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Don't Believe Everything That You Read
Or: Why Auto Journalists Always Have Good Things to Say
I am not a crusader against auto journalism but people should know what goes around, so that they can be critical of what is written, rather than take every word as the absolute truth.
There's no point beating around the bush, so I'll just come out and say it. A lot of supposedly objective auto journslists all over the world are actually writing what the importers or manufacturers want them to. In all but few of the cases there's no money involved. The reporters are just looking to please the people who send them on trips abroad and let them ride great cars. Think about it: How many bad reviews do you see? Very few I'd wager. Another common situation is created when the owner of the car company also owns the paper. A reporter who works for a paper owned by FIAT boss Gianni Agnelli cannot write anything even remotely critical about the new Brava.
So how do you know what to believe? There are a lot of reliable resources. Professional car magazines (as opposed to car sections on daily papers) are usually very independent. They've earned a lot of respect and are free to come down hard on a vehicle when they need to. Another good resource is what you will find on websites (granted I am selling my own merchandise here) because the internet is by nature more free than any other form of publication.
And most importantly , you should know that no source is one hundred precent reliable. Just read with an open critical mind. The only source you should rely on completely is your own experience.Therefore, take your potential car for a ride! Ask friends who own it. As any good intelligence officer knows, only by crossing information from as many sources as possible will you find out what the real situation is.
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