Auto manufacturer Mercedes-Benz is upset with coverage in Consumer Reports magazine that lists the most and least reliable cars. Not surprisingly, the Mercedes vehicles are not highly ranked.
Alex Taylor III from Fortune wrote, “But what is striking about Mercedes’ performance is its consistency. Of the 11 models reviewed by Consumers, none are recommended. Seven are left off of the list because of poor reliability; the remaining four are considered too new to predict.
“Mercedes has the worst record of any automaker with that many models. For a brand that claims to be ‘engineered like no other car in the world,’ that is fairly frightening.
“‘They understand the problems and they are fixing some of them, but they have a long way to come,’ says David Champion, director of automotive testing at Consumers.
“For its part, a spokesman for Mercedes says that the data in the Consumer Reports rankings ‘is totally out of sync with what we’re seeing in the mainstream research as well as our own customer satisfaction and warranty data.’ He points to the good marks Mercedes gets for ride, handling, comfort, safety and performance.
“He may be whistling into a windstorm, though. ‘Car buyers pay a lot of attention to CR‘s ratings,’ says industry consultant George Peterson. ‘They perceive them as unbiased.'”
Read more here. Got to love a magazine that can print what it wants because it doesn’t accept advertising.
