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Here's a link to Consumer Reports article on it. http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2014/04/top-picks-2014/index.htm http://www.consumerreports.org/cro

Here's a link to Consumer Reports article on it. http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2014/04/top-picks-2014/index.htm http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2014/04/top-pick... Edit: They split it into categories a pick a winner in each and then somehow pick a 'best overall'. I like the Tesla but I don't understand how they can pick a 'best overall'. It doesn't seem like something that can easily quantified fairly. It's also worth noting the Tesla is over $30,000 more expensive than the most expensive winner out of the other categories.

rll 13y ago
In the US, yes, but in some countries the Tesla is actually cheaper than the Audi (which is the car you are comparing it to there) because of tax breaks. See http://www.ibtimes.com/tesla-owners-norway-get-134000-tax-break-which-more-base-price-model-s-1507740 http://www.ibtimes.com/tesla-owners-norway-get-134000-tax-br...
- gutnor 13y ago
  Consumer Reports is targeted at people in the US too. Taxes in other countries means that cars get different engine, so for example in the past we used to get Audi with the power tweaked down in Belgium. Also Tesla is a lot more practical in Belgium (small dense country) than in Spain (where energy is expensive, there is no supercharger and your regular electricity contract is 15A (220V), so not enough to charge a Tesla properly in the average dwelling) There are so many factors, it is better for consumer magazine to focus on a single country.
psaintla 13y ago
Do people take anything consumer reports says seriously anymore? I was under the impression they started losing all credibility when they had a series of reviews where they ranked name brand products higher than their generic counterparts then it turned out the generic and name brand products were exactly the same (in some cases having come right from the same assembly lines) but with different badges.
- wtallis 13y ago
  How does that discredit Consumer Reports? Customer service is a completely reasonable factor to include in product rankings. If you've got two products that are physically identical but one comes with a good warranty for a small premium, then the latter will be a better long-term investment unless the odds of failure are very small. (There's also the question of how long you can expect the no-name product to stay identical - they're more likely to cut corners without letting anyone know, whereas the name brands will usually at least tweak the model number included in the fine print.)
- Crito 13y ago
  Not that it was necessarily the case in the situation you are thinking of, but I believe that different brands often come off the same production line after QA is done. So a factory for Duracell AA batteries might simply rebrand the batteries that to not meet their QA bar as "off-brand" batteries. The slightly defected or substandard batteries could then be sold to the consumer for a much lower price than the Duracell branded batteries, without risking damage to Duracell's brand.
  - larrys 13y ago
    I agree with that thought. In fact at times I have purchased OEM hard drives through the Apple store instead of on Amazon. My theory being that a manufacturer would (and this is important) be more likely to send their "A" production to Apple and do a better job of screening defects. Might not be important for a laptop bag but a mission critical part I'm willing to pay a few extra dollars. It's not a new concept in business that the better and more important customers [1] get better product and service. [1] Ever try to hire through a temp agency? You don't get the same crop of people that the big guys get who give them a lot of business.
    - jotm 13y ago
      Doesn't really apply to HDDs or any other electronics manufactured in large numbers. They can't screen every item and they will try to use the best components in all of them. So you get the same DOA percentage from Apple branded HDDs and OEMs... And LG, for example, assembles worse monitors than their competitors, who are using the same panels LG sells them as an OEM...
gagaga 13y ago
Aren't reviews on consumer products basically always going to be subjective?
- DanBC 13y ago
  The friends and family test might be useful. "Would you recommend this product to your friends or family?" This test is used as an important indicator for healthcare. Improving this score is nationally important in England and all NHS providers have to try to ask all service users this question.
jrells 13y ago
A unique choice for "best overall" gets Consumer reports a lot of press coverage and traffic. There's probably not much meaning to "best overall" anyway, and its great for them to pick something flashy and new.
- samstave 13y ago
  "best overall"===Do Want.
- MBCook 13y ago
  I've lost respect for them since antenna-gate. They often rate Apple's phones the highest while writing articles about their horrible 'flaws'. It feels like two sides of the house aren't talking to each other. That said, the Model S is supposed to be very nice and is a cool advancement for the industry over 'yet another model year of Civic/Focus/whatever'.
  - ericd 13y ago
    I would disagree - Consumer Reports is easily the most objective independent consumer product review organization that I've ever seen. It's not hypocritical to point out flaws in a product and chastise the company behind it for putting out spin while simultaneously viewing that product as excellent overall, despite its flaws. One of their big things is holding companies accountable and trying to promote truth in advertising and shame those that violate that trust, so if they see a company spinning as hard as Apple does, they're likely to call them out for it.
001sky 13y ago
Odd, it's New Category this year, there was no "best overal" in the 2013 writeup... see, eg > http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2013/04/top-picks-2013/index.htm http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2013/04/top-pick...

rll 13y ago

In the US, yes, but in some countries the Tesla is actually cheaper than the Audi (which is the car you are comparing it to there) because of tax breaks. See http://www.ibtimes.com/tesla-owners-norway-get-134000-tax-break-which-more-base-price-model-s-1507740 http://www.ibtimes.com/tesla-owners-norway-get-134000-tax-br...

gutnor 13y ago
Consumer Reports is targeted at people in the US too. Taxes in other countries means that cars get different engine, so for example in the past we used to get Audi with the power tweaked down in Belgium. Also Tesla is a lot more practical in Belgium (small dense country) than in Spain (where energy is expensive, there is no supercharger and your regular electricity contract is 15A (220V), so not enough to charge a Tesla properly in the average dwelling) There are so many factors, it is better for consumer magazine to focus on a single country.

psaintla 13y ago

Do people take anything consumer reports says seriously anymore? I was under the impression they started losing all credibility when they had a series of reviews where they ranked name brand products higher than their generic counterparts then it turned out the generic and name brand products were exactly the same (in some cases having come right from the same assembly lines) but with different badges.

wtallis 13y ago
How does that discredit Consumer Reports? Customer service is a completely reasonable factor to include in product rankings. If you've got two products that are physically identical but one comes with a good warranty for a small premium, then the latter will be a better long-term investment unless the odds of failure are very small. (There's also the question of how long you can expect the no-name product to stay identical - they're more likely to cut corners without letting anyone know, whereas the name brands will usually at least tweak the model number included in the fine print.)
Crito 13y ago
Not that it was necessarily the case in the situation you are thinking of, but I believe that different brands often come off the same production line after QA is done. So a factory for Duracell AA batteries might simply rebrand the batteries that to not meet their QA bar as "off-brand" batteries. The slightly defected or substandard batteries could then be sold to the consumer for a much lower price than the Duracell branded batteries, without risking damage to Duracell's brand.
- larrys 13y ago
  I agree with that thought. In fact at times I have purchased OEM hard drives through the Apple store instead of on Amazon. My theory being that a manufacturer would (and this is important) be more likely to send their "A" production to Apple and do a better job of screening defects. Might not be important for a laptop bag but a mission critical part I'm willing to pay a few extra dollars. It's not a new concept in business that the better and more important customers [1] get better product and service. [1] Ever try to hire through a temp agency? You don't get the same crop of people that the big guys get who give them a lot of business.
  - jotm 13y ago
    Doesn't really apply to HDDs or any other electronics manufactured in large numbers. They can't screen every item and they will try to use the best components in all of them. So you get the same DOA percentage from Apple branded HDDs and OEMs... And LG, for example, assembles worse monitors than their competitors, who are using the same panels LG sells them as an OEM...

gagaga 13y ago

Aren't reviews on consumer products basically always going to be subjective?

DanBC 13y ago
The friends and family test might be useful. "Would you recommend this product to your friends or family?" This test is used as an important indicator for healthcare. Improving this score is nationally important in England and all NHS providers have to try to ask all service users this question.

jrells 13y ago

A unique choice for "best overall" gets Consumer reports a lot of press coverage and traffic. There's probably not much meaning to "best overall" anyway, and its great for them to pick something flashy and new.

samstave 13y ago
"best overall"===Do Want.
MBCook 13y ago
I've lost respect for them since antenna-gate. They often rate Apple's phones the highest while writing articles about their horrible 'flaws'. It feels like two sides of the house aren't talking to each other. That said, the Model S is supposed to be very nice and is a cool advancement for the industry over 'yet another model year of Civic/Focus/whatever'.
- ericd 13y ago
  I would disagree - Consumer Reports is easily the most objective independent consumer product review organization that I've ever seen. It's not hypocritical to point out flaws in a product and chastise the company behind it for putting out spin while simultaneously viewing that product as excellent overall, despite its flaws. One of their big things is holding companies accountable and trying to promote truth in advertising and shame those that violate that trust, so if they see a company spinning as hard as Apple does, they're likely to call them out for it.

001sky 13y ago

Odd, it's New Category this year, there was no "best overal" in the 2013 writeup... see, eg > http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2013/04/top-picks-2013/index.htm http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2013/04/top-pick...