…IT EATS BABIES!

Jack Baruth
by Jack Baruth

I came home tonight to see that Consumer Reports is trying to scare me out of buying a Honda Insight. The joke’s on them! I was going to buy a 2003 Crown Vic LX Sport!

Really, though… Did you ever think you’d see the day when CR wouldn’t recommend a Honda? Even in the darkest moments of the Acura transmission fiasco, the lab-coated crew could barely bring themselves to diss the brand. After all, they were too busy using robots to roll Troopers.

Jack Baruth
Jack Baruth

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  • Ceipower Ceipower on Jan 25, 2011

    Why is it that When it comes to auto fanatics , too things are always present in large numbers. A hatred of traffic cameras and Honda / Toyota products when reviewed by C.R.? Its clear to me that Honda has lost its MoJo. It doesn't seem to know it yet , but they seem hell bent on cheapening up their products. Is it the Hyundai/Korean scare? Or the Chinese? New vehicles that nobody wants seems to be the Team Honda direction these days. Who would have thought Honda could begin to stand for anything less than the best products? The current Insight is just their latest gaffe. If Accord or Civic (Hondas two golden Geese) ever get hit with the kind of bad press that has dogged Toyota this past year, Honda will be toast. Management needs to stop playing with jet planes and get back to what Mr. Honda vision was.

  • V65magnafan1 V65magnafan1 on Jan 26, 2011

    Just get the CV. I have 160,000 miles and I think I might finally have an exhaust leak in the original system. One brake job. One shock change. One plug change. One belt change. One battery change. Probably one bad dome light door switch--a stupid design--in the lock mechanism. And cheap front suspension odds and ends. Parts are plentiful and cheap, and the car's a snap to fix. I would get into the car and drive it to Arizona today without a second thought. Way different from my SAAB, Volvo, Mercedes of years gone by, each more expensive to maintain than a mistress. Oh, and I always get the nod to go ahead at four-way stops. And my wife says that when she drives it in the morning rush hour, the fast lane is hers.

  • Nrd515 Nrd515 on Jan 27, 2011

    I guess I've lived too long. Actually seeing CR dump on a Honda product is amazing to me. I've never understood the fawning over the world's most boring cars that has been going on for 30 years or so, and I'm happy to see it's at least slightly decreasing.

    • Ronnie Schreiber Ronnie Schreiber on Jan 29, 2011

      For a long time, Hondas bristled with clever engineering. The company can make great motors.

  • Mazder3 Mazder3 on Jan 29, 2011

    Received my Consumer Reports scare package today. Their answer after the... "The ride was stiff and choppy- and it lacked handling agility. The 38-mpg Insight costs about $21,300, but had scores too low to be recommended." Honda doesn't need to feel that bad, though. They also rip on the Nissan Pathfinder's rear door handles and Chrysler Co's low hanging moldy fruit.

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