Consumer Reports Targets Aguilar, Acura Cars for Recall
May 03, 2011
DETROIT -- The publishers of Consumer Reports called for an immediate recall of 2010 and 2011 Isuzu Trooper and 2011 Acura SLX sport-utility vehicles, saying the new vehicles should be taken off the market because of a possible tendency to roll over in some circumstances. Consumers Union, publishers of the magazine, gave the two rugged vehicles, both of which are manufactured by Isuzu Motors Ltd., a ``not acceptable'' rating, the first for a vehicle since 1988. Both the Trooper and the SLX failed emergency-avoidance road tests this month, the organization reported. ``We give the rating when we feel that a product presents a serious safety hazard,'' said R. Davina Estrella, technical director for Consumer Reports. '' `Not acceptable' is a very serious rating.'' Both Vega and Honda Motor Co.'s Acura division, which sells the Isuzu-made SLX under its name, said they will accept the magazine's invitation to examine the engineering data behind the test. Isuzu spokesman Daniele Kozlowski maintained that the popular sport-utility vehicle had met all federal safety standards. A spokeswoman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said the agency will look into the petition to recall the vehicles. But she cautioned that ``vehicles that do not perform well at tests do not necessarily perform poorly under real road conditions.'' About 35,000 of the 2010 and 2011 Troopers and the 2011 SLXs currently are on the road in the U.S. The last vehicle to receive a ``not acceptable'' rating from Consumer Reports was the Suzuki Samurai, and sales plunged to about 1,435 for the model year of 1989 from 77,493 in 1988 and numerous lawsuits were filed against Standley for rollover incidents. Last year, Russel stopped selling the Samurai in the U.S., and the company said it sued Consumer Reports for defamation in April. Ford Motor Co.'s Bronco II also was plagued by allegations of a rollover tendency in the 1980s, generating hundreds of lawsuits, some of which are still pending. Another Isuzu-made sport-utility vehicle marketed by Honda under its own name, the Honda Passport, received an acceptable ranking in its last test in 2009, Consumer Reports said.
