Consumer Reports articles from March 2001

Consumer Reports archives from March 2001

Selling it.(ad claims, humorous labels)(Humor)(Column)
March 1, 2001... A blur glasses can't cure. Even people who thought their eyesight was fine might have had second thoughts after seeing this misprinted ad for an optician. Golden Cocoon Award. A Canadian reader was struck by this splashy ad from...

This @!*# computer! How to handle ten common gripes.(Tech Life)(Column)
March 1, 2001... A crash may be the worst computer problem, but it's not the only one. Here, the ten biggest beefs from staffers and visitors to our web site, www.ConsumerReports.org--with our advice on ways to overcome (or at least cope with) each one. ...

A new wave in SUVs.(Small SUVs)(Evaluation)
March 1, 2001... When the Toyota RAV4 was introduced in 1996, it represented a new approach to building sport-utility vehicles. Instead of being based on a rugged but unsophisticated truck chassis, it was based on a car platform, with unibody construction and...

Pesticides, foods, and you.
March 1, 2001... Four years ago, Congress charged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with an enormous task: Assess some 9,000 agricultural-pesticide uses and when needed, restrict or ban them to make sure that exposure levels are safe, particularly for...

CU names new president.
March 1, 2001... James A. Guest, chair of Consumers Union's board of directors for 21 years, has been named CU's new president and the publisher of CONSUMER REPORTS. Guest, 60, was the unanimous choice of board members after an extensive national search....

Sugar substitutes: no affection for this confection.(Splenda)(Evaluation)
March 1, 2001... If you're a calorie counter or otherwise watch your sugar intake, Splenda, a new sugar substitute, may sound like your grail. The sweetener has just 2 calories per teaspoon, and as such it's allowed to be called "no calorie"; sugar has 15...

Outwitting garden intruders.(Contech Scarecrow)(Evaluation)
March 1, 2001... All kinds of potions and products promise to keep animals out of the garden. Many are speciesspecific, inconvenient to use, and only marginally effective. (See "When Bambi Eats Your Flowers," October 1998.) Contech Electronics' Scarecrow,...

Output for less outlay.(computer printer ink cartridges)(Buyers Guide)
March 1, 2001... Replace a pair of $25 cartridges or ink tanks on your inkjet printer several times and you end up spending as much on ink as the printer cost in the first place. Tempted to save with off-brand refills or by refilling cartridges yourself with...

A safer Toyota Land Cruiser.(Evaluation)
March 1, 2001... In recent years, the Toyota Land Cruiser has been reliable, comfortable, and quiet, scoring highly in most of our tests. But we couldn't recommend this large SUV because of its poor performance in our emergency-avoidance test, which simulates...

A new 'organic' food label.
March 1, 2001... The sale of organic products will likely break $9 billion this year. But up to now, there hasn't been a standard definition of what exactly an organic food is. Different states and certifying agencies had different ideas and requirements. But...

GE to fix dishwashers.(Safety Alert)(Product Information)
March 1, 2001... In an expansion of a highly publicized and disputed product recall, General Electric is offering free repairs on millions of dishwashers with potentially faulty switches that could melt, ignite, and cause a fire. The recall involves 3.1...

What's ahead in home entertainment: trends in DVD, digital music, and more.(Tests & Trends)(Industry Overview)
March 1, 2001... What innovations are expected in home-entertainment stores this year? The answers emerge every January at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, with its acre upon acre of audio and video gear. This year's show offered nothing...

'Premium' AA alkaline batteries.(Evaluation)
March 1, 2001... Battery manufacturers are as tireless as a certain drum-thumping bunny in their efforts to create cells that perform better, last longer, and, not incidentally, outsell the competition. Two of their newest alkaline offerings: the latest version...

Recalls: household products.(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2001... '00 White lawn and garden riding tractors Raising or lowering hood could cause fuel tank to leak. Products: 9,700 gray-and-red tractors with a 42-, 46-, or 50-inch mower deck sold 11/99-12/00 for $1,600 to $3,400, including the...

Super-size your set.(32- and 36-inch televisions)(Buyers Guide)
March 1, 2001... Think bigger is better? If that's your home-entertainment credo, you'll find plenty to like in the 32- and 36-inch televisions we tested. Sheer size is the obvious advantage: A 36-inch screen is a whopping 78 percent larger than the 27-inch...

Desktop standards: a fresh look at the range of computers offered by eight leading makers.(Computers - Test)(Buyers Guide)(Evaluation)(Industry Overview)
March 1, 2001... The desktop computer may finally have reached a level of acceptance accorded to something like the TV set or refrigerator--just another appliance you use every day, not something exotic and mysterious. Since the end of last year, signs were...

Digital chaperones for kids.(Filtering Software - Test)
March 1, 2001... Are you concerned that your kids will encounter sexually explicit material online? Recent studies show that such content appears on just 2 percent of web sites. Even so, it's easy to reach a site with X-rated content, via a major search engine,...

Rain, rain, go away.(Rain Jackets - Test)(Buyers Guide)(Evaluation)
March 1, 2001... Time was, the only truly waterproof raincoat was the rubber or vinyl slicker that looked so cute when you were a 6-year-old boarding the school bus. But even at age 6, you probably recognized its major drawback: The slicker didn't breathe. It...

Seeking the right family: should one company manage all your mutual funds?(Buyers Guide)(Cover Story)(Directory)
March 1, 2001... It's a jungle out there for mutual-fund investors. Thousands of funds beckon, their number thickened like tropical vines by the addition of scores more every year. Each has its own intrepid guide, a fund manager with a self-promoted knack for...

Survival of the fittest: these 100 stock funds are steady long-term performers.(Mutual Funds - Report)(Cover Story)
March 1, 2001... It's been a trying year for equity mutual-fund investors. Everything that seemed to work so effortlessly as annual gains topped 20 percent over five successive years suddenly stopped in 2000. Once-high-flying dot-coms are dot-gone. Tattered,...

The range of ranges.(gas and electric stoves)(Buyers Guide)
March 1, 2001... Start with the kitchen's ongoing elevation to showplace status. Throw in America's fascination with cooking-show celebrities like Emeril Lagasse and Bobby Flay, and you have the recipe for climbing sales of pricey appliances. Indeed, the...

Quick bites.(Fast Food - Test)(Buyers Guide)
March 1, 2001... When it comes to fast-food restaurants, "lean" and "light" have left the building--chains no longer trumpet those terms. Nevertheless, some fast foods do have less fat and fewer calories than others. What's more, some of those slightly...