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Help/FAQs
Questions? Check out our FAQs below. We continually review our user inquiries and use them to update these FAQs when necessary.
If you don't see the answer you're looking for feel free to Contact Us. Send us your question and we'll get back to you as quickly as possible.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Is Total Car Score (TCS) affiliated with the Expert Resources it utilizes when scoring a vehicle?
How is the Total Car Score (TCS) created?
How do you turn different rating systems from different Expert Resources into a single Total Car Score (TCS)?
Which 3rd party Expert Resources are used to calculate a vehicle’s Total Car Score (TCS)?
Why did you pick the Expert Resources you picked?
Does a vehicle's Total Car Score (TCS) ever change?
How did you determine the Total Car Score (TCS) Vehicle Segments?
What is the Total Car Score (TCS) segment average?
Do you have an equivalent Total Car Score system for Motorcycles?
How does the Fuel Economy Factor influence the Total Car Score?
What are the benefits of registering with Total Car Score?
What are the links in the Additional Resources section on every model page?
This is a great idea, how come nobody thought of Total Car Score before you?
Is Total Car Score (TCS) affiliated with the Expert Resources it utilizes when scoring a vehicle?
The “Total Car Score” or “TCS” for each car make and model is derived from our proprietary process, which is used to analyze, normalize and average car scores reported by third party Expert Resources (the “Expert Resources”). Total Car Score, LLC is not affiliated with, associated, authorized, or endorsed by, or in any way officially connected to any of the Expert Resources, nor does Total Car Score endorse any of the Expert Resources, or its affiliates. All company names, products and services associated with an Expert Resource are trademarks and property of the respective Expert Resource. Each “TCS Converted Score” is derived from our analysis of the car scores published by the respective Expert Resource and do not necessarily represent the actual car score published by such Expert Resource.
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How is the Total Car Score (TCS) created?
A vehicle's Total Car Score is derived from 3rd party quantitative ratings. There are currently nine sources utilized for these 3rd party ratings. There is also a 10th factor, derived from a vehicle's fuel economy rating, that influences a vehicle's Total Car Score.
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How do you turn different rating systems from different Expert Resources into a single Total Car Score (TCS)?
Although each of these nine sources uses a unique ratings system (i.e. numbers vs. bubbles vs. stars, etc.), we convert those systems into a simple percentage score with equal weighting for each of the nine sources. For more details on how the Total Car Score is derived, see What is TotalCarScore.com.
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Which 3rd party Expert Resources are used to calculate a vehicle’s Total Car Score (TCS)?
The following are the sources Total Car Score considers to be the best authoritative vehicle ratings available. They are:
- Consumer Guide
- Edmunds.com
- MSN Autos
- US News/World Report
- The Car Connection
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
- Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)
Additionally, Total Car Score may also consider other authoritative sources in the TCS calculation.
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Why did you pick the Expert Resources you picked?
In order for an Expert Resource's ratings to be included in the Total Car Score scoring system they have to have a robust evaluation and review process that results in meaningful vehicle ratings. In other words, poor performing cars need to receive low ratings and high performing cars need to receive high ratings. Many automotive sources give nearly every vehicle a relatively highly score. Those sources have no place in the Total Car Score system. A source also has to rate nearly every (approximately 80%) vehicle sold in the U.S. market every year.
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Does a vehicle's Total Car Score (TCS) ever change?
Initially, yes. Because the ratings from our nine authoritative sources are not all published at the same time there will be shifts in a vehicle's Total Car Score early in the model year (October to October). However, generally speaking, after about four or five source scores are made available future changes to a vehicle's Total Car Score are minimal.
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How did you determine the Total Car Score (TCS) Vehicle Segments?
We believe for every model available there is a specific set of competing models a potential buyer should consider. That was our primary consideration when creating the vehicle segments for Total Car Score.
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What is the Total Car Score (TCS) segment average?
As you might guess, the Total Car Score segment average is the average score achieved in a given segment when all vehicles are taken into consideration.
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Do you have an equivalent Total Car Score system for Motorcycles?
Not yet … In the meantime, we do plan on publishing feature articles on motorcycles we test from time to time.
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How does the Fuel Economy Factor influence the Total Car Score?
We first calculate a vehicle's average fuel economy number. This number is derived from the average miles-per-gallon figure a vehicle receives from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) across all available drivetrains (engines, transmissions and driven wheels). We then compare this number to the average fuel economy number for the entire segment in which a vehicle competes. The difference between a vehicle's fuel economy average number and the segment's fuel economy average number is what decides whether the fuel economy factor pulls a vehicle's Total Car Score up or down, and by how much.
For instance, if a car's average fuel economy is 21 mpg and the entire segment's fuel economy average is 19 mpg that vehicle gets 2 points added to its Total Car Score.
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What are the benefits of registering with Total Car Score?
Every visitor to Total Car Score can utilize the site's services, including personalizing a vehicle's Total Car Score, for free. However, registered Total Car Score users can set default parameters related to customizing a vehicle's Total Car Score. For example, all users can temporarily remove one or more authoritative source's influence on a vehicle's Total Car Score. But registered users can add or remove one or more source's influence throughout the entire site as a default, ongoing setting whenever they log-in to Total Car Score. Additional benefits include tracking updated vehicle information and scoring changes in a customized feed.
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What are the links in the Additional Resources section on every model page?
We know not every source of valuable automotive information utilizes a ratings system. While these sources can't be incorporated into the Total Car Score they still offer highly valuable information for vehicle shoppers. We have included links to these sources on every model page. Examples of these additional resources include links to the manufacturer website, online owners' manuals, owner clubs/forums, plus road tests and comparisons tests that don't have ratings but do have valuable vehicle information.
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This is a great idea, how come nobody thought of Total Car Score before you?
We don't know, but we're glad we came up with it first.
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