Automotive turkeys 2008

The word “turkey” means different things to different people. Thanksgiving, for many, is a great time for turkey…unless you’re a turkey. For those of us who drive different cars every day, we sometimes come across features that rank as turkeys – perhaps the designers/engineers created them with the best of intentions, but in the real world, they prove frustrating. We’ve already written enough about BMW’s iDrive, perhaps the biggest automotive turkey of all time. Some turkeys are nice ideas that simply fall short.

In an informal poll in and around the Consumer Reports Auto Test Center, I’ve come up with some other turkeys that particularly rankle our feathers:

•    Sirius radio reception in wooded, tree shade areas is awful. Also, some car audio systems have a long delay, making you wait to see the title of the satellite radio station identification.

•    Automatic door locks that don’t unlock when you park or allow a choice to set the locks to unlock when the car is turned off. This maybe a good feature for those who want the security in a tough neighborhood, but consumers should at least be given the choice. (This turkey was mentioned more than once.)

•    The government giving a tax credit if you buy a 19-mpg Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid but nothing if you buy a 32-mpg Toyota Corolla or 29 mpg Ford Focus.

·    Outside mirrors that automatically turn and give you a view of the ground below when shifting to reverse. While this offers a good view of the curb, it makes using the mirrors to back out of a long driveway useless. Convex or larger mirrors do it all.

•    Chrysler announcing its hybrid Aspen and Dodge Durango SUVs and then unceremoniously killing them four weeks later.

·    Mini Cooper’s radio controls (see photo above), which are scattered all around the center stack. The radio’s volume knob, for example, is mounted separate from the radio head unit, lower on the dashboard. It’s easy to grab the radio’s other knob by mistake; even though that’s a multi-function knob, it only serves as a tuning knob if you push the “m” button first. (Of course!) It also takes several button presses to change radio modes.

·    Re-inventing a wheel that wasn’t broken in the first place. For example: Some keyless ignitions work OK, but some “Start” buttons are hard to find and require a push-and-hold process to start the car. The worst are those on BMWs and Mini Coopers that require using a fob placed in a slot and then pressing a start button. What was wrong with a key?

·    Big key fobs are maybe OK if you use a purse, but they’re bulky in a pant’s pocket. Kneel down at just the wrong angle, and the panic button can be activated, resulting in the car’s horn going off and waking up the neighborhood.

•    Acura’s styling department is a whole, gobbling turkey within itself. Have you seen the beaks on the TL, TSX and RL? I can’t tell them apart. They all look like grinning teenagers with mouths full of braces.

•    The headlights in the Toyota Prius Touring. On a scale of 1-5 (with 5 being the tops), these lights got a 1. Even with Xenon bulbs, low-beam light doesn’t provide enough illumination forward to allow the driver time to see and react to objects in the road. The lights also have a distinct ramp-shaped cutoff between light and darkness at the top of the low-beam pattern. These lights leave us in the dark.

•    Paying a premium to buy a Smart (ours was just under $16,000) to get 39 mpg overall but putting up with the limitations of being able to seat only two people, limited cargo room, and maybe the worst transmission ever, when--for about the same a price--you could get a Honda Fit or Toyota Yaris, which seat five, and are infinitely more comfortable and (in the Fit’s case) fun to drive.

Anyway, that’s our short list. I’m sure we could go on, but you get the point. What particular car controls, models, or manufacturers drive you bonkers? Pass the gravy, and share your automotive turkeys in the Comments below.

--Mike Quincy

2008 SEMA – Personal Picks

As we wind down our coverage of the annual Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show car and component extravaganza in Las Vegas, CR’s attendees have been reflecting on the vehicles that made the greatest impression. It truly takes something special to stand out among the hundreds upon hundreds of vehicles on display. After all, these show vehicles have been specially prepared for this mega event, often built exclusively for showcasing the latest parts, trends, and building techniques. But, it isn’t always the fanciest car that fuels fantasies, nostalgia, or water-cooler discussions.

Between writing more than 20 blog posts about this year’s show, a few team members shared their personal picks. A couple others, overwhelmed by the selection, simply couldn’t decide.

John Galeotafiore: The 2009 Dodge Challenger was my clear favorite. In my early driving days, I was the proud owner of a beat-up 1971 Dodge Challenger R/T. It had a powerful 383 cubic-inch motor with a four-barrel carburetor and four-speed manual transmission.  It had the most unbridled power of any car I've driven to this day. 

The new Challenger pays homage to my old 1971 with all the technological advances that have come in the last 38 years.  While the old car had power, its handling, ride, and comfort all left much to be desired.  I'm sure Challenger purists would disagree, but I could see myself cruising to work every day in the '09 version, something that I wouldn't have wanted to do in my '71.

Gene Petersen: Domestic car makers draw on the past. You have to look back 40 years ago to what made Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors great and formidable car companies. All three automakers were not bashful at all in showing 1960s vintage Dodge Chargers, Ford Mustangs, Chevrolet Camaros, and Pontiac GTOs. These were and still are the cars that I dream of, and they were the cars that drew show goers like moths to a bright light.
 
Yet, when looking at the late-model offerings, the car that appealed to me the most was the Ford Flex fitted with oversized wheels and tires. There were numerous Flex concepts on display, and they all looked as cool as the first-generation Scion xB in custom gear.   

Mike DiLauro: Over the past seven or so SEMA shows that I’ve attended, my favorite vehicle has most often been an SUV. This standout vehicle is usually outfitted for some kind of adventure, whether off-road or for the urban jungle. This year, like the rest of America, I've been more interested in downsized vehicles. So although I'm going to go small this year, it still has to be tricked out to inspire me, since SEMA is all about tuning an OE vehicle and making it into something completely new.

I found the best expression of this from Scion. It is fitting that Scion would go to great lengths to live up to that intent. Within the line, the xB hits the sweet spot for tuning—it’s truly the tabula rasa of the auto industry. From the inexpensive entry point to the broad side panels, these cars become something otherworldly in the hands of a tuner. All this, while at the core, a practical, reliable and fuel-efficient vehicle...what more can you ask for?

See our picks from last year's  SEMA show. Read about more cars, gear, news, and views from SEMA.   

Nit picking the BMW 135i

In driving our sporty blue 135i, the questions I heard a little too often were, “How much for the car?” and “Thirty-seven…what?!”

The love fest that surrounds the BMW 135i is pretty clear. It’s a fun little car that is a blast to drive, gets surprisingly good gas mileage, and performed well in our tests. It’s going to garner a lot of Personal Picks when the engineers and editors opine on the latest test group featured in the October issue. And I’ll weigh in there. Even though I’m not a died-in-the-wool Roundel worshiper, I really like this car.

But I’ve got some gripes that just can’t wait. So before the mushy adoration starts flowing, allow me to get in a few thoughts.

My nits to pick
At $34,900 base, the 135i is pricey. But it comes with some standard features you often have to pay for on less expensive vehicles: Xenon lights; rain-sensing wipers; cruise control (I’m looking at you, Volvo C30!); a power glass moon roof; and an auxiliary audio port (sadly, not the iPod connection we had in our 328i convertible).

But, come on BMW, can’t you put some sort of tie-downs or clips on the back of the floor mats for thirty-five large? Time and time again I found the driver’s side floor mat sliding forward onto the gas pedal. Not really what you’d expect in the Ultimate Driving Machine. Heck, Toyota had a recall in some Lexus and Toyota models because the mats slid forward. So let’s get some 10-cent clips, Velcro, or maybe chewing gum to hold these mats down, ASAP.

Next up, the radio display. Why is the climate control readable with polarized sunglasses, but not the radio? The BMW customer is probably more likely than most to sport an expensive pair of polarized sunglasses, so why should the radio be unreadable? And this isn’t new. A quick Web search shows owner complaints going back to the 2006 model year. Is this another case of “Germans know best” and we’re supposed to just deal with it? Sounds vaguely familiar to our complaints about iDrive, too.

Finally, we chose the optional Sports Package for $1,000, which included really great sport seats. Sure, the manual adjustment on a car costing $37,650 out-the-door is surprising, but the lack of motors is less complex and probably saves weight. (Makes you faster, right?) But how about a lumbar adjustment, BMW? I can tilt the front and rear of the seat independently, extend the thigh cushion, and set the recline, but there isn’t even a knob to give my back a bit more support?

Are these items deal breakers? Heck, no. While the floor mat can be a safety issue, the others, for me, are simple annoyances. For 2009 BMW is raising prices by an average of 2.1 percent. Let’s hope they can at least provide some Velcro and maybe a spare lumbar knob for that increase. Beyond addressing those nits, please don’t change a thing.

See more road test videos from the October issue sporty car group. And also check out our 300hp shootout: 135i, Evo, STi.

—Jon Linkov

Clocking the Murano - Nissan, do I have permission to continue?

Recently, on my way to work in our Nissan Murano, I realized the clock was off by 18 minutes. I could leave it alone, but I’d rather not do math to calculate my arrival time while driving in rush-hour traffic and monitoring traffic reports. Let’s see, 7:15 plus 18 minutes means… bumper to bumper traffic on the route I just took because I missed the radio report. Arrrgh!

So, just a simple adjustment and I’d be content in the knowledge that I am not significantly late for work. Based on recent experience driving our Infiniti EX35 and Murano, I know can adjust the radio, iPod controls, climate system, and even the trip computer when moving. Other than the integrated iPod controller, these functions don’t even require using the multifunction controller and its attendant bank of buttons. So far, so good.

But adjusting the clock? Not so fast—it’s buried deep within the vehicle settings menus, and the ability to adjust it is locked down when the vehicle is in motion. Hit “Settings” and… “Clock selection” is dim until you stop. Makes total sense.

Radio and iPod: Safe to adjust when moving. The clock: Not so much.

Nissan, why is it considered appropriate to navigate through the detailed iPod menu, browsing folders and songs, while driving at 65 mph, yet a simple clock adjustment is so convoluted that I’m not allowed to do it when driving? Sure, I change iPod tracks a whole lot more frequently than I adjust the clock’s time. (The need exists at least twice a year to adjust the clock and possibly more often, as I recently discovered.) You made redundant and simple hard keys for almost everything else, and our Murano doesn’t even have navigation, so why not just drop the mobile dashboard desktop look, sadly de rigueur for a luxury car, in favor of the luxury of simplicity? Or, just let me adjust the clock with the current, high-tech setup.

—Jon Linkov

Have you encountered a frustrating control or function with your car? Share your experience in the comments below.

Hypermiling - The new menace on the road?

The other day I’m following a Honda Insight hybrid driving rather quickly down a hill. But as the hill flattens and we start climbing another hill, the little Insight slows down. As we approach an intersection, I see the light has just turned green and I’m sure we’ll make it. But we’re still climbing and the Insight is continues to shed speed. Finally, the light turns yellow and then red. But instead of stopping, the Insight drives right through the red light and continues puttering down the road.

Was this driver driving slowly to be safety conscious? No. I was following one of the new breed of fuel-sipping fanatics that are menacing our roads. (And you know who you are!) The driver of the Insight was doing everything to maximize fuel mileage. Speeding down hills to maintain momentum, slowing up the hills to prevent pressing too hard on the gas pedal, coasting through red lights, and even tailgating semi-trucks to save fuel are all symptoms of this new threat to drivers everywhere.

The phenomenon is encouraged by the colorful fuel economy displays in some hybrids that have turned driving into a video game. The point of this game is to get the highest score... er… mpg figure. Why? Some probably believe they’re minimizing their strain on the earth, but more likely they’re looking for bragging rights. Maybe you’re trying to keep your Prius-o-meter above 50 mpg so you can post your results on Priuschat.com. Maybe people keep asking you what kind of mileage you get on your hybrid, and you want more impressive figures to report. Or perhaps you just want prove to your spouse that you know the right way to drive your new green machine.

Don’t get me wrong—there’s nothing wrong with driving to maximize fuel economy. I try to do the same and have to admit that I have a hard time not staring at the pretty fuel consumption screen on my wife’s Prius. But there are many ways to modify your driving to maximize fuel economy and not become a rolling road hazard. In fact, sites like Hypermiling.com and cleanmpg.com promote many safe and effective ways to maximize fuel economy. But you should always be courteous to others around you. And, yes, a Prius can make it up the hills without losing speed if you push your right foot down a bit. Most importantly, watch the road not the fuel economy gauge. You’ll make the roadways safer for all, and may even help non-hybrids save fuel with an even, predictable driving manner.

—Jake Fisher

For more suggestions on how to live more green, visit Consumer Union's Web site Greenerchoices.org and our Earth Day special section. For tips on saving gasoline and alternative fuels, see our fuel economy guide.

New York auto show - Random thoughts

The keynote speaker for this morning's breakfast was Bob Nardelli, President and CEO of Chrysler. In his introduction, it was said that he knew the company's products well, since he used to own a PT Cruiser, Prowler, and a Jeep. No word as to whether or not he used Stanley hammers or DeWalt drills when he headed Home Depot.

Everything seems to be moving at the speed of sound these days. Decisions, according to Mr. Nardelli, are made at Chrysler with either a "quick yes or a quick no, but no more slow maybes." Acura, too, is coming up to speed as they touted the expression "say no to slow." Judging by the rather dull appearance of its redesigned TSX, I don't think the company will get a "say yes to best dressed" anytime soon.

With all the talk about going "green" I still find it curious that Mercedes calls its cleaner diesel engines "BlueTec." Why not go "GreenTec"?

It's amazing to me that "adults" have to be reminded to turn down the ringers on their cell phones before the start of a press conference.

The rear styling of the Saturn Flextreme concept is revising the look of the 1963 Chevrolet Corvette split-window. Nope, can't see out of the back of this one, either.

Toyota is really taking the "green" theme seriously. It has signs posted all over its display saying, "The fabric panels and overhead canopies in the Toyota display are made from post-industrial and post-consumer content using non-toxic inks." Hmmm. The company must be trying to ease its guilt or counter-balance the Land Cruisers, Sequoias, and Tundras it has on display.

My colleague Jake Fisher made this pronouncement: the new Acura TSX is said to be wider and longer but sporty and agile, and the new Nissan Maxima is claimed to be smaller but sporty and agile. That, naturally, reminded me of a commercial for the AMC Pacer which claimed that its wide stance helped give it a stable ride. It also could also be counted on to help you make a mean sandwich.   

—Mike Quincy

See the 2008 New York auto show coverage.

Wintertime of our convertible discontent

We're working on a test group of four-seater convertibles for the May issue, just in time for the start of top-down season here in the Northeast.  But we're driving the cars around now, and it's gray, dreary, and cold outside. And on this particular day, it's raining hard enough to make Noah consider taking the Ark out of retirement. (Unlike other magazines or Web sites, we don't jet off to some sunny place with a fleet of borrowed ragtops to write a story.)

Then again, most of the cars in this group have folding hardtops. Part of the spin surrounding these complicated convertibles is that hardtops provide better interior isolation from noise and harsh weather. So despite the winter doom and gloom, we should be as happy as (hard-shell) clams, right?

Maybe not. Things started badly, right from when we picked up our Pontiac G6 GT at the dealer. The salesman took care to demonstrate the luggage blind; like most modern convertibles, you need to have a sliding cover in place in the trunk before the car allows you to fold the power top. This reduces trunk space, but it also prevents you from crushing your luggage with the top, or the top with your luggage. He lifted up the trunk lid, stuck his arm in to show how the blind worked - and then the heavy deck lid closed down on his arm. Seems our deck lid couldn't keep itself up. (We eventually got that fixed. And the salesman's arm was fine.)

Then the noises settled in. When it was cold, multiple noises and creaks came from the hardtop. Our G6 wasn't the only convertible in the fleet to do this; loud, nearly-continuous creaks came from the interface between the roof and windshield header in our hardtop Chrysler Sebring Limited convertible, as well. That's assuming you can hear them over the wind noise, suspension groans, or the luggage blind rattling around in the trunk. One logbook comment says that the Sebring is "noisier than a pickup truck loaded with plastic pipe."

The Sebring had another annoying problem. Like some other coupes, the power windows drop about an inch when you open the door. This lets cabin air out as you slam the big door, making it easier to shut the frameless glass against the weather stripping. But the windows developed a mind of their own - or maybe just plain lost it. Sometimes the window wouldn't automatically go all the way up. Other times the window seemed to freeze in place, so you had to slam the door to get it to close fully. Slamming the window across the weather stripping makes a sound like something is going to break. And once when parked and running, all four windows dropped about 3 inches on their own, as if the top was about to lower on its own.

So, are hardtops where it's at, modern convertible-speaking? One big plus: they do allow designers to put in larger rear windows. Our soft-top Mitsubishi Eclipse convertible is at the opposite extreme. The Eclipse's rear window is a narrow slit. Even backing it out of my narrow garage is scary and almost requires a seeing-eye dog to pull off this mundane task.

Like many things in the automotive world, how well a technology works depends on its execution. The Jaguar XK convertible we tested had a soft top that was nearly as quiet as some coupes. Our Saab 9-3 2.0T soft-top convertible isn't particularly noisy, and it has a decent sized rear window.

One last thought: even though it makes a car more desirable to rent during a Florida vacation, turning a crummy sedan into a crummy convertible doesn't make it better. 

Would someone please order a batch of warm, sunny weather? Soon. Life is too short to have a bunch of convertibles in the garage and lousy weather overhead. Especially when top-up is when they are least enjoyable.

—Tom Mutchler 

Chicago - Show me the green

The Chicago Auto Show seems to fall in a tough place on the calendar, that is, after the Los Angeles and Detroit shows where combined 60-80 vehicles may have been unveiled. Each event has a typical theme: LA is usually on the leading-edge of the Green movement and high fashion; Detroit tends to combine American muscle, technology innovation, and memorable design; Chicago is often a blend of truck news and also-rans (minor updates and decidedly unsexy models).

Disappointingly, the pattern holds true this year. The show itself isn't to blame, being a hapless victim of timing and circumstance. I place the blame on the manufacturers. Hear me out...

Reflecting back on the announcements after one last tour of the show floor, there were more than a fair share of mild updates and rebadged models. These may be all important to their respective companies, but not fodder for fueling consumer (or diehard automotive) passions.

Trucks did rule here in Chicago, with several interesting announcements although little that rocked my automotive world. The Chevrolet Traverse looks great. The Ford Works computer system is quite impressive. The GMC Sierra is welcomed to the hybrid revolution. The GMC Denali XT concept is, well, different.

What I wanted to see was inventive, thrifty trucks and SUVs. Rather than just targeting full-throttle, off-road assault monsters, I was looking forward to more vehicles that could commune in nature in a reasonably environmentally responsible way.

Turns out Detroit was the show for that, with the Ford Escape Plug-in, Hummer HX, Jeep Renegade (shown above), Land Rover LRX, Saturn Vue Plug-in, and Toyota A-BAT concepts. No question the Hummer H3T rocks in its own conquer-the-Earth way, but the HX concept from Detroit alongside it rocks harder. Fit it with a clean diesel engine and consider it the brand's savior.

The show season isn't over until New York next month. Just hope we don't have to wait until the next Detroit show to be tantalized with vehicles that combine fun and "green" in the same exciting package.

Meanwhile, I need to reread the Suzuki Equator materials to learn more about how it has an "exclusive" grille.

—Jeff Bartlett

Read our complete coverage of the 2008 Chicago Auto Show.

Helpful hints for new car owners

A couple of weeks after I bought CR's Mini Cooper S test car, I received a package from Mini in the mail. (Apparently everyone gets it.) Along with the roadside assistance wallet card, the care package contained a cute little notebook, a deck of Mini playing cards, and a card to fit in one of the two glove boxes titled "The Idiosyncrasies of Your New Mini."

That card's title is an understatement. As we've mentioned in our test results and our video for the Mini, its controls are a mess. Just a few examples: The volume knob floats around on its own in the center of the dashboard. It takes two actions - dock the key fob (logo up or down?) and push the start button - to start the car. (Unless you splurge for the transponder key.) The turn signal wand is electronic; you can even program how many times it will flash after a brief poke. All in all, the card covers ten areas of Minidom that might need further explanation.

Why would a car company send a card explaining this stuff long after you bought the car? I'm guessing it's so that owners don't kvetch about "unique" design features in various surveys. Many surveys don't ask solely about problems that require repair. Instead, their measurement of "quality" includes product design and performance issues. So, if the Mini's card clears up how something works and a buyer is no longer confused by the feature, they probably won't complain. Ta-da! No more problem in the survey's eyes.

No doubt, Mini isn't alone at this. Engineers told us that GM put a hang-tag on the neat one-lever release handle for the Saturn Outlook/GMC Acadia/Buick Enclave's second row seats so that customers would very easily figure out how to fold the back seats. This tag emphasizes the feature and reduces the likelihood of complaints. We've seen placards about run-flat tires and window decals about performance tires on newly-purchased Toyota and Lexus models. This is likely due to complaints of rapid tire wear; informing the buyer up front lessens the chance of an unpleasant surprise later.

It's not just written material, either. Although I waved off the full Mini preflight inspection when I picked up our test car at the dealer, the salesman was still very certain to point out the aforementioned volume knob. When we bought our Honda Fit, the dealer pointed out that the small release toggle on the front seat to slide it forward (needed to fold the rear seat flat) wasn't strong enough to use as a lever. Apparently these handles frequently broke on the Jazz, the Fit's European version.

Now, I'm far from arguing that the consumer should be less informed about their new car. These measures will improve customer satisfaction, especially since not many buyers ever crack the binding on their owners manual. (You should.) But I have to wonder if it would be simpler to just have a normal volume knob in a Mini rather than being told twice how to use it or Honda making that release a bit stronger.

--Tom Mutchler

Read more blogs about Mini. Discuss Mini in the forums.

Clamping down on our Sienna

When you buy almost 90 cars a year, you're going to encounter some odd quality control issues. For example, we mentioned the Saturn Aura with the Chevrolet key in an earlier blog. That was a silly goof, but one that didn't really impact the car's operation. The Chrysler Sebring that didn't want to start on the first try was more serious, or at least seriously annoying.

Our latest weird sample defect was found on our 2007 Toyota Sienna XLE.  While the van was up on our lift being fitted for our fuel metering equipment, we found that one of the hoses to the rear heater was clamped off near the firewall with a nicely modified set of vise-grips. (Like with the Sebring, it didn't happen here at the track.)

No one is quite sure what happened. Toyota says they don't use tools like that on the assembly line. Since technicians at the dealers own their own tools, they'd probably notice that one went missing. Plus why would the heater hose have to be clamped on a new van? After all, the heater works fine and there aren't any leaks.

Happily, there probably aren't enough custom-modified vise-grips for this to happen to many other Siennas...

--Tom Mutchler