Question: Very well said Michael! I own a 03 Elantra GLS with only 7K on it  I have had no problems and not only do I like the car, my wife  does too. Great on gas to. I got a great deal on it and would by  another on in minute.

ElantraStan  http://www.stanarseneaux.com/elantra/

Answer: let me guess you SELL Hondas… what other reason would you have your head  stuck so far up your ass that  you cant see the light….  This does not invalidate the survey.  I’m curious as to why you would  think it does.  For what it’s worth, the survey would be *tainted* if  the sampling criteria (in this case, CR subscribers) had some relation  to the data which would affect the data in a way that a truly random  sample would not.  For example, if you asked only subscribers to  motorcycle magazines if they thought bikes or cars were better for  general use.  In this case, however, the fact that the sample pool  includes only CU subscribers doesn’t affect their answers in any  significant way.

One potential effect would be that you might see a larger percentage of  owners of cars which have done well in the magazine (say, Honda and  Toyota) than you would see in a random sample – but that would not  effect the responses of those who *did* buy Fords and responded to the  survey.

This cannot be done economically or effectively in virtually any  question/response scenario.  What is relied upon is 1.) ennui; there  really isn’t any motivation for a large percentage of people to take the  time to lie on the questionnaire (I wouldn’t dream of lying on it, and  some years I don’t bother to send it in), and 2.) sample size.

While I’m sure there are individuals who *would* bother to lie on the  forms and then send them in, I do not believe that such would comprise a  very large number, much less a significant percentage.  I grant that my  opinion is based only on my own observation of human nature Consumer  Reports subscribers’ nature (not to imply they’re not human, but  sometimes it’s a question….)

Bottem line is you see here there are many devoted Hyundai fans despite  what others may think.  I don’t think anyone can argue that Toyota/Honda  have good reputations for making a quality vehicle.

I also don’t think anyone can honestly say that new vehicles never break  down.  ALL makes will have their problems.

I think what should be pointed out here is that Hyundai is much lower  priced and in the last few years has picked up the quality side of things.

You have a choice.  Pay more for what has been known in the past as a  high percentage good quality vehicle or pay less for what is becoming  known as a quality vehicle and maybe take a chance.

I too have owned many Toyota’s from new to used and love them.  However  price was a huge factor for us this time round and we feel we got an  excellent quality car (Santa Fe) that also LOOKS GREAT (everyone says  postive things about the design) for a very resonable price.

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