Is "Consumer Reports" a Communist publication set out to destroy American

[maveric]

corporations?

I was told this by a co-worker while I was skimming through the used car buyers guide. He claims that CR tries to discredit American-made products and companies and leaning readers to European and Asian and products, thus trying to destroy the fabric of America.

All of what they report is distorted or just plain lies.

This is coming from a retired military "America can do no wrong", guy who virtually threatens me with violence when I speak badly or bu$h and his administration.

I love CR and have been reading it for about 30 years.

[Lone Pawn]

1. Um...he's nuts. Seriously.

Gotta love the "facts hate America," "ignorance is patriotism," "if you dare mention that American electronics and automobiles are inferior then you hate America" viewpoint.

[Richard Steele]

2. I second that "nuts". Whole lotta koolaid happenin' there!

[maveric]

6. Yep! Bloggers, alternate media sources, etc... are the death of Murika.

We dont want the real truth to get out.
He also has stated that we need to scrap the Constitution and write a "whole new one".

[PROGRESSIVE1]

3. He's a screwball, PERIOD!!!

The fact is that Japan makes the world's best automobiles! Japan worked like dogs to make such high quality cars!

[Spinzonner]

4. Ask him to name American-made products

and to prove that all his stuff is.

Parts come from everywhere and megatons of stuff are made in China.

[maveric]

9. He's a Walmart shopper too. I explained that 90% of WM's products

are from "Communist China", and said that all lies set out there by liberals.
I wonder if his veterans benefits are being cut? Hmmm??

[Spinzonner]

13. Not true

the lies are made in China also.

[DBoon]

15. I'd wonder if he suffered a serious blow to the head while in the service

and has never fully recovered.

[Enraged_Ape]

16. Does this guy LOOK at the stuff he buys from Walmart

"Liberal lies?" There's a *&^&ing "MADE IN CHINA" sticker on half the stuff they sell!!

Of course, I'm making a huge assumption that this guy even reads.

[maveric]

19. He looks at the price tag. Money saved to gas up his Suburban.

[blondeatlast]

46. Oh, the irony. Two dollar a gallon gas but he saves 10 cents over

Target for toilet paper. :eyes:

Sounds like he's really got his priorities straight.

[Tactical Progressive]

24. Tell him that Wal-Mart is China's storefront in the US

Something like $220 billion worth of Chinese goods a year flow through Wal-Mart now, to put American retailers out of business across America.

Tell him that you think people who shop at Wal-Mart are traitors.

If he hits you, he'll be a criminal-behind-bars traitor-to-America.

[maveric]

35. I have and its "All lies", to him.

Did I mentione that he loves Savage-Nation?

[shadowknows69]

53. so the liberals

are the ones that put the big freakin MADE IN CHINA labels on everything from WM. We are sneaky bastards aren't we.

[davidinalameda]

5. CR has been around since 1936

they've obviously been lying for a hella long time

what a :puke:

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

7. Yes...if they hadn't have pushed for the recall of the Pinto

all those granola eating, tree hugging, gas saving liberals would have burned to death in rear end collisions and America would be free of their grip by now

[blondeatlast]

47. Well, there ya go. CR foiled the grand plan!

Damn commies--next thing you know we'll be shutting down Wal-Mart!

At least, it's quite pretty to think so... (sigh)

[CaliforniaPeggy]

57. LOLOLOLOLOL! Extremely well put, thank you! nt

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

59. Thanks, CP and a belated welcome to DU

I've enjoyed your posts :hi:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

61. Thank you very much for your kind remarks! You made my day...

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

62. I know...it's a huge board

you sometimes wonder if anyone is reading...we are :D

[RobertSeattle]

8. Good gawd - I've never heard anyone badmouth CR

I wonder how he developed that "theory"? One of the first clues you are talking to a Moron is anyone who uses "Communist" as a supposed slander.

From the CR Website:
Consumer Reports® and ConsumerReports.org® are published by Consumers Union, an expert, independent nonprofit organization whose mission is to work for a fair, just, and safe marketplace for all consumers and to empower consumers to protect themselves. To achieve this mission, we test, inform, and protect. To maintain our independence and impartiality, CU accepts no outside advertising, no free test samples, and has no agenda other than the interests of consumers. CU supports itself through the sale of our information products and services, individual contributions, and a few noncommercial grants. Consumers Union is governed by a board of 18 directors, who are elected by CU members and meet three times a year. CU's President, James Guest, oversees a staff of more than 450.

[retnavyliberal]

25. Well, to be fair....

I don't think that the disclaimer on the Website would actually say:

Consumer Reports® and ConsumerReports.org® are published by a bunch of communists that are determined to undermine the fabric of American society and business....

However, I agree. He's a nutter. Help him tighten his tinfoil hat, make sure he gets his meds and always know where the nearest exit is.

[Enraged_Ape]

10. CR is funded by subscribers and takes no advertising

In other words, it's supported solely by people who want and can use the information, not by giant industry shills with an agenda.

Can he name another major car review mag that does that?

[maveric]

18. No advertising? Hell, that spells c-o-m-m-i-e right there!

Its infuriating as well as amusing as hell to listen to this guy.

[JHB]

27. Ain't It Grand?

You complain about the influence of advertisers, they say "Well, start your own without them".

You do that, and have something fully supported by "the people", and they call you communist.

[CatholicEdHead]

43. Yep

in the right wing rule book, it puts them on base with the "socialist" NPR.

If it is not corporate sponsored it is socialist/communist. :rolleyes:

[tom_paine]

11. Just another crazy Bushevik Sturmtruppen

Careful. If he's around by the time Amerikan Law Enforcement becomes Mississippi 1930s Law Enforcement and people like him are allowed to beat or murder you without consequence, he will probably do so.

Or perhaps he'll just look on as the rest of the Nationalized Neighborhood Watch does it.

[punpirate]

12. About all you can do in this instance...

... is smile and ask, "how was the kool-aid?" You're not apt to change his mind.

Or, just say, "it was P.T. Barnum, that famous American, who said, "Every crowd has a silver lining."

:P

[maveric]

21. I laugh in his face and call him ignorant. He's all talk.

[proud patriot]

14. Wow

that just leaves me speechless ..

:wow:

[The_Casual_Observer]

17. This is a really old old claim, based on suspicion of the

"Consumers Union". As expected, they were hated by the big car and appliance makers in the old days.

[jedr]

20. there are very few

American made consumer goods....go to Wall*mart and find anything that is made in the U.S. they are few and far between....I bought a Honda Accord 2yrs ago and took the wrath of a neighbor who thought his L.T.D. was American made...I told him my car was assembled in Ohio, his in Canada ...between that and my Kerry signs I'm looked at with skepticism. P. S. I recommend the Honda

[Enraged_Ape]

23. I, too, have a "furrin" car built IN THE USA

Not only that, but I financed it through the auto maker's finance company based in BUSH COUNTRY, TEXAS.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

60. Welcome to DU, jedr!

I am certain you will enjoy reading/posting here. Many kindred spirits here!

[DelawareValleyDem]

22. No, but the freeps have wanted people to

believe that for a long time. One guy actually set up a website called consumerdistorts.com a few years back, only to yank it when the only messages being posted on his forums were from people correcting claims made on the rest of the website.

[mattclearing]

26. Yeah, seriously. CR can't help it if our corporations cut corners and

manufacture lower-quality, less-safe products.

That's the way business is done here, as often as not.

It's not Consumer Reports' fault.

You should tell the person not to shoot the messenger.

[maveric]

28. He basically thinks that "Watchdog" groups and people are traitors

to the good old US of A. We should all shutup and let the govt do whatever it want to and has to. I asked him if he "shutup" when Clinton was prez and he said. "Well that was different".

[mattclearing]

30. LOL. That's great. At least you got him there. n/t

[Lisa]

52. how about "watchdogs" who criticize other countries ...

... for poor environmental, labor, and human rights practices?

By his standards this would make them patriotic -- oh, wait, they're STILL a bunch of nitpicking Commies who don't understand how business really operates.

[Tactical Progressive]

29. Is Consumer Reports good for automobile comparisons?

I was asked just yesterday about how good recent Cadillacs are by someone who's going to start looking for a nice used car soon, so I mentioned CR.

I told them that from what I had seen, Consumer Reports is one of the few that does this kind of reliability and repair comparison - the car magazines do it to a small extent - but that it always seemed to me to be somewhat superficial. Not knocking CR, as it's a big topic, about complex machinery, to be very thorough about in magazine form.

I said searching the internet and perhaps reading some car forums might be a better way to get a feel for that kind of thing.


As an aside, would you know if Consumer Reports has done anything with say 2001-2004 Cadillacs in the past couple of years?

[bunkerbuster1]

32. If I had only one (1) source for auto info, it'd be CR.

That said, it's worth reading reviews of these cars in the automotive (advertising whore) press to get some other perspectives.

Consumer Reports reliability ratings have to be taken with a grain of salt--they depend upon feedback from users, which can be a fairly small sample size and subject to all kinds of things.

they are well worth the subscription price (and/or the cost of an online subscription).

[Tactical Progressive]

33. I thought they get their reliability ratings

from the manufacturers? Is it really anecdotal?

[bunkerbuster1]

34. Last I checked, it was based on user polling

but don't quote me on that.

Isn't that more reliable than depending on what Ford or GM tells you? I mean, if you base "reliability" on what a carmaker deems worthy of a recall notice, you're not going to learn much about a car.

They don't recall cars if they (for instance) go through brake pads every 30K, or if the electronics are a bit wonky... that's stuff that owners report.

Like I said, it's useful, and I wouldn't buy a used car without checking the reliability reports IF ONLY TO KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT (i.e., a couple black marks won't necessarily rule out a car).

[Enraged_Ape]

44. CR sends out a long survey to subscribers

asking them all kinds of questions about their vehicles and their service records.

This is why you often won't see service record info reported for newer used vehicles. There just isn't enough data in yet.

[bunkerbuster1]

49. Funny though, I did subscribe for awhile and I can't recall getting such

a survey.

I'm sure you're right, just weird.

[KaliTracy]

51. they don't send them to every reader everytime. I've subscribed for

about 5 years (and about 10 years ago for about 3 years). In that time I've gotten maybe one long survey. I get more stuff on-line now, though I had to accept getting it.

[Enraged_Ape]

58. I've subscribed for five years and have gotten the survey once

I'm sure, as with any survey, they use a sample. They have a pretty good subscription base.

[LeftyMom]

38. I found it very useful when buying a car last year

I also found this article to be a great help.

http://www.cars.com/go/advice/Story.jsp?section=buy&subject=how_buy&aff=national

[Tactical Progressive]

40. Thank you.

I'll pass that on, and bookmark it for myself.

[KaliTracy]

54. It's great for automobile comparisions, imo. Bought an Elantra

last year as an emergency purchase (totalled my car) -- have been quite satisfied so far.

Check out this recent list (may have to subscribe -- if so, and you don't want to subscribe - they recommended the Cadillac CTS in September 2004 -- and you could get the magazine from local library)

http://www.consumerreports.org/main/content/autos/atoz.jsp

[LeftyMom]

31. I don't always agree with thier ratings

but a magazine devoted to the accumulation of stuff for private ownership could hardly be called communist.

[Cornjob]

48. CR is not a;ways the best rating source...

for certain products, for example cameras, but they are honest enough to admit their shortcomings.

I have subscribed for a number of years and, overall, I have been satisfied. My main complaint with them is that their reports often highlight minor or meaningless deficiencies rather than overall value.

This is especially true for auto testing. Too often, CR will rate a $40,000 model along side a $25,000 model, then complain that the $25,000 model lacks the features of the $40,000 model!

Another gripe is that they often ignore serious design problems and continue to give rave reviews to suspect products. For example, Toyota has had serious oil gelling (and engine failure) problems with its Camry models, and Honda has had serious transmission failure problems with Accord and larger Acura models, but CR continues its 'best buy' ratings on both. Although these problems are often corrected under warranty, they are still serious design/engineering flaws!

CR is not unbiased, but at least they do not accept advertising or commercial use of their ratings.

[LeftyMom]

55. An issue I noticed is that they must not seek input from experts much

http://www.consumersunion.org/products/car-seat403.htm

This is an abstract version of thier most recent carseat review (which is rather out of date at this point.) Thier only recommended combination booster is the Cosco Summit, which with it's very short harness would require most children to be seated in booster mode before they are mature enough to stay reasonably still.

They made a very big deal out of the fairly minor belt sliding issue with the other combos on the market at the time, dismissing rather well designed seats when the more obvious solution is to keep children who can't sit reasonably stil in a harnessed seat or to lock the seatbelt in cars with that option. There are a few seats that harnesses older children on the market, CR didn't review most of them or even mention that they exist as an option. This is really unfortunate, because boosters can't be used with lap belts so people with older cars need to know about these seats to keep thier kids safe and transport them legally.

Thier review would have benefited from the opinions of a Child Passenger Safety technician (trained car seat installer) and some real-life testing with actual children of varying sizes.

[porphyrian]

36. Anything that questions corporate advertising...

...and actually tests them against each other is definitely a threat to any corporate-controlled representative democracy.

[Sandpiper]

37. CR is about as close to the unvarnished truth as you can get

They don't accept gifts, they don't have any advertising, all of their products are purchased anonymously, and every product group is subjected to the exact same tests.

If an American product doesn't get glowing praise from CR, it's because it's an inferior product, not because CR has an anti-american axe to grind.

I know it's hard for some people in this country to accept, but the U.S. doesn't make the absolute best of everything the world has to offer.

[doubleplusgood]

39. here's an anti-CR website

http://www.junkscience.com/consumer/consumer_about.htm

Put together by some corporate-shill, CATO-institute types, I think.

[Sandpiper]

41. He's an adjunct Scholar for the Cato Institute

That should tell you everything you need to know about whose water he's carrying.

[doubleplusgood]

42. Bingo !

n/t

[not fooled]

56. "Scholar"..."Cato Institute"

= oxymoran!

[Deja Q]

45. Depends. Can your co-worker provide proof that CR is being

paid off or bribed or has a history of playing favoritism with brands?

I'm not familiar with the magazine; I usually try things out personally to see how/if they fit my needs and how well they do so.

[Lisa]

50. yep -- if you point out that most American companies ...

... import goods or parts from other countries, you're a no-good lazy anti-capitalist hippie.

If you explain that it was the capitalists who were cheerleading this globalization thing from day one (so they could make more money by outsourcing to cheaper places and laying off Americans), you're STILL a no-good lazy anti-capitalist hippie.

If you tell him that you're in favor of Americans banding together to keep out retailers that will undercut local businesses and take away their jobs -- you're a no-good COMMUNIST lazy anti-capitalist hippie.

If you say that you've suddenly changed your mind about free enterprise and now believe that any companies that can't compete when it comes to offering low prices deserve to go bankrupt -- you're a no-good BOHEMIAN GROVE lazy elitist hippie who doesn't care about good honest Americans like him.

Heads he wins, tails you lose.


p.s. challenge him to make up a list of the "made in USA" products he buys each week. Heck -- tack it up in the office and challenge your whole workplace to "buy American, whatever it takes" -- and make sure everybody knows that he's the one who started it. The quasi-patriots who realize it will cost them money will start picking on him, and everybody else, who knows that it's increasingly hard to find (or even distinguish) US-made goods will laugh at him. My guess is that a lot of the parts in his precious SUV (and even the flags, stickers, and other "support Bush" ornaments he's probably put on it) are from outside the US.


Even companies admit that a lot of stuff supposedly made in the US and Canada is from overseas -- they're allowed to use the "made in" label if it's just assembled or packaged here. I don't think this Lee Valley Tools is a Commie front ...

http://www.leevalley.com/home/Articles.aspx?c=2&action=32
"Did you know" -- "Where was that tool made?"