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Consumer Reports: Models
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YONKERS, N.Y., Feb. 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Consumer Reports announced today that it has named five new models to its Top Picks list for 2007 -- the Toyota RAV4, Infiniti G35, Toyota Sienna, Mazda MX-5 Miata, and the new Honda Fit. The Top Picks list is published in CR's Annual April Auto Issue.
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Factoring in three percent inflation and an annual five percent interest rate, Consumer Reports estimated an additional $10,300 in investment savings. As a result, maintaining the Civic EX over 15 years would be approximately $30,800 less than the cost of buying a new Civic EX every five years. Consumer Reports found similar savings with other models.
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For the third year in a row, Consumer Reports has ranked automakers based on the average predicted reliability scores for their model line. Most models with the best predicted reliability are again from Asia, though Lincoln and GMC improved considerably, along with a few other domestics that got better over last year. For the second year in a row Mercury was the only domestic brand to land in the top ten. Most domestic brands fell in rank, if only slightly. European brands were mixed, Audi had the biggest gain, but most are still predicted to have worse-than-average reliability.
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Because of its findings, Consumer Reports will no longer recommend any new or redesigned Toyota-built models without reliability data on a specific design. Previously, new and redesigned Toyota models were recommended because of the automaker’s excellent track record, even if the publication didn’t have sufficient reliability data on the new model. If Toyota returns to its previous record of outstanding overall reliability, Consumer Reports said it may resume this practice.
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Consumer Reports has a circulation of 4.3 million, and another 2.7 million readers pay up to $26 per year to get it online. Auto industry executives travel to East Haddam about once a month to find out what Champion and his team have to say. Besides Mulally, guests have included Daimler (Charts) chairman Dieter Zetsche and General Motors (Charts, Fortune 500) product guru Bob Lutz. When a BMW X-5 SUV threatened to roll over during a routine test, Champion discussed the problem with BMW engineers. After they replicated the test in Germany, they made a software change in the electronic stability control in production models.
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Consumer Reports’ statisticians and automotive engineers used the survey data to predict reliability of new 2008 models. They average the overall reliability scores (used car verdicts) for the most recent three model years, provided that the model remained unchanged in that period and ... didn’t substantially change for 2008. If a model was new or redesigned in the past couple of years, one or two years’ data may be used, or if that’s all that’s available.
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