David Champion Quotations

I don't think people get the full perspective of how in-depth we go into cars from the small amount of press that we get. We try to allay some of the fears that people have. Our No. 1 customer is the consumer. We try to get them the best information we can get so they can make the best decision on what they're buying.

I don't think parents really realize the potential danger of power windows.

If the car skids out of control it brings the car back into line.

Just one in ten of the vehicles we tested achieved fuel economies as good as or better than EPA estimates.

I think it's desperately time for a change.

It goes as far on a gallon of french-fry oil as it does on a gallon of diesel. But, of course, the french-fry oil is a lot cheaper.

I think they've lost their competitive edge in terms of reliability. In the past we would put them maybe not quite as good as Toyota and Honda, but pretty close.

I think they've lost their competitive edge in terms of reliability.

It all depends on how you drive the vehicle. We run them the way people really drive in the city.

You don't really need to forego practicality to have sports car performance.

When cars are launched, we see the first year of a redesigned model as less reliable than later years. First-year blues, we call it.

The progress that some of the manufacturers have been making seems to have stalled.

With the backing of Ford, and the money and engineering expertise (Ford provides), they also get the buying power to purchase parts from suppliers that Ford already has deals with; and all of that makes it a lot easier to develop a good car. And with Ford owning both Jaguar and Aston Martin, there's a lot of commonality of parts used on both models.

You can make probably 50 percent difference in your gas mileage just by how you drive.

The redesigned Honda Civic is a major improvement over the previous generation. The 2006 Civic is refined and economical, with fairly nimble handling and relatively comfortable ride.

Current EPA figures are definitely misleading and ultimately expensive for consumers.

Safety is our primary theme. Basically, cars are getting much, much better. At one time, one or two cars stood out in the pack. Now we're seeing in most categories that there are three or four different cars you could choose from.

This is a normal diesel engine in this Jetta. What we've done is in the rear of the vehicle we've put a separate fuel tank that holds the french fry oil. That is transported to the front through these heated lines that use the actual engine heat to heat it. It comes through the filter which is also heated into the valve.

It's a bit of a wakeup call for Nissan. I'm sure they are working extremely hard to improve these vehicles. They really need to put all those problems to bed.

It's a bit of a wake-up call for Nissan. I'm sure they are working extremely hard to improve these vehicles. They really need to put all those problems to bed.

It's an unrealistic sales and marketing tool that they are actually using. They are saying you're going to get 35 miles per gallon and you're really only going to get 21.

Domestic vehicles have made substantial advances, Ford is doing better than GM and Chrysler, but new model launches are not as good. We are seeing many more electronic features, and that's the biggest trouble area readers tell us about.

The automobile has probably got the worst environment for electronics. They're very dry, very dusty; or very hot and humid; or very cold and wet.

It's better than nothing, but not by much.

Once GM gets to average reliability on our scores, they seem to take the emphasis off continual improvement. We see other manufacturers that are mortified by an average score. It's a different mind-set.

The E.P.A. test was developed in the 1970's and is not reflective of the way cars are driven today.

The electrical and electronic features tend to be problematic, so they could be causing a leveling off of reliability even though the rest of the car is getting more reliable.

All the big electronics companies are based in Japan. So when you start putting a lot of electronics and electrical systems in, I think they probably have the best infrastructure to make the sub-assemblies.

And as we back up, it actually shows you where you're going to go.

The Japanese seem to have great attention to detail. Everything is well thought out. Their cars are extremely reliable, but also, really quite simple in in terms of the engineering that's gone into them.

The Japanese manufacturers have great attention to detail, they make cars people want to buy. Their cars have great reliability.