Suzuki Claims Consumer Reports Rigged Test of Samurai SUV
Consumer Reports (CR) magazine, respected for its unbiased clinical reports on consumer items including vehicles, will finally be taken to trial by American Suzuki Motors Corp for libel, in a battle that has dragged on for well over a decade.
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| In a battle that has dragged on for well over a decade, Suzuki will finally take Consumer Reports to court over their critical report of the Samurai. (Photo: truckworld.com) |
After a critical report that Suzuki's Samurai sport utility "easily rolls over in turns," the Japanese automaker made claims that CR set up the vehicle to fail roll over tests. Suzuki continues to accuse CR that the publication chose to discredit their SUV for publicity purposes, with an end to increase membership revenue.
The automaker claims that CR set up a slalom course more difficult to negotiate than the vehicle's rival SUVs, and then tested it on its own. Suzuki goes further to state a belief that the competitive vehicles were not tested on the same circuit, but one that was easier to maneuver around.
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| The Samurai, which was introduced in 1985, sold well over its first three years but never recovered after the Consumer Reports article. (Photo: zukiworld.com) |
CR claims that only one slalom course was used for all four SUVs tested in this instance, and that each ran at exactly the same speed multiple times. The magazine initially reported that its tests resulted in the Samurai tipping "up briefly and severely." According to CR the rival SUVs did not display any severe stability problems.
It's important to note that this type of lawsuit has happened before. Popular prime time TV news show 60 Minutes was found guilty of rigging an Audi 5000's accelerator pedal to portray "unintended acceleration," a ploy that cost the German automaker severely. Rival TV news series 20/20 faced similar scrutiny with its GM pickup truck gas tank explosion fiasco. CR's record is thus far untarnished.