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CNN Live Saturday

Interview with Warren Brown

Aired March 16, 2002 - 22:39   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: With all the factors to consider, finding that perfect car can certainly be an uphill climb. So let's turn to an expert now.

From Washington, we're joined tonight by "Washington Post" columnist Warren Brown. Mr. Brown, thank you for being with us.

WARREN BROWN, "WASHINGTON POST": Thank you for having me.

CALLAWAY: I just went through trying to buy a new car. And I have to say it was a nightmare. There's a lot of information out there, but it's difficult to try to decipher which reports are unbiased. And you know, they're so many -- so much information out there, it's hard to decide which is the best information.

What is your -- the first advice that you have to someone who's --

BROWN: Well, Catherine, first of all, let me just (UNINTELLIGIBLE) of something. There is no such thing as an unbiased report. For example, you look at "Consumer Reports", it calls itself unbiased. And certainly to its readers, it is. But it does tend to lean very heavily in favor of Japanese cars and those kinds of models.

CALLAWAY: Right.

BROWN: Primarily because that's where its readers tend to lean. Then you look at something from say "Car and Driver" or "Road and Track" or "Motortrend," and you'll get a completely different picture. My favorite is the AAA car guide, primarily because it seems to come from a wider base of buyers, a wider base of experience, but there actually we have certain elements of bias.

The best thing to do, if you can, is to read as many of them as you possibly can, and also to check various Web sites to see what's there. One of my favorites is Edmunds.com. It tends to give a fairly dry, you know, presentation of what's available. There's also KBB.com and various and sundry others. So you just have to do your research and then go with your gut.

CALLAWAY: Yeah, and drive a lot of cars, which is what I do.

BROWN: And drive a lot of cars.

CALLAWAY: And drive a lot of cars.

BROWN: Yeah.

CALLAWAY: Let's go through some of the picks that "Consumer Reports" has out now on the best new cars and trucks. And I want to show everyone what "Consumer Reports" picked and what you picked, which is -- gives a good example of how different people's opinions can be.

Now "Consumer Reports" likes the BMW 300i as the best car tested. And you don't really disagree with that, do you? But...

BROWN: No, I don't really disagree with that, but if you notice the price range, that's about what, $40 to $46,000.

CALLAWAY: $46,000, yeah.

BROWN: OK, but now, if you would ask "Consumer Reports", what do you take over $50,000, and you don't get anything.

CALLAWAY: But you liked the Lexus just as much as the...

BROWN: Yeah, yeah.

CALLAWAY: OK, now let's go to the family car. And most people are there have families and looking for a good car. "Consumer Reports" like the Volkswagen Passat. Do you like the Passat?

BROWN: I like the Passat. I don't like the Passat's repair history, nor do I like Volkswagen's service history. In that one, and I don't quite understand how ""Consumer Reports"" missed this one, I certainly would've chosen the 2002 Nissan Altima, which is an excellent car. Nissan also has a very good service history. We don't have to wait terribly long when we get the car repaired. And it doesn't cost as much as a Volkswagen. Even though, as I said, the Passat is an excellent car. It's a great driver's car.

CALLAWAY: So why do you think "Consumer Reports" picked the Passat?

BROWN: Well, primarily because "Consumer Reports" deals with its reader base. And I call its reader base to be aggressively utilitarian. I'm sort of surprised that they even went to the Passat, because it has a little more sex appeal than "Consumer Reports" normally goes for. But you know, each of these magazines deal with their readers. And they tend to give their readers what they want and tend to respond to their readers.

And I don't blame "Consumer Reports" for doing that. We do it "The Washington Post." "Motortrend" does it. "Triple AAA" magazine does it. "Car and Driver," you know, "Road and Track," they all do it. They just have different readers.

CALLAWAY: Let's take a look at the small SUV that the "Consumer Reports" likes. And that was a Toyota. And you liked the Hyundai Santa Fe, is that right? BROWN: Yeah, "Consumer Reports" did not pick the Hyundai Santa Fe because they said, well, it's low on the reliability index. But you have to ask yourself what goes into the reliability index? It could be anything from scratched paint, which doesn't speak to the driveability of the car, to carpet coming up or a squeak or a rattle.

I picked up the Hyundai Santa Fe primarily because, first of all, it's less expensive than the Rav4. It has a pretty good crash safety record, based on the tests we have so far. And it's prettier. And I like it better.

CALLAWAY: Now when you pick your cars that you recommend to everyone, do you look at safety tests at all?

BROWN: I look at safety tests. I look at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tests, the frontal crash test done by the National Highway Safety Administration, as well as the 34-mile/17-mile per hour, you know, side impact, you know, barrier test. And I also check the -- its www.nitza.dot.gov. And you go their -- the service bulletin list to see the problems that don't normally crop up in the headlines to see what happens there as well.

CALLAWAY: I'm going to do one more before we go, because I know a lot of people out there like the big SUVs. And this is interesting to me what you picked and what "Consumer Reports". "Consumer Reports" picked the Toyota Highlander. You picked -- you've got several here you like. The Trailblazer, the Ford Explorer, even.

BROWN: Well, first of all, the Highlander and its practical identical twin, the Aura X-300 is the Highlander with a tuxedo, are not really SUVs. They are car wagon hybrids, made to look at SUVs. They have some -- they have all-wheel drive capability, different from four-wheel drive capability. The people who are buying the Trailblazer are buying a real SUV because that's what they want, versus the people who buy the, you know, the RX-300 or Toyota Highlander, who basically want a vehicle that has some of the attributes of an SUV, but none of what they consider to be the demerits of an SUV.

And so, in that regard, I would have easily have picked the Trailblazer, the Nissan Xterra. And then if you're going to go a little bit upscale with the all-wheel drive segment, the BMW X-5.

CALLAWAY: Now I was going to say -- reiterate something you said that I found very helpful is going on the Internet and reading what other drivers of the cars have said about...

BROWN: Exactly.

CALLAWAY: That is a tremendous amount of help. All right, thank you for being with us.

BROWN: Thank you.

CALLAWAY: "Washington Post" columnist Warren Brown, especially on Saturday night. One question, what do you drive? BROWN: I drive a Chevrolet S-10. I tend to buy Chevrolets, which "Consumer Reports" doesn't particularly care about, but I buy Chevrolets basically because they work, they're simple, and I can afford them.

CALLAWAY: All right. Thank you Mr. Brown for being with us.

BROWN: Bye-bye.

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