0-50 years: five decades of consumer reports' annual auto issue. (Introduction).

In 1953, the automobile was a far less sophisticated machine than it is today. But one thing has remained the same throughout the past 50 years. As CONSUMER REPORTS' editors observed in the May 1953 issue: "There is no denying the overriding importance of the automobile in tins country's life, nor the steady interest, sometimes verging on idolatry, with which millions of American consumers regard their own or their neighbor's or the automobile dealer's models."

CR began testing and reviewing cars in 1936, the first year that the magazine was published and more than a decade before any of the major automotive magazines were founded. As cars became such a defining aspect of our lives, CR made the unprecedented decision to devote the entire May '53 magazine to the subject. That began the tradition of CR's Annual Auto Issue, which remains, by far, our highest-read issue each year.

Since 1953, vehicles have undergone a dramatic evolution in performance, comfort, safety, fuel efficiency, and emissions control. As cars have changed, CR has kept pace. Our auto-test staff has developed ever more sophisticated test methods, initiated new types of tests to meet the challenges of new technology and higher performance capabilities, and broadened their evaluations beyond performance and safety to include comfort, ergonomics, noise, fit and finish, and other factors affecting our everyday interaction with our vehicles.

CONSUMER REPORTS has always been a source of in-depth, real-world information. Today, CR still holds a unique place among the myriad sources that offer ...