Well I just got my 2008 Consumer Reports Survey Form. As usual I am
shocked by how little information they gather and dismayed by how
seriously people take the results.

Here are the "car"questions and my comments:

There were general introductory questions about the car model (2 max)
and miles driven for each vehicle. These were followed by the specific
information gathering questions:

1) "If you had any problems with your car in the past 12 months that
you considered SERIOUS because of cost, failure, safety, or downtime,
select the appropriate box(es) for each car.

INCLUDE PROBLEMS COVERED BY WARRANTY. DO NOT INCLUDE: 1) problems
resulting from accident damage; 2) recalls; or 3) replacement of
normal maintenance items (brake pads, batteries) unless they were
replaced much sooner or more often than expected." Various categories
are listed (the ones in the magazine with the circles).

My comment - CR is depending on the car owner to decide what is
serious. Well that might be fine for you, but how do you know what I
will find serious? My Sister drove around for years in a Honda that
sounded like a Saturn V on take-off. She was fine with that. I drove
the car to work one day and swore I'd never drive it again. My SO's
RAV4 has rear seat releases that don't work -they never have. She
could care less. It drives me crazy. The cruise control on Her RAV4
won't allow you to drive certain speeds if the A/C is on - it just
goes crazy, upshifting and downshifting, etc. She could care less -
not a problem.  I think it is a major problem.

2) "Considering all factors (price, performance, reliability, comfort,
enjoyment, etc.) would you get this car if you had it to do all over
again?"

My comment - What does this mean? If I could go back to 2006, would I
make the same buying decision? When they provide me a time machine,
this question would make sense. I am sure if I bought a new car today,
I would by a different car, but not because there is anything wrong
with my current car, I would want something different, and there are
new choices.

3) "How satisfied are you with this vehicle with respect to each of
the following?" Various areas are listed.

My comment - just asking an opinion - no hard data.

4) "Did this vehicle get any maintenance (e.g., oil change/ lube/tire
rotations) or repairs in the past 12 months?"

My comment - this was really a transition question into a portion of
the survey related to car repair. It might be interesting if they
published the results of this by model.

5) "In the following question, exclude accident repair and new tires.
Which, if any, of the following performed the maintenance and
repairs?" The list included dealers, independents, fast lube places,
other.

My comment - no real relationship to the quality of the car. I
answered "other," so I did not see any follow-up questions.

6) "Did you buy any new tires for this vehicle in the past 12 months?"

My comment - not sure why they asked. I did not buy tires last year,
so I did not see any follow-up questions.

7) "Was any work done in the past 12 months (excluding accident
damage) covered by a warranty or by a recall notice?"

My comment - I had no repair or recall work done in the last 12
months, so I answered no and did not see any follow-up questions.

8) "About how much did you pay in total for maintenance and repair of
this vehicle in the past 12 months? Include all out-of-pocket costs
for tires, parts, fluids and labor. Select appropriate category.
Select 'None" if you had no out-of-pocket costs for this vehicle
during this period."

My comment - at least this was an attempt to get some "hard" data, but
it is a feeble one. How many people actually know how much they spent?
I do my own oil changes, so I estimated the cost of the 4 oil changes
I did last year. That was my total maintenance unless you wanted to
include going through the car wash. A person that took their car to
the dealer for oil changes probably paid 4 or 5 times as much for the
same services. How is that accounted for? Why do they ask about tires
here, but not in other sections? Tire wear is heavily influenced by
the driver and location. Tire replacement is not a yearly expense. I
wonder how this figures into the maintenance cost for a new model that
was first introduced in say 2005? Seems like the money spent on tire
replacement would spike after the model was 2 or 3 years old.

Ed