Consumer Reports articles from July 2001

Consumer Reports archives from July 2001

Consumers need to know more about faulty products.(Consumers Union In Action)(Column)
July 1, 2001... Americans have come to expect that the products they buy are safe to use. And they usually are. But recent headlines have been disconcerting: * Cosco and Safety 1st, among the largest makers of baby products, agreed to pay $1.75 million in...

Tricks of the credit-card trade.(Editorial)
July 1, 2001... Credit-card companies have been hard at work stuffing your mailbox with credit-card offers flashing what may look like terrific rates and deals. They've also been hard at work lobbying Congress and have succeeded in getting harsh new bankruptcy...

Oil changes with less mess.(Front Lines)(Evaluation)
July 1, 2001... If you've ever considered changing your car's oil yourself but were put off by the mess, you might consider buying an oil extractor, such as those sold by Overton's (Item No. 26696, $70; 800 334-6541; www.overton.com) or by Griot's Garage (Item...

Can you trust your travel agent?(lowest airfares)(Buyers Guide)
July 1, 2001... When you telephone a travel agent and ask for all nonstop flights available on a certain day at the cheapest fare, that's what you get, right? Not necessarily, according to Consumer Reports Travel Letter,which asked 840 travel agents about...

First look: 2002 Ford Explorer.(Evaluation)(Product Announcement)
July 1, 2001... The four-door Ford Explorer, America's most popular sport-utility vehicle (SUV), has been fully redesigned for model year 2002--and not a moment too soon, given the fallout over rollovers associated with the old Explorer and recalled Firestone...

You mean they grow in dirt?!(fruit/vegetable washes)(Buyers Guide)
July 1, 2001... Pity humanity. We've been eating fruits and vegetables for millennia, but only now are we told how to eat them right: after a liberal dousing with a commercial fruit-and-vegetable wash. You've seen these products. Labels feature shining...

Low-acid OJ: taste test.(Minute Maid orange juice)(Evaluation)
July 1, 2001... If orange juice gives you heartburn or tastes too acidic, you may have perked up over Minute Maid's new chilled orange juice, Premium Pulp Free Low Acid 100% Pure Squeezed from Concentrate. What's new, actually, are the words "low acid" and the...

Spend a lot, save a little.(www.upromise.com frequent-buyer/college savings plan panned)
July 1, 2001... The latest program to reward loyal customers wants you to "spend" your kids to college. The plan, called Upromise, gets corporate heavy hitters such as Citibank, Coca-Cola, and Toys "R" Us to contribute a percentage of the money you spend with...

Suite dreams: hotels - survey.(Cover Story)(Industry Overview)
July 1, 2001... Night after night, more than one-third of the nation's estimated 4 million hotel rooms are empty. Rooms without "heads in beds" are worthless to hoteliers. But to consumers, they are valuable bargaining chips, a powerful way to leverage cheaper...

Pushed off the financial cliff.(Consumer Debt - Report)(Industry Overview)
July 1, 2001... Millions of ordinary middle-income consumers are skating on the edge of financial ruin. A half step ahead of their clamorous creditors, they know that a job loss, sudden illness, leaking roof, or divorce can easily topple budgets that are...

Child car seats.(Buyers Guide)(Evaluation)
July 1, 2001... A child car seat--any car seat--can greatly reduce the odds that your child will be injured in a crash. This is especially true now, with the increased use of tethers, straps that secure safety seats to anchors bolted into cars. Still, largely...

Consumer Reports on TV.(news reports service - station list)(Directory)(Illustration)
July 1, 2001... Consumer Reports On TV CITY STATION CHANNEL Albany/Schenectady, NY WRGB TV-6 Albuquerque, NM KOB TV-4 Amarillo, TX KVII TV-7 Atlanta, GA ...

Travel play yards - rating.(Buyers Guide)(Evaluation)
July 1, 2001... Travel play yards are the more mobile descendants of playpens. They provide an enclosed space for play or a nap and fold into a fairly compact package that can be taken along on visits to the grandparents, for example. Convenience counts when...

Soft baby carriers - ratings.(Buyers Guide)(Evaluation)
July 1, 2001... The human answer to marsupial pouches, strap-on soft carriers allow you to hold your baby close to your body while keeping your hands free. A carrier should be safe to use, easy to adjust, and comfortable for both parent and child. Those...

The stalling game: generic drugs.(Industry Overview)
July 1, 2001... If you or a family member have taken brand-name prescription drugs for such ailments as allergies, anxiety, heartburn, or high blood pressure, you can stop wondering why your bills have been so high. In many cases, cheaper generic equivalents...

Dual-purpose duel.(AWD Wagons & SUVs)(Evaluation)
July 1, 2001... The line between the SUV and wagon categories is blurring. Many new sport-utility vehicles are now based on a car chassis, rather than the traditional truck chassis, so they handle better, ride more comfortably, and sit a little lower to the...

Two-way Internet: useful avenues for interacting online.(Tech Life)(Column)
July 1, 2001... When you surf the web, you're generally limited to receiving whatever information a web site's centralized computers deliver, making the Internet more like a one-way street than a superhighway. But the Internet was built to act like a two-way...

Selling it.(labeling and advertising anecdotes)(Humor)(Column)
July 1, 2001... Something to sneeze at. Shopping smart can require math skills beyond those of most mortals. A case in point: These Puffs boxes, for which a reader paid the same price. The old box (left) held 250 tissues measuring 8.8 x 8.2 inches. The...

Product updates: room air conditioners.(Buyers Guide)(Product Announcement)
July 1, 2001... WHAT'S NEW * New benchmarks in energy-efficiency. The Department of Energy (DOE) has new high-efficiency standards for room air conditioners made after Oct. 1, 2000. Some units exceed those requirements. * Many older models still...

Music on the move.(CD players, MP3 portables)(Buyers Guide)
July 1, 2001... If you want to be wired for sound wherever you go this summer, you'll find an ever-widening selection of personal music machines. The leading devices, the portable CD player and MP3 player, generally produce superb digital audio signals--though...

CD portables - ratings.(Evaluation)
July 1, 2001... Unless you plan to use your portable CD player where it will be absolutely still, bump resistance--how well the unit plays through the inevitable jogs and jolts--should weigh heavily in your buying decision. Other important considerations...

MP3 portables - ratings.(Evaluation)
July 1, 2001... Which MP3 player you choose depends primarily on the amount of music you want to tote around with you and what you're willing to pay for additional storage. Capacity and cost vary widely among players, as does size (see photo, below right). ...

Shoes that can take a hike: we separate the trailworthy from the tame.(hiking shoes - test)(Buyers Guide)
July 1, 2001... Hiking shoes are the SUVs of footwear: Much of their appeal lies in their rugged appearance and take-no-prisoners image. And like SUVs, many hiking shoes are bought by people who travel over terrain no rougher than an occasional city pothole....

Space makers.(computer monitors)(Buyers Guide)
July 1, 2001... Call it the incredible shrinking work space. Over the past few years, bulkier monitors have all but overrun the tops of our desks. Their screens, filled nearly to overflowing with all the icons, web pages, and digital photographs we've crammed...

Overhead compartments.(cargo boxes - test)(Evaluation)
July 1, 2001... Rooftop cargo boxes are an easy way to haul what won't fit in your trunk this vacation season. The largest among the 15 tested in this report offers 20 cubic feet of room. And many of the latest models are reasonably easy to attach, load,...