What else is it about?

Mostly popular priced large kitchen appliances from Kenmore,GE, Whirlpool, and Frigidaire. Small SUVS and running shoes.

Oh, they also knock a F&P fridge.

List Gardenweb as a resource.

Knock high end stuff.

Here is a link that might be useful: Subaru Forester.

I bet CR has barely changed any info in their ratings.

If you've looked at their fridge tests for the past years, the charts haven't changed much, and the ratings are pretty much always the same.

Knock high end stuff.

Hmmm - there's a surprise - NOT

CR long ago outlived their usefulness

Speaking only for myself, CR has not by any means outlived its usefulness. After suffering with two miserable kitchen appliances for several years, I finally decided it was worth it to pay the price (which turned out to be surprisingly little) to take advantage of CR's research.

Thanks to them, I have a fantastic Sears Kenmore d/w which was made by Whirlpool, an equally good Sears Kenmore over-the-range microwave oven, a wonderful Maytag range which is a dream to use, and an unbelievably energy-efficient GE side-by-side fridge.

All of these (except perhaps the range) are Energy Star appliances, our electric bills are way down, but our satisfaction level has never been nearly this high.

I realize not everyone has had the same experience we've had, but I am very grateful for Consumer Reports. As with anything, YMMV.

I find CR has declined in usefullness to some degree. They are helpfull for standard to mid range aplliances but less than usefull for higher end stuff.

Several years ago Consumers published their mission/vision statement that was created in the 1930's or whenever they got started. It basically said that they were dedicated to finding the best deal, best performance for the lowest price. I don't expect them to ever recommend higher cost,higher end items because this would go against their mission.

Look at pictures of kitchens folks on this board post. How much to do you think they cost? Next think about the majority of folks living in the USA and elsewhere. Do you think they have kitchens and houses that look like this, cost this much...or are they struggling to make ends meet, both spouses working and barely making it, trying to send their kids to college and then maybe when that's over they MAY be able to have what they want including picture book kitchens and appliances. Their choice is to spend only $500 for a dishwasher or wash the dishes by hand.

I think Consumers will most likely stay true to their mission and be good for the mid range appliances that average folks can afford. If we are buying higher end stuff we are in the minority and I don't think we are average. I am including my self in this assessment and I hope I never forget that things could be different and may - who knows.

My issue of consumers came yesterday...yes it contains recommendations of mid range appliances....I didn't see any ratings of GE Monogram, Sub Zero, and when they do mention higher priced appliances it is a knock against them. NO surprise -true to their mission of getting the best the lowest cost will provide.

I thnk cdave summed it up well. I have found over the years you have to take CR with a grain of salt. They are worth paying some attention to but more as a second or third opinion especially on the higher end stuff. CRs reviews on higher end stuff usually tends to be the entry level models and very little coverage. I guess my view is that they are willing to form their opinions on the high end appliances with very little observed data.

I have found CR really caters to the mass manufacturers and their consumers.

While Consumer Reports does have useful information, I've found that their reviews are usually out of date by the time they are published, especially for appliances. The products have been discontinued or changed so much by publication time that the tests done on previous models just aren't relevant.

The quality of entry level and mid-range appliances is not very good any more - those appliances are considered disposable by the manufacturers, they have a limited lifetime, and it is expected that we will replace rather than repair them in five, ten or fifteen years, so Consumers Reports reviews can be very misleading.

I'm certainly not going to remodel my kitchen with off-the-shelf cabinets from Home Depot or the local lumber yard and I'm not going to buy cheap appliances, either. That's what I replaced. I've learned that you get what you pay for, and with a little research, you can get good value for your money. Who wants to replace kitchen cabinets and appliances in five years because everything fell apart.

As for Consumer Reports mission statement - 80 years ago, when you bought a stove, vacuum cleaner or washer - you expected it to work and last forever, and appliances were well made, A company was proud of it's products and stood behind them. Their reputation and good name mattered. Not any more. I think it's time for Consumer Reports to move into the 21st Century, along with the rest of us.

momj47 - sadly these days even the expensive brands don't last nearly as long as one would like them to!

IMO JD Powers is a better resource than Consumer Reports because as noted, CR is outdated when they post their reviews and they have their own inherent bias. JD Powers is based on actual consumer feedback and while they don't point out specific models - they do identify top brands in each category. The only drawback is they don't focus on high end appliances either

Here is a link that might be useful: JD Powers Appliance Survey

I think CR is useful but I am continually disappointed in their ignoring many obvious issues that normal folks are interested in when deciding what to purchase.

In the case of their tests of ranges and cooktops in this issue, for example, they again say nothing about the plusses/minuses/differences of the different cooktops and ranges -- those differences between cooking with gas/electric/induction that most consumers agonize about. Whereas this forum -- as well as CR's own forums -- are regularly peppered with posts about these topics, CR deosn't even acknowledge them, let alone describe or venture an opinion about them. Seems a shame to me when they spend so much time evaluating less significant features and issues.

Good points, jerrod6 - points that are applicable to our family and, I'm sure, many others. Over more than 35 years of marriage, I have learned that *sometimes* 'you get what you pay for' when you go for high-dollar goods, and sometimes you just waste money. So my goal has always been to get what we need, at the best possible price.

I don't only use CR for research - before I make a major purchase, I spend time researching at different sites plus quizzing friends and relatives about their experiences - but I am grateful for CR; their findings have been helpful to me.

berryberry, you said that Consumers Report's results are 'outdated' when they publish them (I generally access their website) - did you notice that the JD Powers Appliance Survey you linked was published in 2007?

CR has published research in 2008.

Mara - OK, you are obviously a big CR fan based on your posts here and on other threads. Fine I am not going to dissuade you but as you can see, lots of other folks besides me question CRr's usefullness.

As to your question about results being outdated - yes, the JD Powers survey was done in Oct 2007. They do one every year. So if you are reading it in mid-2008 then it is 8 months old. Now I know you will say CR does an annual appliance review as well so whats up with my outdated comment. Did you ever look at the models CR tests and try to find them? Half are discontinued - making the specific reviews and recommendations outdated.

Like I said - I know I am not going to convince you but between the two, I believe the JD Power consumer satisfaction rankings provide a far better barometer of brands to consider than CR's reviews which incorporate their own testing bias and focus on lowest costs as a prime factor in their decision making. I guess when looking for external reviews, I would rather rely on the personal experiences and feedback of large numbers of consumers than on one organization's tests

berryberry, I have benefitted from CR's research - yes. I don't consider myself a 'big fan', though, any more than I'm a 'big fan' of epinion or any other place where I've gained knowledge from people's experiences. I also like the info you posted courtesy of JD Power; I'm just not sure it's any more 'valid' than CR's or anyone else's.

The research I've done at CR has been on models of appliances which were (and are) current - one of them was pretty much 'hot off the griddle'. I don't doubt that some of the models aren't current, though I'm taking your word for that; I've seen the same thing at other sites, as well.

I wasn't questioning Powers' usefulness. I just noticed its data was a year older than that just published by CR.

CR is good for some stuff, not so good for others. I have found it difficult, at times, to find the highly recommended models of things they test (especially true for consumer electronics). They certainly aren't much help when it comes to high end appliances.
I think the kitchen issue has some helpful points, especially for people who are looking to buy standard appliances. Most people on this site aren't going that route so, for them, CR is of limited usefulness. It is important to remember, though, that in the real world most people are buying standard and can't (or don't want to) drop thousands on high end SZs and the like.

I picked up CR's new kitchen issue last week and NONE of my proposed appliances are rated. I didn't really expect to see my DCS 36" range in there, but figured at least to get some info on the two fridges (Electrolux or KA) we have under consideration.

OK, so it has been oft said that they tend to concentrate on the mass-market products, to the exclusion of the high end stuff. But the kitchens in the photographs in this issue sure don't look very builder-grade to me. Some of them included 48" pro-style ranges (not rated) and super-duper designer range hoods, not to mention lovely cupboards, and multi-sink and multi-oven set-ups.

I appreciate CR's independance from advertising pressures, but I do wish they would cover a bit more of the market. Oh well, I'm a bit of a junkie for kitchen mags right now, and I can't say that any of them are particularly useful, except for the pretty pictures.

I think CR is quite useful. They don't always have the same priorities as I do, so I don't buy everything they reccomend-- since I live at high altitude and use propane, I need massive heat just to cook pasta. They don't care for my stove, and I don't care that they don't care. Ditto my car: I live in snow country, need AWD. Leads to more repairs lower milage, I'm fine with that.

But unless you are made of money and have a personal staff to handle repair issues [etc], it's worth considering what they have to say. Shouldn't be the ONLY basis for a decison, unless your needs exactly correspond with theirs.

Pre internet, publications like CR were essential. Now, I'd rather speak online to people who are using an appliance in their homes and factor in the inevitable range of opinion then go by the findings of an engineer in a controlled test setting.

I've run a few test kitchens and folks who work in those know what they're doing. So you don't get the IRL things like toddlers opening a freezer drawer for fun 35 times a day or getting the oven probe in the chicken the wrong way.

If you read carefully here, the accumulated experience tends to be accurate IME. I ignored warnings here on a purchase and regretted it. I canvassed on a new appliance buy and got very accurate descriptions and information -- my experience has been typical. Big win.

People will always buy based on price and/or an emotional reaction to a product. And, as we've often seen, no amount of reasoning or warnings can dissuade a purchase once you've been bitten by the color or feature or status bug.

Last year when my old oven suddenly died and I had to choose a new one, I immediately turned to a recent Kitchen issue of CR (we had subscribed for over 20 years). I was very disappointed to see that they reviewed so few ovens, I think it was three...out of the six or seven widely available brands. And the reviews were very cursory too.

So I decided not to renew my subscription this year. When I browsed through a recent issue while waiting in line in the supermarket, I was not at all impressed with the content. CR has really changed from what it was a few years ago...too bad.

Carly

I went to the JD powers web site to look at the ratings.
They don't give any detail or background information about them. Instead of telling me that appliance X was rated good for the number of settings available, I would rather know something about those settings and what they are for. Of course Consumers is not any better at doing this, although they used to describe their testing methods.

I think rococogurl hit it when she mentioned being able to come to a forum such as this so that you can dialogue back and forth with folks who are using the appliance every day. I appreciate the "like" ,"don't like", "OK but..." "used it three times and it needs service", information.

I agree w/Jerrod6 regarding CR's mission...I think he stated it & explained very well why most of us don't find it as useful as the average remodeler does.

But, did you catch that they reference GW as a resource?

Also be sure to search such sites as GardenWeb.com...

I think that's a big step and it will also direct people here to find out about other options...i.e., the stuff most of us here are interested in.