It seems that back in 1988 CR gave the Suzuki Samurai an unacceptable
rating after finding it had a tendancy to tip over while turning, a
quality I would find alarming in a motor vehicle.


The Samurai tipped over on a test course where the following stunt was
performed.

The driver floored the accelerator, and then began turning the wheel rapidly
back and forth. After a number of "swings" the Samurai became dangerously
tippy.
Suzuki's perspective was that the test did not duplicate any normal driving
situtation.
How many people keep the pedal to the metal when swerving around an obstacle?
How many people encounter situations where they must repeatedly swerve around
obstacle after obstacle without slowing down?

You've got to watch Consumer Reports.
About the same time this Suzuki test came out, they rated the Chevrolet Nova as
a clearly inferior choice to a Toyota Corolla. One small problem- at this time
both vehicles were built in California at a plant that was a joint enterprise
between GM and Toyota. The cars literally came down the same assembly line.
Differences were the valve covers, and the plastic trim piece that spelled out
either Toyota or Chevrolet. There was *nothing* else different between the two
cars.

When questioned about the disparity in the ratings, CU said, "The Nova doesn't
have as good a track record as the Toyota."
And that was more important than recognizing that the products had merged to
become virtually indentical. :-(