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The Fisker Karma is a plug-in hybrid car that seems to have everything the rich and famous — and environmentally correct — look for in a set of wheels. Sleek silhouette? Check. Green cred? Check. Six-figure price tag? Check. Reliable battery? Not so fast. In a test conducted Wednesday by Consumer Reports magazine, the niche-market $107,850 sports car conked out completely, after a short ride at 65 miles per hour on a Connecticut test track. “Our Fisker Karma … is super sleek, high-tech — and now it’s broken,” Consumer Reports wrote on its website late Thursday. “We have owned our...

Electric cars, which wouldn’t even be an option if taxpayers’ money wasn’t propping them up, don’t ultimately save money or cut down pollution. They aren’t reliable to get from here to there. But they can look nice, like the Fisker Karma. Speaking of which, we have this shall we say not entirely unexpected news, courtesy Reuters:...

Our Fisker Karma cost us $107,850. It is super sleek, high-tech—and now it’s broken. We have owned our car for just a few days; it has less than 200 miles on its odometer. While doing speedometer calibration runs on our test track (a procedure we do for every test car before putting it in service by driving the car at a constant 65 mph between two measured points), the dashboard flashed a message and sounded a “bing“ showing a major fault. Our technician got the car off the track and put it into Park to go through the owner’s manual...

A $100,000-plus Fisker Automotive luxury sports car died during Consumer Reports speed testing this week for reasons that are still unknown, leaving the struggling electric car startup with another blow to its image. "It is a little disconcerting that you pay that amount of money for a car and it lasts basically 180 miles before going wrong," David Champion, senior director for the magazine's automotive test center, told Reuters, on Thursday. In a statement, Fisker said it was assessing the source of the problem that caused its Karma plug-in hybrid to fail. Fisker dispatched two engineers Wednesday night to...

Industrial Policy: A leading consumer product testing firm takes one of the administration's dream green cars for a spin and had to call a gasoline-powered flatbed truck to tow the lemon away. At least it can go from zero to $529 million in stimulus dollars in nothing flat. When the testers at Consumer Reports took it for a test drive, not only was the $107,850 dream car unable to complete the evaluation, but also it had to be towed away, a visible metaphor for the Obama administration's green energy failures. In a test conducted last Wednesday by Consumer Reports magazine,...

In January of 2010 USA Today reported that Consumer Reports (CR) temporarily suspended its recommended rating for eight Toyota models. This was in response to the possibility of Toyota models being unsafe as accusations were made that the vehicles had sudden acceleration problems and NHTSA investigated the alleged incidents. In CRs' words, "Although incidents of sudden acceleration are rare, we are taking this action because the vehicles have been identified as potentially unsafe without a fix yet being available to consumers." CRs' response to the Chevy Volt NHTSA fires is quite different from the Toyota response. Change a few...

General Motors has gotten much attention on its controversial Chevy Volt tax-subsidized vehicle. The hype for the Volt started over two years ago as GM was trying to put a positive face on the future green potential of a plug-in vehicle that was to be a game changer for the industry as Washington was lobbied for a taxpayer funded bailout. While the final verdict on the success of the Volt has not been reached, the initial performance is underwhelming; especially considering the amount of hype and marketing money (supplied by taxpayers) emanating from GM. Many of the claims regarding...

The media may want to take a break from its rooting for General Motors, not to mention its hype surrounding the Chevy Volt. USA Today recently summarized Consumer Reports' ranking of automakers based on performance and reliability. Of the 13 automakers receiving report cards, GM and Chrysler received the worst rankings. The number one performer according to CR was Honda, followed by Subaru. Strong reliability contributed to the high overall scores. GM was number 12 on the list with only Chrysler receiving a lower score. It should not come as a surprise that the bottom two performers were the...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - General Motors Co's mostly electric Chevy Volt turned in a lackluster performance for efficiency in its first series of road tests by product raters at Consumer Reports. "We would have really liked to have loved it," David Champion, director of Consumer Reports auto test center told Reuters on Monday after announcing the organization's top picks for 2011. "It was fun to drive and the ride quality was pretty good. But when you look at the finances, for us it doesn't make any sense," Champion said. He said consumers seeking value and top fuel efficiency would be better...

The Verizon iPhone 4 has a problem that could cause the phone to drop calls, or be unable to place calls, in weak signal conditions, Consumer Reports engineers have found in lab tests.The problem is similar to the one we confirmed in July with the AT&T version of Apple's newest smart phone. It can occur when you hold either version of the phone in a specific but quite natural way in which a gap in the phone's external casing is covered. The phone performs superbly in most other respects, and using the iPhone 4 with a case can alleviate...

I'm pleased to inform you that Consumer Reports has rated AT&T as the worst of all major cell phone carriers.  I can assure you that they deserve the honor, at least with regard to their customer service telephone line. A few months ago, I had some trouble with my broadband connection.  I was told to call the AT&T customer service number for technical support.  Half an hour later, I wearily hung up the phone after having endured something like this: (1) Welcome to the American Thinker! Si Usted lee sola en español, por favor vaya al (14).  If this...

Driving While Fat' (DWF) increases the risk of automobile accidents and is taking a heavy toll on our nation's oil stockpiles as well, according to government reports. It's just another reason for nanny state bureaucrats to force plump Americans to slim down in the name of defeating the so-called obesity 'epidemic.' "Obesity has caused more people to buy larger vehicles, which increases gasoline consumption in the U.S. and fuel consumption increases with more weight in cars either from people or cargo," warns ConsumerReports.org. "One other result of the obesity problem is the increase risk of crashes as noted in a recent...

Protein Drinks Are Dangerous??!! Yeah, right. By Jim Stoppani on June 14, 2010 7:21 PM You may have read or heard about the article on protein drinks, published in the July 2010 issue of Consumer Reports magazine. Alarmed? You should be, but not about the dangers of protein drinks. You should be alarmed about the hack job that Consumer Reports printed on this inept, one-sided investigation.If you have no idea what I'm talking about, visit: http://pressroom.consumerreports.org/pressroom/2010/06/investigation-tests-reveal-contaminants-in-many-protein-drinks.html Let me start by addressing the most ridiculous claim in the report: too much protein is dangerous. If you wonder why the authors didn't...

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Consumer Reports has issued a safety warning on Toyota's 2010 Lexus GX 460 SUV because of an increased rollover risk during a turn. The magazine says it uncovered the problem during routine tests, and is urging car shoppers not to buy the GX 460 until this problem has been remedied. The special designation given to the GX 460 by Consumer Reports -- "Don't Buy: Safety Risk" -- is rarely given by the magazine. The last time it was used was in 2001, on the Mitsubishi Montero Limited. About 5,000 GX 460s have been sold in the...

Honda and Subaru were ranked the best overall car manufacturers in the new Consumer Reports auto survey released yesterday -- but recall-battered Toyota did surprising well, too, coming in a close third. Honda and Subaru tied for first place with a total score of 77 based on reliability, performance, comfort and utility -- while Toyota was next with a score of 74, the report said. Hyundai's Elantra SE, which lists for $18,695, was ranked the best small sedan. The automaker was then followed by Nissan, with an average score of 72. Its Altima, which sells for $23,970, was the family-sedan...

So much for any claim of political neutrality on the part of Consumer Reports. They have now come out in support of ObamaCare which you can see on their website along with their TV ad. Here is the message from the president of Consumers Union, Jim Guest, publisher of Consumer Reports: Health care has been a top priority of Consumers Union since we started back in 1936. In the pages of Consumer Reports and the advocacy work we do for consumers, we've long argued for better health care that's more affordable and reliable. While working for better health care is...

So my first copy of Consumer Reports arrives and I eagerly await exciting reviews of vacuum cleaners, pet food and garden tools. Imagine my surprise when I see that this August 2009 issue of Consumer Reports presents THEIR version of " A Prescription for Healthcare". HUH? And so they proceed to tell me that " almost all agree that the healthcare system is BROKEN " and offer a SEVEN PAGE description of " how Consumer's Union would fix it" ! What followed was a complete commercial for Obamacare, replete with disengenuous distortions repelete with photos of examples of Americans for...

Volume 2, Number 24 Consumer Reports Refers to Unborn Children as "Uterine Content"       A series of articles in the February Consumer Reports magazine rates condoms, hormonal birth control and many other forms of artificial contraception and also gives advice on abortion options where it refers to unborn humans as "uterine content." The article gives short shrift to abstinence and betrays a misunderstanding of natural family planning, a surprise given Consumer Reports' reputation of high credibility and thoroughness.       The group of articles, called CR's Guide to Contraception, begins with an evaluation of 23 kinds of condoms. It calls condoms the "only...

If you were told about a product that would fail 15% of the time over one year, would you consider that product reliable? I suspect not. If you were told that a new car’s engine or transmission had a 100% failure rate over a five-year period, would you find that performance acceptable? I am certain that you would not. The February 2005 issue of Consumer Reports does not rate automobiles, but they do rate condoms. Consumer Reports gives seven condom products excellent ratings on its test results with overall ratings of very good. They rate the vast majority of condoms...

MATTERS OF LIFE AND DEATH Consumer Reports CEO led Planned Parenthood Revelation comes after story pushing abortion from publication that claims it has 'no agenda' -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: January 12, 2005 1:00 a.m. Eastern By Ron Strom © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com Despite the mission statement of Consumers Union, which publishes Consumer Reports, stating the organization vows to maintain "independence and impartiality," the president and CEO of the nonprofit once led a state branch of Planned Parenthood. The revelation comes in the wake of the magazine's recent article pushing abortion as birth control. As WorldNetDaily reported, Consumer Reports, the respected periodical that has...

Consumer Reports, the respected magazine that has advised Americans on everything from new car purchases to which electric can opener to buy, has published a list of birth-control options that includes abortion, complete with a section describing how the procedure gets rid of a pregnant mother's "uterine contents." The main report, which is available in the February issue and online, analyzes various brands of condoms for strength and reliability. Along with the condom report, Consumer Reports provides both a comparative guide to other contraceptive methods and a page entitled "Birth control: More and safer choices," which includes discussion of abortion....

For the first time in 25 years, the influential Consumer Reports magazine says the reliability of Detroit car and truck brands is now slightly better, on average, than European brands, Tuesday's Wall Street Journal reported. Prestigious European brands Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volkswagen, Audi, Volvo, Mini and Jaguar all ranked below average for reliability in 2003, based on results from the magazine's annual subscriber survey, which this year got 675,000 responses. For cars less than a year old, the average problem rate for European cars was 20 per 100 vehicles, compared with 18 problems per 100 for traditional U.S. brands, such as...

By Matt Nauman, Mercury News For the first time in 25 years, European cars aren't as reliable as those made by U.S. automakers, Consumer Reports magazine says in its annual auto issue that hits newsstands today. Asian automakers continue to lead the industry, the magazine says, but domestics topping the Europeans is a sea change. Especially considering the high quality of cars the Europeans have been known for, "this year they seem to have dropped considerably," said David Champion, senior director of Consumer Reports' auto test department and head of its 327-acre testing facility in Connecticut. In all, only eight...

Warning: Reading Consumer Reports may be dangerous to your health. Consumer Reports (CR) has helped millions of Americans select the best consumer goods available at the lowest prices and has called attention to some of the excesses of the marketplace. As a result, it has established a reputation among consumers as an honest, informative magazine. In recent years, however, CR policy appears to have been taken over by consumer and environmental activists and the magazine is dispensing advice that is not in the best interests of its readers. For example, CR recommended that consumers buy organic food instead of conventional...