"Yeah, you know, on the whole it's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it," he said.
The track is spread out across 327 acres; one mile is dedicated to testing how quickly the cars can go and how quickly they can stop, among many other things.
David and his team, including Rick Small, the fuel man and Gene Peterson, who is tire program director, spend months putting dozens of cars through tons of tests, more than 50 in all that measure almost every aspect of performance, safety, and comfort. For a car to be a Top Pick in Consumer Reports, it has to have done extremely well in the testing. If it has been crash-tested by the government or the insurance industry, it has to have done well there, too. It has to have electronic stability control, either standard or easily available. And it has to have average or better reliability, based on findings from Consumer Reports' survey covering more than 1.4 million cars.
Consumer Reports' 2010 top small sedan is the Hyundai Elantra S-E, price tag $18,695.
Their top family sedan is the Nissan Altima which sells for $23,970.
"Whether you get the 4 cylinder of the V6, you can get really good fuel economy, good performance, a nice amount of interior room, the fit and finish is really nice. Just an overall really good buy for a family," said David.
The top sport sedan goes to Infiniti's G37 which sells for $37,225, which testers found can take corner's comfortably.
A new category this year is the top family hauler and the Mazda 5, at a price of $23,805, wins it.
"Its really almost like a mini minivan. It's got 3 rows of seats but it's very easy to drive."
Top honors for pickup of the year go to the Chevy Silverado.
And the best green pick is once again, Toyota's Prius. Toyota has recalled 133,000 Priuses in the 2010 model year to update the software in the antilock brake system. The software has been updated on Priuses that are now for sale.
Consumer Reports' top small SUV title goes to the Subaru Forester.
The best family SUV is the Chevy Traverse which goes for $39,920.
"It's got three rows of seats, it's very comfortable, and it's relatively large in size, so even with the third row up, there's a good amount of storage space in the back."
The best overall car is the Lexus LS 460L. At more the $76,000, you get what you pay for.
And finally, the so called fun-to-drive pick is the Volkswagen GTI, $27,504, which also happens to be David's personal choice.
"It's got great steering, really good handling, and wonderful grip. And it's actually got 4 doors, so it seats 5. And with hatchback versatility it just does everything well."
Click here for the complete list of Consumer Reports' 2010 Top Picks
Consumer Reports also rates which cars offer the best values. To find the best value, Consumer Reports identifies cars that give you the best performance, the best fuel economy, and the best reliability for the price. This year the $16,000 Honda Fit tied with the Toyota Prius as Consumer Reports' best value car.
RATING THE AUTOMAKERS
With the upheaval in the car industry, which carmakers are the best? Consumer Reports is just out with its Annual Auto Issue, which names Honda and Subaru as the top carmakers. Consumer Reports' ratings of carmakers are calculated from extensive testing at its Auto Center and on reliability, which is based on subscribers' experiences with more than 1.4 million cars and trucks.
Honda's record of reliability, as well as its high scores at the test track, is why Consumer Reports again rates it as one of the top carmakers. But Honda's fuel economy isn't keeping up with the competition. And the director of auto testing, David Champion, says that there's another concern. In tests of some of the redesigned Honda models, performance isn't as good as the old model that they replaced.
This year Subaru tied with Honda with an overall score of 77 out of 100. That was helped by the redesigned Legacy and Outback, which performed very well in Consumer Reports' tests.
Hyundai, which also makes Kias, earned a score of 73, an improvement over last year. "Hyundai and Kia have come a long way recently. Their redesigned models have been excellent in the testing. Their reliability has been very good. And they also offer a long warranty," Champion says.
As for American cars, Ford inched up to a 64—the only American automaker to improve over last year. General Motors, with a score of 57, is still second from the bottom. "GM's recently redesigned models have been excellent in the testing, but their reliability needs to improve," according to Champion.
Chrysler, with a score of 46, is in last place. Consumer Reports is only recommending its Dodge Ram pickup this year.
As for Toyota, it ranks number three in Consumer Reports' rating of carmakers. Lately Toyota has been plagued by recalls. Click here for the latest recall information.
