Consumer Reports

[Greg Parrish]

Personally I think you are better off asking about reviews on a specific forum site like here. You get the good and bad perspectives. I feel relying on any “review sites” is about like getting your facts from only FOX or CNN. Each approaches the piece from their own perspective. And as pointed out, you may get highly detailed tool test results from someone whose only real extensive use of the tool is during the review. Your mileage may vary.

[Bill Dufour]

Living in California all my life I remember when my parents stopped subscribing because too many brands were not sold here. also too much stuff was reviewed that we would never use. like snow blowers. They also rated oddball brands, like Volvo cars, highly and ignored the fact finding a dealer or repair place would be expensive and a hassle. Even in California where many foreign brands had USA bases. Not sure why Porsche is headquartered in Sparks, Nevada. I think it has to be a tax dodge.
Bill D

[Wade Lippman]

My problem with CR is that it's clear that they don't really have a good understanding of most of the stuff the review. That leads to ratings based on metrics that are almost meaningless while important stuff may be completely ignored. Their intent is good, and I admire the no ads policy, but they just don't have the knowledge and expertise to review most of what they write about.

I agree that I have found them saying stupid things about products I knew about. But on those that I don't, they are better than nothing.

[Matt Day]

I am a believer in CR being one good source of information. If I am buying a car I will check them out and get an online subscription for a few months. But for anything else i generally go with amazon reviews as my main research and comparison tool. I also refer to YT and other online comparisons.

I think some stories about them in this thread might include some truth but some exaggeration.