Phil, I'm one of those who has no confidence in Consumer Reports, and I can tell you why. They rate or rank the products they test, and some people may make the mistake of looking only at that rating without reading the entire report, so they think one product is "better" than another. Well, those tests are done by humans who have their own prejudices and preferences, just as we all do. So the things that they consider important may, or may not, be things that you consider important.
Many years ago, I was a subscriber, and I was one of those who received questionnaires, which I answered. I'll give you two examples from over 20 years ago:
I bought a new 1982 Isuzu I-Mark diesel sedan, and later received and responded to the quesionnaire Consumer Reports sent. When they published their article and ranking, they compared the diesel Isuzu to a gasoline powered Toyota and a gasoline powered compact Oldsmobile (I've forgotten the exact models). They "ranked" the Toyota first, the Olds second, and the Isuzu last (have they ever ranked any motor vehicle above a Toyota? /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif). So to start with, they were comparing apples to oranges. Now if you read the entire report, in the very first paragraph the author admitted that he did NOT like diesel automobiles "unless it said Mercedes on it." And in reading the entire report, the only criticism of the Isuzu was that it was awkard to get in and out of the back seat. And if you read the results of their survey of owners, the Isuzu owners were the most satisfied and had the fewest maintenance and repair problems. Unbiased report? Hardly.
Another of their "comparisons" was of walk behind lawnmowers of several brands, including Lawnboy. The Lawnboy had a 2-stroke engine and the others had 4-stroke engines. In their ranking, the Lawnboy came in very low because it didn't have the power of the 4-stroke Briggs powered machines in tall grass. I'll certainly concede that point, but I didn't let my lawn get knee deep before mowing, so that was not a consideration for me. I bought a used 2-stroke self-propelled Lawnboy that I used for over 15 years before retiring, selling the house, and going to full time RVing, at which time the mower still worked like new when I gave it away. One of my employees used his for over 25 years, and the next door neighbor had his for many years. The 2-stroke Lawnboy was the most reliable, longest lasting lawnmower I've ever known of, but I wouldn't recommend it for mowing your pasture. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
So . . ., certainly nothing wrong with considering what Consumer Reports says, but you need to carefully read the entire report, consider what features are important to you, and remember that you're still just getting the author's opinion.
