Consumer Reports articles from January 2003

Consumer Reports archives from January 2003

Where's the beef?(Your Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2003... Your November article on beef safety had several useful tips for protecting against potentially harmful bacteria. But you didn't include the obvious alternative: Grind the meat yourself, and immediately use it or freeze it. Home grinding allows...

Satisfied customers.(Your Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2003... Recently my local Toyota dealership charged for parts and labor to replace my Camry's catalytic converter. But thanks to information in your October report, "When Things Go Wrong," I realized that the part should have been under warranty. Now...

Slashed tires.(Your Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2003... I have a question after reading your November report on tires: Can you enhance the touring performance of all-season tires with "sipes"? These are slits cut into the tire, supposedly to give more traction. I recently paid $39.96 to have new...

Don't tread on me.(Your Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2003... I strongly disagree with the November "Memo to Members" supporting tougher safety standards for tires and a new tire-pressure alert system. First the government mandated air bags to protect idiots who refuse to buckle their safety belts. This...

Corrections and a clarification.(Your Letters)(Correction Notice)
January 1, 2003... In the "Your Money" column for October, we said that elderly single filers can take up to a $1,125 tax credit if they earn less than $17,500. We neglected to say that filers must also earn less than $5,000 from nontaxable Social Security and...

Hospitals: your right to know.(Test inform protect: Consumers Union in action)
January 1, 2003... The hospital "report cards" discussed in this month's cover story, "How Safe Is Your Hospital?" on page 12, did not appear by accident. They are the result of an ongoing effort by consumer and employer groups and by labor unions to require...

Label of contents.(Memo to members)
January 1, 2003... I'm on a diet these days, trying to lower my cholesterol and keep my weight down with a good mix of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat protein. (Though, truth be told, all good intentions are pushed aside by a bag of gourmet...

Check GFCI outlets.(Tech tip)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... For more than a generation, localities have been strengthening their building codes to require that electrical outlets that are outdoors or in kitchens, bathrooms, and basements have ground-fault circuit interrupters, or GFCIs. They're supposed...

So-so sewing.(Product test)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
January 1, 2003... If you believe the TV ads for mini sewing machines such as the Sew Smart, these do-it-all devices are so versatile that they must be on the wish list of every couturier in Paris and bespoke tailor on London's Savile Row. Oh, if only. ...

Protect film from airport X-rays.(Travel alert)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... If you're planning holiday air travel, you'll need to pack carefully to protect photographic film from the new X-ray scanners now in place in nearly all U.S. airports. The scanners, minivansized, use high-powered X-rays to screen checked...

Please Release me.(Cooking gear)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Alcoa, which makes Reynolds Wrap, Reynolds Plastic Wrap, Cut-Rite Wax Paper, and other food-storage products, is betting that you'll make room for its new Reynolds Wrap Release nonstick aluminum foil. In our tests, Release worked, as...

Safeguards lacking for emergency equipment.(Home Front)
January 1, 2003... Police, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians are the nation's first line of defense against domestic terrorism. Congress has proposed spending more than $1 billion over the next few years to help state and local departments buy...

How safe is your hospital: 21,000 Consumer Reports readers rate the care they or a relative received. What we learned can make a critical difference for you.(Special Report)
January 1, 2003... The quality of care you receive during a hospital stay can determine how quickly and how well you recover--or if you recover at all. You might expect consistently good care to be delivered at almost every hospital in a nation with the world's...

Decoding your hospital bills: you can find and fix costly errors.
January 1, 2003... In April 2000, shortly after his father died, Richard Clarke went to Boca Raton, Fla., to check on his 84-year-old mother, Opal. She promptly handed him a shoebox stuffed with medical bills from 20 different providers who had treated his...

Of birds and bacteria: "superbugs" that resist the usual antibiotic treatments are nasty, and they could be in your chicken dinner. Here's how to protect yourself.(Food Safety Test)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... In the fall of 1997, almost three-fourths of the broilers that CONSUMER REPORTS bought in stores nationwide harbored salmonella or campylobacter--the bacteria most likely to give Americans food poisoning. Our new tests revealed contamination in...

Microwave ovens get smart: these short-order cooks are heating things up with new designs and features. Our tests of 42 ovens turned up 5 CR Best Buys.(Microwave Ovens Test)(Buyers Guide)
January 1, 2003... Today's microwave ovens are smarter in every sense of the word, and they're likely to hold more, cook faster, and cost less than the ovens that were available a few years back. Some of the latest models have colors and curves that put the...

Clear choices for clean drinking water: concerned about your water's safety? We'll help you check your tap water and tell you which of the 19 filtering systems we tested is best for you.(Water Filters Test)
January 1, 2003... Nearly 30 years after the passage of the Safe Drinking Water Act, the safety of the water we drink is still in the news and on consumers' minds. In March, the nation's water utilities will begin reporting to the federal government on their...

Vehicles and equipment.(Recalls)
January 1, 2003... * '01-02 Chrysler PT Cruiser In a rollover crash, the fuel-pump mounting flange on certain '01 and '02 models could leak and cause a fire. On some '01 models, the fuel hose could chafe against air-conditioner components; resulting fuel...

Household products.(Recalls)
January 1, 2003... * Brother laser printers Could overheat and catch fire. Products: 100,000 printers, laser models HL-1040, HL-1050, HL-1060, and multifunction model MFC-P2000, sold 6/97 to 12/00 for $300 to $700. Model number appears on top of each unit,...

Child products.(Recalls)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... * Bikepro and Oriental International Trading baby walkers Fail to meet voluntary safety standard to reduce the risk of baby tumbling down stairs. Products: 50,000 Bikepro walkers sold 1/00 to 8/01 at independent discount stores in...

Mutual funds: mining the junk heap.(Product Updates)
January 1, 2003... HIGH-YIELD BOND FUNDS Searching for bright spots in the wreckage of Wall Street has become a quixotic pursuit. One by one, practically every stockfund sector over the last three years--from large-company value to small-company growth--has...

Cordless phones.(Product Updates)(Buyers Guide)
January 1, 2003... WHAT'S NEW The first of a new class. The VTech VT5831 is the first cordless phone we've tested to use the 5.8-gigahertz (GHz) band. It's a 2.4/5.8-GHz phone that transmits on one frequency band and receives on the other. You can expect to...

Easy listening: compact, all-in-one audio minisystems can offer good sound at a modest cost.(Minisystems Test)(Buyers Guide)
January 1, 2003... Minisystems are the easiest path to home audio * what you buy when you don't have room for a full component system, time to choose all the pieces, or the inclination to spend $1,000 or so for a decent receiver, CD player, cassette...

Cordless drills: the latest are brawny enough for big jobs, yet light enough for around-the-house repairs.(Cordless Drills Test)(Buyers Guide)
January 1, 2003... Power and endurance are no longer an issue for a growing number of cordless drills. The three most capable models we tested should drill enough holes and drive enough screws to build a 12x12-foot deck before both of their batteries need a...

Family values: the 2003 Honda Accord edges out the Volkswagen Passat and Toyota Camry as our top-rated four-cylinder family sedan.(Family Sedans (4-CYL.) Road Test)(Product/Service Evaluation)
January 1, 2003... While auto manufacturers like to make a ballyhoo about their new-model-year vehicles, most cars--roughly 80 percent to 90 percent--don't change that much from one year to the next. Family sedans, for example, are typically redesigned every five...

How safe are worn tires? Even tires with half their tread intact may be riskier than you think.(Auto Parts)
January 1, 2003... Tires can lose their footing long before they're worn out. Our tests show that tread can give up a significant amount of grip when it's still at the halfway point. That's particularly worrisome when you realize how many worn tires are on...

Phone Websites.(Brands)(Directory)
January 1, 2003... A cumulative listing of manufacturer phone numbers and web addresses is available free in browsable form at our web site, www.ConsumerReports.org. * Cordless telephones: AT&T: 800-222-3111; www.att.com. Bell South: 800-338-1694;...

Chew on this.(Selling It)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... A CONSUMER REPORTS reporter paid $8.99 for each canister of chocolate calcium chews. One A Day is from Bayer; Viactiv, from McNeil. Both products provide 500 mg of calcium per chew and include vitamin D. Viactiv also includes vitamin K. So, was...

What a gas.(Selling It)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... But watch out for the other 3 percent. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

What's wrong with this picture?(Selling It)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Although the catalog copy suggests you "decorate your garden" with these nativity-scene participants, it also says they're "not recommended for use in freezing temperatures." So we figure that white stuff is whipped cream. [ILLUSTRATION...

The longest day.(Selling It)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... A Virginia reader noticed that VW DriverGear, a web site selling Volkswagen-related merchandise, has an interesting way with numbers. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

It comes soon the ice dropout.(Selling It)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... A California reader bought "the latest style of instant icemaker." It's actually a bottle that you fill with water and freeze, the directions point out, to make "ice of shape Half-circled & flat so that ice dropout from ice-maker directly."...

Nuff said.(Selling It)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Siebers Building Site! New listing with the mere site ready to build. This property features privacy. Ponderusa trees, private well, and has had septic feasibility approval (may need update). Perfect for a dream home with a peek-a-boo mountain...