Do Not Use Consumer Reports!

[Bvonscott]

So I had been working with a customer on a Saturn Vue that needed a flat tow vehicle. As we all know the Vue is well known for being towable. When I recontacted the customer to see if they are still interested in buying one, they told me that they made their decision against the Vue based on a bad review by Consumer Reports. AAARRGGGHH! Even with the numerous good reviews and awards the Vue has garnered, the perception and bias issues out there still persist! This has to stop!

I know a good car from a bad one, bias or not, and the Vue is a great vehicle. I have never and will never recommend anyone to use that horrible magazine to make a buying decision. If you have a customer doing research make sure they do not use it! Use your own good reviews and evidence, keep them at your desk and show them to your customer BEFORE they find that rag!

End Rant.

[montrealvue]

You can't change everyone's perception. Not to credit CR here but it is a first year model and there are bugs to be worked out (like any 1st year vehicle). Move on to the next client, don't lose sleep over it. There are plenty of good initial feedback and reviews about the Vue. Some will concentrate on reports from their "credible source" as the be all and end all. Trust me, I have bought plenty of "recommended cars" that have turned out to be anything but.

The next time someone wants feedback, give them a few of your past customer's names and numbers that are satisfied. You be surprised how well it can work.

[spencerb]

I would mention that there are specific trouble spots on the old VUE (e.g. VTi) that prompted poor ratings, but that the current VUE is new and the past problems have been corrected. Explain that CR doesn't issue ratings on new models until they have data (except until recently for Toyota), so past CR ratings for the VUE do not apply. Also, many of CR's negatives come down to personal opinion.

I know people who won't buy a used VUE because of poor ratings, but I explain that most of the trouble was with the VTi, which was discontinued. The other models are relatively fine. CR will just say the powertrain sucks, but they won't break it down to the specific models.

[goblue]

The VUE is a good vehicle, but depending on your priorities it can be an excellent or a mediocre choice. I imagine its a hard vehicle to sell because it has high operating costs.

Appeals to:
Safety (heavy - crash test rankings, standard equipment)
Quality (interior fit / finish, refinement)
RV owner (flat towable)
Performance (with V6)
Handling (feels like a taut midsize sedan - likes to be driven)

Dissuades
Fuel economy (truly low for the class, very low fuel econ to performance ratio, heavy)
Families with older kids (small backseat - not a great value for space)
Technophobes who can't adapt (doesn't operate inside like a typical US vehicle)

So - its a hard sell considering most buy a vehicle like this with an eye on fuel economy and space - both which are lacking.

Its a big step up over the VUE, but its no Malibu, CTS, or Lambda - its not class leading, but for the right person, it could be.

[cdp326]

Originally Posted by goblue

Technophobes who can't adapt (doesn't operate inside like a typical US vehicle)

I don't understand this?...

• the radio/nav system are both the same as in other GM vehicles.
• the HVAC controls are shared with other GM vehicles.
• the cruise control works the same way as it does in several other GM vehicles--the little thumbwheel is just a rocker switch in disguise (think of the old steering wheel in the Cobalt).
• the power window switches are on the door, vs. around the transmission lever as in the old VUE.
• the steering wheel audio controls work the same as they do in other GM vehicles, just with a different design.
• the gauge layout is essentially the same as that of others like the Cobalt, just without the trip computer DIC.

So what's so odd about it? This isn't the Astra, it's the VUE. There's no switch on the passenger's door for power locks, which the Honda CR-V didn't have until about 2003 IIRC. I can't think of anything else except cosmetic differences.

[goblue]

Originally Posted by cdp326

I don't understand this?...

• the radio/nav system are both the same as in other GM vehicles.
• the HVAC controls are shared with other GM vehicles.
• the cruise control works the same way as it does in several other GM vehicles--the little thumbwheel is just a rocker switch in disguise (think of the old steering wheel in the Cobalt).
• the power window switches are on the door, vs. around the transmission lever as in the old VUE.
• the steering wheel audio controls work the same as they do in other GM vehicles, just with a different design.
• the gauge layout is essentially the same as that of others like the Cobalt, just without the trip computer DIC.

So what's so odd about it? This isn't the Astra, it's the VUE. There's no switch on the passenger's door for power locks, which the Honda CR-V didn't have until about 2003 IIRC. I can't think of anything else except cosmetic differences.

Its a little different, a few reviewers have referenced ergonomics, it didn't bother me in the slightest, but a friend I drove one with noticed it.

[FenwickHockey65]

The sad thing is that people will continue to trust CR for a while. More and more people are beginning to realize that CR is full of crap, but I know of a few who will live by whatever they say.

[F14CRAZY]

I didn't have any complaints about the interior in the Vue XR we test drove. Least it doesn't have buttons like the "screaming ball trapped in a birdcage" or the "phone receiver on wheels"

[mikesright]

^^
I loved the interior and the room in the Vue. It's a really underrated vehicle, and I really think the weight issue is overblown, and fuel economy is probably a little better comparitively vs other vehicles in the real world anyway.

[FenwickHockey65]

Originally Posted by F14CRAZY

I didn't have any complaints about the interior in the Vue XR we test drove. Least it doesn't have buttons like the "screaming ball trapped in a birdcage" or the "phone receiver on wheels"

What was "screaming ball trapped in a birdcage?"

[tom3]

I get a kick out of enthusiasts (ie on here) saying over and over how the newer version of about any vehicle is so much better than the previous pile of junk. Wait a few years and see how the new vehicle actually performs, then we'll know. Hopefully the new Vue, like the Malibu and others, is truly a much improved and reliable vehicle, but putting them on the road with average owners and drivers will provide the ultimate test. And Consumer Reports does just that from what I understand. One positive point with the Vue is that Saturn dealer service seems to still be excellent.

[ohmywrd8]

I have been seeing plenty of new Vues on the road so I wouldn't worry. They seem to be selling well (knock on wood).

[tspax2]

CR reports CUSTOMERS reviews. The l200 and vue were sketchy. Push a good product and work refferals.

[plooked]

CRap!

[Ghrankenstein]

I've tried to imagine a world without Consumer Reports. I've wanted to make a YouTube video on the subject, because it would be funny, but that would be a project and I doubt I'd even get it started.

I imagine people in their work clothes sitting in the middles of their driveways sobbing uncontrollably, and calling up everyone from newspapers, to random book publishers, to teenagers writing in their diaries, begging to be told what to buy.

That's the world as I see it, without Consumer Reports.