Automobile ratings
There are around 60 brands of automobiles worldwide from which a customer can choose. Differences in the pricing, features, designs and specifications for each brand could be subtle, almost invisible. Likewise, the individual preferences and objectives of buying a car could vary from customer to customer. If I have to buy a car I would prioritise safety, fuel economy, cargo space and price, in that order, while yet another consumer might rank price, safety, comfort and economy in his decision to buy. When a consumer assigns highest importance to price, it does not mean that he is unmindful of safety features. No consumer would compromise on safety ranking. But he would like to be satisfied that the basic safety features stipulated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ( NHTSA) are satisfied, while trade off between a common frontal airbag acting in a single stage and a state of the art dual stage air bag, could be achieved based on his affordability.
To a consumer who habitually drives long hours, mostly on express high ways, at high speeds, within the safety features he would emphasize on traction system in braking. Again within traction systems, he would like to choose between a normal Antilock Braking System (ABS) which cannot prevent sideways slide when brakes are operated at high speeds, and a more sophisticated combination of Anti Lock Braking System and power train control which diffuses pressure on all wheels equally so that an automobile does not veer around to any one direction while braking.
A good automobile rating system should emphasize these subtleties and help the consumer make an informed decision from the point of view of his objective. The rating should not only benefit a consumer but create benchmarks for automobile manufacturers to conform. Sounds simple enough! But an actual automobile rating could be elaborate, time consuming and involving thousands of customers and millions of Dollars.
Essential features of a good rating system:
An automobile rating system should be credible and unbiased.
It should be independent.
It should not be commissioned or funded by a manufacturer. Nor should it include the opinions of the company conducting the study or that of its employees. Rather it should be solely based on the opinions, behavior and experience of the automobile users.
The automobile companies should not influence the study in any way, but may use the results of the study to improve its processes and products. The representative sample should be as large as possible, spread across a wide spectrum of consumers so that cross model, year to year, feature to feature comparisons become meaningful.
Aspects of rating
The following factors are rated by rating agencies.
Rating for safety
The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ( NHTSA) provides a five star standard for measuring safety, based on the following criteria:
1) Frontal impact ( Drivers &; passengers): Ratings as per NHTSA norms are awarded to individual automobile makes. In this test, a typical adult sized dummy is fastened to the seat belt on the driver?s seat. The vehicle is crashed into a deformable barrier at a speed of 35 miles per hour. The force impacted on the dummy?s head, chest, legs, feet and neck are measured with an instrument and graded. Higher rating means higher safety. A rating of 3 stars or less could represent serious injuries to head or whiphlash injuries to the neck, which could be life threatening. Comparison among similarly weighing vehicles yield more reliable results.
Typical adult sized dummies are placed at the front seat and rear seat. The vehicle is kept stationery while a heavy barrier weighing 3000 pounds at a speed of 38 miles per hour, as per NHTSA norms, collides with the vehicle. Star ratings are awarded based on the force impacting on the dummies. Here, comparison between dissimilarly weighing vehicles is possible because the moving barrier weighs the same.
3) Rollover rating (two wheelers and 4 wheelers): Here vehicles are made to maneuver at given speed and their tendency to tip over is measured. Rollover ratings were made mandatory only from the year 2004 which should be borne in mind while comparing between vehicles before this period.
Rating for Specifications
Automobile rating on functional specifications can be elaborate. There are no states or federal standards. Free market practices and free flow of research based information provide the best standards and benchmarks for the consumer to choose from. High horse power with high torque yields superior performance. Torque represents rotations per minute at a given Kw of power consumption. Automobiles are rated for multi link front suspension or strut suspension with or without coil springs. It is also rated for the efficacy of braking systems. Cargo capacity, seating capacity, fuel type (premium leaded and leaded), fuel tank capacity, weight, payload, external and internal dimensions is the other criteria on which automobile ranking is done.
Rating for additional Features:
An automobile rating can is done for other features as well.
Air conditioning: Front and rear, front only, air conditioning with climate control, and air conditioning without climate control.
Cup holders: Front and rear, rear only; fixed and pop out models.
Audio systems: Manufacturers own audio system or outsourced audios. In many systems we get CD changers with or without remote.
No. of power outlets in the front and rear.
Memory functions relating to adjustments of steering wheels, seats and mirrors.
Readinglights, cargo area lights, fog lights, parking lights,
Anti theft protection.
Rating for Warranties:
Presently the automobile companies provide three types of warranties, viz., full vehicle warranty, power train warranty and anti corrosion warranty. While full vehicle warranty is a universal, power train warranties are offered by select automobile makers. Power train refers to the electrical and chemical system that generate and supply power for propulsion. Anticorrosion warranty of the chassis and interiors could offer sizeable value for money, at seaside locales.
Rating for Price:
The Manufacturer?s suggested retail price (MSRP), the individual dealer?s invoice price and rebate offered. Automobile ratings based on first 90 days user experience. There are several rating companies which derive ratings based on individual customer feedback, after the first 90 days of owning a new vehicle. The specific problems encountered by the owners involving design are analyzed. Some of the controls could be remotely located, or unintelligible to use. The variances from expectations are also analyzed.
Besides, manufacturing defects which have resulted in serious break down and malfunctioning of major parts are also analyzed and rated. The mileage per gallon ( mpg) in actual road conditions are measured on road conditions and compared with the advertised data to arrive at a realistic rating. Tire tread life, traction and resistance to temperatures are gauged under actual road conditions.
Tools of rating
Several automobile rating companies install online tools on their websites. With these tools, they can rate the automobiles on a typical scale of say 1 to 5. The intending buyer by indicating the brand and year of make from say, a drop down menu, can find results on several features. Any popular search engine will yield results on rating companies. Most of these rating agencies provide results on the following aspects:
Price
Predicted reliability
Owner satisfaction
Predicted maintenance cost
Accident avoidance
Cash protection with or without side bags
Fuel economy
Acceleration
Ride
Comfort
Cargo space
Passenger space
It is now possible for a consumer to take well researched decisions based on these advanced rating systems.
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