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2008 Acadia One of the Worst Vehicles!

7K views 12 replies 11 participants last post by  bgfred 
#1 ·
#2 ·
Standard old values reporting... Seems to me the ratings they are basing this list on are not very well determined or validated. Since the 80's it's been standard for any publication to include an American made vehicle just for readership, nothing else. Usually they pick a very good selling model so that more readers are drawn to the article. More neutral news agencies call this pop-news or flash news reporting styles. Basically worthless for anything other than water cooler conversations, nothing else.
 
#4 ·
This just makes me angry. CR bias hits us once again. I have a CR on-line account and I pulled my car. EVERY category is good, but the bottom line is bad. CR SUCKS!!!!!

See the posted picture.
 

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#5 ·
First off Forbes has no business reporting on cars so who gives a **** what they say. Second, I don't know if CR is biased but they are definitely idiots, you would think they would quantify all of the categories above the final verdict and determine the verdict that way.
 
#6 ·
Yes, the top 10 list is a standard way to generate a news story, just like a poll. Avoids all that pesky work of, you know, actually finding sources and reporting news and allowing more time for :beer: the main avocation of journalists.

Clue here is the Hyundai's, which, say what you will about Hyundai's, don't break that much, but have terrible resale values. For those of us who buy new and drive to destruction, this is of little concern.

Note that the article is a bit thin on HOW the ranking is calculated, but says that "...when the performance of cars is examined according to their predicted reliability, recalls and rate of depreciation...". So, let's take these one by one:

1) PREDICTED reliability. Operative word here is clearly "predicted". Based on what? By whom? I can drive a truck through that. Read this to mean "dreamed up by our editors", perhaps? Remember, J-school students do not frequently enroll in math electives.

2) Recalls. OK, better to have a car not recalled than one recalled... but better to have the maker man up and recall a problem than duck and weave and NOT recall a problem. I've owned cars like the latter, and trust me it is worse! So, I see how this gets to be a measure, but I don't think it always means what they read it to mean. Most "recalls" are pretty esoteric things that can get resolved on a routine service visit. (and my 04 Accord had a recall that required a second dealer trip, so there!)

3) Rate of Depreciation. OK. This reflects a lot more on the accumulated reputation of the manufacturer than on the quality of a specific vehicle unless/until that specific vehicle has a long history of hard data on which to base results. And it matters if:
a) if you trade often (I buy new and run to destruction, of little concern to me...)
b) you lease (higher resale value = lower lease rates, all else held equal)
c) you total it in a crash. (higher blue book value, higher payout).

But the most relevant number for your experience as an owner is how often specific things break, and according to the CR table shown earlier in this thread, and consistent with my experience, most stuff on these doesn't break much.

I have also owned lemons, and I am sure there are those on this board who have bought one of these and really been disappointed, but I think that's more rare for this vehicle than many.

So. Who died and made those guys King anyway?
 
#7 ·
Forbes didn't even interpret the CR predicted reliability score correctly. :eek:hno: A half-black dot in CR's ratings translates to "fair", not "poor". If they can't even correctly copy data from other publications, how much credibility do they have in this area? Incidentally, they also list the Acadia and Enclave among "American Autos Worth Saving":

http://www.forbes.com/2008/12/01/de...-cx_jm_1201cars_slide1_2.html?thisspeed=25000
 
#8 ·
"Predicted reliability" always cracked me up too. There's no way at all to determine this accurately.

And, I'd call the recall thing a plus, not a minus. I've posted elsewhere about Toyota NOT doing recalls when they should, and being sued for not doing so. Does that make them more reliable? HA! Anyone knows that with the complexity of building a modern vehicle that making one 100% correct is impossible. That's about a likely as bug free software. It don't happen. Sorry. I'd prefer the company I buy from be very up front with these issues and offer to fix them quickly and efficiently. GM's awesome at that IMHO.
 
#9 ·
Narg said:
"Predicted reliability" always cracked me up too. There's no way at all to determine this accurately.

And, I'd call the recall thing a plus, not a minus. I've posted elsewhere about Toyota NOT doing recalls when they should, and being sued for not doing so. Does that make them more reliable? HA! Anyone knows that with the complexity of building a modern vehicle that making one 100% correct is impossible. That's about a likely as bug free software. It don't happen. Sorry. I'd prefer the company I buy from be very up front with these issues and offer to fix them quickly and efficiently. GM's awesome at that IMHO.
I agree 100%. Any new model is going to have bugs that need to be worked out. It just goes with the territory. My dealer has done an A+ job. :thumb:
 
#10 ·
I really don't read too much into Forbes analysis. Little if no research, just looking to reinforce old beliefs that anything from Toyota is perfect and anything domestic is junk.

This is the first vehicle I have ever owned that has not had to go back to the dealership for ANYTHING! Even my dad's Acura had to go back twice for warranty work.
 
#11 ·
I honestly don't agree. Even though I'm not impressed by the Engine and Trans combo... it has other areas that impress.

It's funny how a few years ago they gave VW a bad reliability rating... now all of the sudden their 2.0t is one of the best rated engines and their cars are tops for resale value. I wonder who's paying who under the table for ratings? :eek:hno:
 
#12 ·
Though I agree that there is much good about the Acadia, if I had been asked to review the line based on the one we purchased, it would have made the worst list too.

First off, before I get flamed ... I love our Acadia ... for the most part. We came from an '03 Envoy SLT XL full load, so that is the bar we measured to and it's a high mark to hit.

These are the issues we encountered brand new...

1. Random stalling on right hand corners - dealer could not fix, it "fixed itself" - very dangerous merging into traffic from a parking lot :eek:hno:
2. Inconsistent transmission performance - got the Flash done, and now it hangs a bit in third gear, but shifting more consistently
3. Under powered for the weight of the vehicle. Not sure why GM went with a 3.6L sideways engine when the venerable 4.3L would have been a better choice.

After about 4 months...

4. a loud ticking sound could be heard from somewhere on the right side of the engine bay - serviced, no explanation, but it "went away"

One Year Later...

5. horrible leaks from both sunroofs - booked in for repair on the 20th of this month, we'll see how they do
6. still has a random dead spot in the throttle - usually on hills - I think the tranny takes too long to kick down
7. suspension has started to rattle a bit - and no, we don't take it off-road other than the odd dirt road to a camping spot - I have a built up Jeep for off-roading 8)

The Good ...

- Unbelievably capable in snow ... the best I have ever owned (as long as the snow is not 3 feet deep) - it does better on icy roads then my Jeep by a wide margin - the Jeep can obviously tackle deeper snow, but is scary on an icy road.
- Handles very well with very little body roll ... I like that on the freeway
- Well laid out and fairly ergonomic
- Looks great, feels great, and chicks dig it ;D
 
#13 ·
lornix said:
1. Random stalling on right hand corners - dealer could not fix, it "fixed itself" - very dangerous merging into traffic from a parking lot :eek:hno:
If that problem even SLIGHTLY rears its head again, beat the dealer senseless :angryfire: until they fix it. I lived with a few months of that many years ago in another vehicle and it's a major biggee. Inexcusable.

Sorry to hear you're having this problem (and - with apologies - glad I'm not living it again).
 
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