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In recent years, the power of the Internet has had an interesting effect on publications that specialize in car reviews. As more information becomes readily available, opinions in what used to be well-respected publications appear to be losing their influence.
Consumer Reports has been one of those well-respected publications for its in-depth automobile test drives. But recently, it appears that buyers are depending less on what the publication has to say, and focusing more on real-world reviews by real-world drivers. Take the 2012 Honda Civic for example, a vehicle that received a huge amount of criticism from Consumer Reports and yet had a successful year in sales.
In fact, the Civic lost the publication’s ‘recommended status’, but consumers are becoming more critical of the review criteria, and even AutoGuide’s readers have found the 2012 Honda Civic to be a good purchase. (As did our editors).
The Civic wasn’t the only model that Consumer Reports removed its recommended status from last year. The Volkswagen Passat was also harshly reviewed by the publication, yet demand has stayed steady for the German automaker’s model. Interestingly enough, the vehicles Consumer Reports have been praising doesn’t seem to be influencing sales as significantly as one would expect.
[Source: Bloomberg]
