money and also preserve the car's hard-won "recommended" status with Consumer Reports.

Laterz :)

[2001 ZTS]

For GTA people there is a portion of the CFTO News (ch9) called "Consumer Alert". They mentioned on the noon news that tonights "Consumer Alert" report will have the Consumer Reports cars. It is usually a short report, minute or so and comes on right after the weather so anytime between 1825 and 1835.

I wonder how old the tape is? The Focus could appear as good or bad.

[GapBoyPCS]

I think someone forgot to look over the fine print of the test.

When the IIHS came out with their results, the media had been stating it was a side impact using something similar to an SUV!

Laws of physics is one thing. Then we have an older design (platform from 1999) that is going up against some great new designs.

I'm sure people will take note of the results and companies' sales will be impacted. However, it could indirectly feed into everyone's desire to want an SUV for "safety" and start the vicious cycle of another SUV craze :rolleyes:

[Jaspher]

DILATED,Mar 8 2005, 12:22 AM Wrote:Not a single domestic car on that list...I'm not surprised....

Vito :)
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I'm not surprise either. Ford has a long way to go in terms of refinement. The most refine cars on my list are Toyotas/Lexus. Even Honda has a long way to go.
My 97 Corolla that I sold last year was a lot better made than my 2000 focus.
But interms of suspension and sportiness, the Focus nailed it right on.

[K_OS]

DILATED,Mar 7 2005, 11:22 PM Wrote:Not a single domestic car on that list...I'm not surprised....

Vito :)
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From Today's CarConnection

Quote:Consumer Reports magazine's annual auto issue officially hit the newsstands Tuesday, and Japanese brands continued to dominate the magazine's list of recommended models. Honda's Accord Hybrid was named the best pick among sedans, while the other "Top Picks" were the Honda Pilot, Odyssey, and Accord; Acura TL; Subaru Forester and Impreza WRX; Toyota Prius; and Lexus LS430 and RX330. The Hyundai Sonata was named the most reliable vehicle, with only two problems reported per 100 vehicles, while the Lincoln Navigator and Nissan Quest were tied for least reliable, with 49 problems reported per 100 vehicles. CR also reported that U.S. automakers have continued a three-year run of increased reliability. Ford's Focus reportedly would have made the magazine's "Top Pick" list again this year, but it was pulled in the end due to the model's "poor" performance in the IIHS's recently released side-impact tests.  

Even Hyundai is starting to see some action from Consumer Reports :)

Laterz :)

[D-Dub]

bah you can say bye bye to the focus that car will never get a redesign here in North America. If you want to compete you have to put money in your cars, obviously they didnt want to so when it came time to test the focus against some new models of other companies cars the focus didnt have a chance.

If I were Ford I would kill all North American cars they make and import them from Europe, keep the trucks cause they sell alot but dump the car part.

[K_OS]

D-Dub,Mar 10 2005, 12: Wrote:bah you can say bye bye to the focus that car will never get a redesign here in North America. If you want to compete you have to put money in your cars, obviously they didnt want to so when it came time to test the focus against some new models of other companies cars the focus didnt have a chance.

If I were Ford I would kill all North American cars they make and import them from Europe, keep the trucks cause they sell alot but dump the car part.
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Maybe they should import some of the European dealers as well, my cousin still raves about his '99 Focus and his dealer.

Laterz :)

[Drivesthebeast]

They don't sell European Fords here in North America because they have lower crash safety standards than we do. As far as I know, Canada's standards are even higher than the US, that's why not all models available there, come here either.

Besides, we all know that Ford is under control by a bunch of bean counters...as was (and partially still is) GM who is finally starting to make some interesting cars. However, look at things in this perspective too...think of what caliber of cars the big 3 were making in the 1980's as compared to now...I dunno about you, but I think they've certainly come a long way.

My .02

[naz]

there's always the s40 and the mazda3.. they are using the new focus platform also right?

[Frost__2001]

D-Dub,Mar 10 2005, 01: Wrote:bah you can say bye bye to the focus that car will never get a redesign here in North America. If you want to compete you have to put money in your cars, obviously they didnt want to so when it came time to test the focus against some new models of other companies cars the focus didnt have a chance.

If I were Ford I would kill all North American cars they make and import them from Europe, keep the trucks cause they sell alot but dump the car part.
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I'm in agreement with D-Dub on the way ford of North America is being run today. I would love to see some more European / Aussie ford's being sold here in Canada, But I will disagree with killing all north american fords altogether.

As For Safety, Canada is better then the US when it dose come to Car safety, however since the Euroncap changed it's speeds, they are a lot faster then what Canada tests at presently. The standard test that Canada uses reflects the US version ( 35 MPH / 50 kph ) The new European standard is now 64 kph (40 MPH). If you want to see how euro cars stand up to the test check out their site.

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