David Champion, the public face of Consumer Reportsautomotive testing, is returning to Nissan. The carmaker has hired CR's former auto test center senior director and given him a newly created job: Executive Advisor, Competitive Assessment and Quality. Champion worked for Nissan from 1994-1997 as a quality assurance engineer, before moving into the world of publishing.Consumer Reports is the 800-pound-gorilla of automotive testing: Exalted by the mainstream, feared by automakers, and often reviled by enthusiasts. While that's unlikely to change after Champion's departure – after all, the institute's reputation goes largely unchallenged due to a dearth of legitimate competition – we do wonder how Nissan will respond to having a former outsider in its midst. At least we imagine Champion is being cast in the role of provocateurwhen he heads to Nissan's Arizona Testing Center.
While Nissan is clearly doing a pretty good job with product right now – given both its growing sales and our esteem for a number of its recent models, from GT-R to the Juke and Altima– insularity and myopia always seem to be lurking in the next product development cycle. These terrible twin traits have historically proven to afflict even the most esteemed automakers, often when they seem most impervious. A plum gig for Champion this may be, but he will no doubt have his work cut out for him.
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