Re;CR Methodology

[Ed Slaughter <edslau@europa.com>]

Al Powell said,

>  I have suspected for years  that CR readers tend to UNDER-report 
> repairs to cars which they *believe* are more reliable, and to report 
> repairs more often when they are pre-disposed to believe they are not 
> reliable.  I cannot prove this assertion, but it is an inherent 
> weakness of self-reported data.  Perceptions of the self-reporter can 
> easily bias the data.

I can't prove it either but I agree.   And another source of self
reporting bias may lie in the reporter's _lack_ of perception.  To help
explain why Cadillac scored higher than Audi in the recent reliability
derby, consider the fact that, according to recent news articles,  the
average Cadillac buyer is sixty-seven years old.  The _average_
sixty-seven year old doesn't hear quite as well as he used to.  Last
week I saw a man drive up to a store in a Cadillac with its burglar
alarm blaring, get out, buy something, and drive off, with the alarm
still going.   I expect that for this guy, any car that runs is running
all right.  Whereas, on the evidence of this list at any rate, Audis are
owned by the sort of folks who can't fall asleep if there is a pea under
the mattress :)