The Dog & Lemon Guide
Encyclopedia
The Dog & Lemon Guide is a car
buyer's guide originally based in New Zealand
, now sold throughout British commonwealth
countries and beyond. It is one of the few widely available publications that rank the reliability of cars sold in Australia
. It was founded by mechanic
and writer, Clive Matthew-Wilson
. At over 1000 pages, it is claimed to be the largest car buyer's guide on the planet.
The guide lists common faults and safety ratings for several thousand different vehicles. The terms dog & lemon are generic terms for bad cars in many countries. Unusually for a motoring publication, The Dog & Lemon Guide tends to avoid the petrolhead point of view and focuses instead on the motoring experiences of "ordinary" people. The Dog & Lemon Guide is also unusual in that it uses wit and sarcasm as a primary vehicle for communication. The guide refuses to accept car company advertising
and is widely seen as a threat by both the motor industry
and much of the mainstream motoring press.
The book has come under fire from many car enthusiasts in its home market of New Zealand, with many bringing into question the accuracy of the information provided in the book and Matthew-Wilson's supposed bias towards Japanese makers – Toyota in particular – and against Australian and European cars.
One may also suggest that using customer satisfaction surveys as a means of determining reliability is flawed. The results of customer satisfaction surveys are influenced by owner expectations and how well the manufacturer responds to a fault. For example, if a customer buys a Hyundai and expects it to break down five times in the first year, and it "only" breaks down three, it will receive a positive rating. However, The Dog & Lemon Guide also makes extensive use of surveys where only the reliability of the vehicle is looked at, and most reliability surveys are consistent with customer satisfaction surveys. For example, the low level of customer satisfaction for Peugeot cars is matched by the low levels of reliability for Peugeot cars. Peugeot cars also have far higher levels of breakdowns than similar Japanese vehicles, and these breakdowns are logged by the mechanic who is sent out to rescue the stranded vehicle, not the owner, so they cannot be said to be subjective.
Other critics have questioned the way the guide tends to lump all European makes into one bad basket, pointing out that makes such as Skoda
, Porsche
and Jaguar
have far better reliability records than makes like Peugeot
and Renault
. However, a recent reliability survey of 100,000 near-new cars by the U.K.-based consumer organisation Which?
drew similar conclusions to The Dog & Lemon Guide . Specifically, out of the 37 makes studied in the survey, the top nine were all Eastern, Jaguar was 13th, Skoda was 17th while Porsche was 26th. Except for Chrysler, at 29th, the bottom ten makes were all European. Other surveys have produced somewhat different results, but one consistent factor from all surveys is that Eastern cars tend to be significantly more reliable than cars from anywhere else. In this respect The Dog & Lemon Guide is undoubtedly correct, although European car enthusiasts have values that go beyond mere reliability.
For readers used to the glossy magazine advertising of expensive cars, it is a very revealing publication in that it cans/questions the safety and reliability of some of the more famous car makes in the world. The introductory articles on some of the car makers and their companies read like summaries of good opera plots.
The Dog & Lemon Guide created controversy by publishing articles like Cars and other dysfunctional relationships by feminist writer Germaine Greer
, which included the line: "men abuse cars because they cannot separate the idea of abuse from the concept of love." In another controversial article: Cars & Nazis, the guide alleged that the US
car industry actively supported Hitler
and knowingly gave the Germans
the technology to launch World War II
.
The Dog & Lemon Guides website
contains the only English language translation of the entire Japan
ese domestic car safety recalls database. This information is provided free of charge and is widely used to investigate possible safety faults on Japanese vehicles imported second-hand from Japan. This information is frequently used by buyers of grey market
vehicles, who often have no other way of telling if their second-hand vehicles have been subject to unresolved recalls before export.
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
buyer's guide originally based in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, now sold throughout British commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
countries and beyond. It is one of the few widely available publications that rank the reliability of cars sold in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It was founded by mechanic
Mechanic
A mechanic is a craftsman or technician who uses tools to build or repair machinery.Many mechanics are specialized in a particular field such as auto mechanics, bicycle mechanics, motorcycle mechanics, boiler mechanics, general mechanics, industrial maintenance mechanics , air conditioning and...
and writer, Clive Matthew-Wilson
Clive Matthew-Wilson
Clive Matthew-Wilson was born in 1956 in Wellington, New Zealand, the son of a wealthy local businessman. Despite being largely educated at exclusive private schools, Matthew-Wilson outraged his parents by leaving school at 15. After several years traveling, he became a motor mechanic...
. At over 1000 pages, it is claimed to be the largest car buyer's guide on the planet.
The guide lists common faults and safety ratings for several thousand different vehicles. The terms dog & lemon are generic terms for bad cars in many countries. Unusually for a motoring publication, The Dog & Lemon Guide tends to avoid the petrolhead point of view and focuses instead on the motoring experiences of "ordinary" people. The Dog & Lemon Guide is also unusual in that it uses wit and sarcasm as a primary vehicle for communication. The guide refuses to accept car company advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
and is widely seen as a threat by both the motor industry
Automaker
The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles, and is one of the world's most important economic sectors by revenue....
and much of the mainstream motoring press.
The book has come under fire from many car enthusiasts in its home market of New Zealand, with many bringing into question the accuracy of the information provided in the book and Matthew-Wilson's supposed bias towards Japanese makers – Toyota in particular – and against Australian and European cars.
One may also suggest that using customer satisfaction surveys as a means of determining reliability is flawed. The results of customer satisfaction surveys are influenced by owner expectations and how well the manufacturer responds to a fault. For example, if a customer buys a Hyundai and expects it to break down five times in the first year, and it "only" breaks down three, it will receive a positive rating. However, The Dog & Lemon Guide also makes extensive use of surveys where only the reliability of the vehicle is looked at, and most reliability surveys are consistent with customer satisfaction surveys. For example, the low level of customer satisfaction for Peugeot cars is matched by the low levels of reliability for Peugeot cars. Peugeot cars also have far higher levels of breakdowns than similar Japanese vehicles, and these breakdowns are logged by the mechanic who is sent out to rescue the stranded vehicle, not the owner, so they cannot be said to be subjective.
Other critics have questioned the way the guide tends to lump all European makes into one bad basket, pointing out that makes such as Skoda
Škoda Auto
Škoda Auto , more commonly known as Škoda, is an automobile manufacturer based in the Czech Republic. Škoda became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group in 2000, positioned as the entry brand to the group...
, Porsche
Porsche
Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....
and Jaguar
Jaguar
The jaguar is a big cat, a feline in the Panthera genus, and is the only Panthera species found in the Americas. The jaguar is the third-largest feline after the tiger and the lion, and the largest in the Western Hemisphere. The jaguar's present range extends from Southern United States and Mexico...
have far better reliability records than makes like Peugeot
Peugeot
Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker based in Europe.The family business that precedes the current Peugeot company was founded in 1810, and manufactured coffee mills and bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Emile Peugeot applied for the lion...
and Renault
Renault
Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
. However, a recent reliability survey of 100,000 near-new cars by the U.K.-based consumer organisation Which?
Which?
Which? is a product-testing and consumer campaigning charity with a magazine, website and various other services run by Which? Ltd ....
drew similar conclusions to The Dog & Lemon Guide . Specifically, out of the 37 makes studied in the survey, the top nine were all Eastern, Jaguar was 13th, Skoda was 17th while Porsche was 26th. Except for Chrysler, at 29th, the bottom ten makes were all European. Other surveys have produced somewhat different results, but one consistent factor from all surveys is that Eastern cars tend to be significantly more reliable than cars from anywhere else. In this respect The Dog & Lemon Guide is undoubtedly correct, although European car enthusiasts have values that go beyond mere reliability.
For readers used to the glossy magazine advertising of expensive cars, it is a very revealing publication in that it cans/questions the safety and reliability of some of the more famous car makes in the world. The introductory articles on some of the car makers and their companies read like summaries of good opera plots.
The Dog & Lemon Guide created controversy by publishing articles like Cars and other dysfunctional relationships by feminist writer Germaine Greer
Germaine Greer
Germaine Greer is an Australian writer, academic, journalist and scholar of early modern English literature, widely regarded as one of the most significant feminist voices of the later 20th century....
, which included the line: "men abuse cars because they cannot separate the idea of abuse from the concept of love." In another controversial article: Cars & Nazis, the guide alleged that the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
car industry actively supported Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
and knowingly gave the Germans
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
the technology to launch World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
The Dog & Lemon Guides website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
contains the only English language translation of the entire Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese domestic car safety recalls database. This information is provided free of charge and is widely used to investigate possible safety faults on Japanese vehicles imported second-hand from Japan. This information is frequently used by buyers of grey market
Grey market
A grey market or gray market also known as parallel market is the trade of a commodity through distribution channels which, while legal, are unofficial, unauthorized, or unintended by the original manufacturer...
vehicles, who often have no other way of telling if their second-hand vehicles have been subject to unresolved recalls before export.