Consumer Reports articles from March 2007

Consumer Reports archives from March 2007

By the numbers at Consumers Union.(Have You Heard?)
March 1, 2007... Eaters of chicken and readers of major news media may be forgiven for feeling confused. CONSUMER REPORTS told you that 83 percent of the 525 chickens we tested for our January issue carried bacteria that could make you very sick. The U.S....

Starbucks wars.(up front)(Product/service evaluation)
March 1, 2007... Hoping that consumers are fed up with asking Starbucks for "double-caramel skim half-caf macchia-to" before they've even had their jolt of joe, Burger King, Dunkin' Donuts, and McDonald's have been boosting their coffee cachet. ...

Can tablecloths shed stains?(CLAIM CHECK)(Product/service evaluation)
March 1, 2007... The claim. Origins polyester microfiber tablecloth, sold at Bed Bath & Beyond (a similar product, Oasis, is at Linens 'n Things), claims that "liquid spills bead up and do not leak through!" Vent du Sud tablecloth, made of cotton with Teflon...

Rebates: get what's coming to you.(up front)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Rebates move merchandise and promote new products, so manufacturers like them--especially because they so seldom have to pay out: Four of 10 people who are eligible for rebates never collect. But consumers can find them frustrating. ...

Docs in ads: friends or faux?(up front)
March 1, 2007... Ever see the doctors in ads for diet pills or products to enhance sexual pleasure and wonder who they are? So did we. We pulled nine print ads and tried to identify the folks in the white coats. We checked licensing through state medical...

Uncle Sam owes you one.(up front)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Want to make some easy money? Anyone who paid for long-distance or bundled telephone service between Feb. 28, 2003, and Aug. 1, 2006, is entitled to a one-time tax refund. Taxpayers can choose between a standard amount, up to $60, that's based...

Toss the iron: wrinkle-free shirts that work.(up front)
March 1, 2007... To make consumers happy, cotton has to suffer. "Soaking the fabric in formaldehyde and pressing it flat makes it wrinkle-resistant," said Eva Osborne, project manager of women's apparel at JCPenney. "The molecules line up like little soldiers...

Identity fraud du jury.(SCAM ALERT)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... You get a call from somebody who says he's an officer of the court. You never showed up for jury duty, he announces. Now there's a warrant for your arrest. When you say you never received a notice, the "officer" offers to straighten out...

Dodge Nitro.(first look)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Product: Dodge Nitro Full report: May 2007 Dodge's heavily advertised new Nitro draws from the Jeep Liberty and comes in three trim lines--SXT, SLT, and R/T. The SXT and SLT have a 210-hp, 3.7 liter V6; the R/T has a 4.0-liter V6....

Mattress toppers: the goldilocks test.(up front)
March 1, 2007... To see which foam or feather-filled topper might improve a too-hard bed, we tested seven. Five use "memory foam," a polyurethane material that conforms to your body. They're 1 to 3 inches thick and cost $70 to $890 in queen size--as much as...

Chicken.(Your Letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2007... After I read the January report "Dirty Birds: Even 'Premium' Chickens Harbor Dangerous Bacteria," I again asked myself, why are we not irradiating food, especially problem foods such as chicken, hamburger, salad greens, and other fruits and...

Carbon credits.(Your Letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2007... I appreciated your report on carbon credits (January, Up Front). However, I think your conclusion was misleading. "CR's take" implied that buying carbon credits was an alternative to purchasing energy-efficient appliances and high-mpg vehicles....

Virtual wallets.(Your Letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2007... I read your January article "Virtual Wallets: Safer Ways to Pay Online." I use a tool known as virtual account numbers that's offered by some banks. This tool creates short-term credit-card numbers that link back to your main credit-card...

Calling 911.(Your Letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2007... In January's report "Phoning 911," you omitted one important fact that may be of great interest to your readers. As a general rule, any cell phone will continue to have free access to emergency 911 service even after the expiration of a service...

Bookstores.(Your Letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2007... I love CONSUMER REPORTS and want to agree with you, but in the case of the bookstore analyses, I simply cannot (January, Up Front). You say, "Borders has self-service kiosks around the store, a big plus if you need to look for a book." A book...

Wrinkle creams.(Your Letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2007... Regarding January's report "Wrinkle Creams: Selling Hope in a Jar," the woman is squinting in the before photograph and not squinting in the after. It's to be expected that there would be more wrinkles if a person is squinting. Even though the...

Correction.(Correction notice)
March 1, 2007... In the "First Things First" section of December's "Cordless Drills," two photographs were transposed. The Makita model should have appeared as the lithium-ion drill; the Porter-Cable as the nickel-cadmium drill. In the Ratings chart, the...

Clarification.(Correction notice)
March 1, 2007... In our January Ratings of wrinkle creams, the approximate retail prices given are for all products in each brand's skin-care system. A system can include two or three products, such as day and night creams.

Black Dog fined for continued sales of recalled children's sweatshirts.(Recalls & Safety Alerts)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced that Black Dog Tavern Co. agreed to pay a $50,000 civil penalty after the company continued to sell children's hooded sweatshirts with drawstrings even though the clothing had been recalled in...

Toy ring recalled; CPSC moves closer to banning lead in kids' jewelry.(Recalls & Safety Alerts)(Consumer Product Safety Commission)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Celebrate Express has recalled 194,000 Gigantic Gemstone Rings because they could contain high levels of lead. Lead is toxic if ingested by children and can cause a range of severe health problems, including brain damage, and at high doses,...

The oyster awards: CR's hard-to-open-packaging hall of shame welcomes new inductees.
March 1, 2007... We thought we had seen it all last year: packaging so frustrating to open that it elicited expletive-filled outbursts from usually mild-mannered CONSUMER REPORTS testers. But in our second contest named after the tight-jawed mollusk, we've...

An accident waiting to happen? Outsourcing raises air-safety concerns.(CR INVESTIGATES)
March 1, 2007... To save money, airlines have outsourced many of their operations, from baggage handling to onboard catering. But the latest trend has far greater consequences than who provides the food for your next flight. More and more, airlines are...

HD made easy.(high-definition television)(Buyers guide)(Table)
March 1, 2007... With high-definition televisions flying off the shelves at ever-lower prices, you don't have to be wildly adventurous or wildly extravagant to become a high-def household. Still, deciding which TV to buy and setting it up can be daunting....

Interior paints: basic to off-the-wall.(Buyers guide)(Table)
March 1, 2007... Classic white. Apple green. Faux denim. Metallic gold. Whatever your paint choice, the final result will look much better if you pick one of our top-performing finishes. The focus on what fashionable walls are wearing isn't surprising...

Vacuums: top picks for pet hair.(Buyers guide)(Table)
March 1, 2007... Pet owners, rejoice: Now you can revel in Fido's and Fluffy's antics without fretting over their sheddings. Our first-ever pet-hair scores show which vacuums were best at whisking away embedded fur and which ones you might want to scratch from...

Wet/dry vacs: for big jobs, it's in the bag.(Buyers guide)(Table)
March 1, 2007... Whether it's sawdust in your basement or a spill in your kitchen, wet/dry vacs are built to handle the toughest household messes. Some models shoulder those tasks with finesse. But others we tested could add to your dirty work. Dust bags...

Contact lenses: eying the risks.
March 1, 2007... If you've ever tried contact lenses, you might be reading this with glasses instead: An online reader survey of some 7,700 corrective-lens wearers, conducted last spring by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, found that 45 percent...

Your memory 5 ways to keep it sharp.(CR Health)
March 1, 2007... People usually start worrying about their memory when it starts to noticeably decline, often around age 50. Fortunately, normal lapses such as forgetting a name or misplacing your car keys don't necessarily mean you'll face serious cognitive...

Credit unions now almost anyone can join.(CR Money)
March 1, 2007... Those in the know have always understood that credit unions offer the best banking deals around. But to get in on them, you have to become a member. Once upon a time, members had to be closely connected in some way, either by where they...

Renovation hazards keeping safe.(CR Home)
March 1, 2007... Sharp saw blades and nail-studded 2x4s are obvious home-remodeling hazards. But other dangers aren't as easy to spot. For example, lead dust and asbestos fibers, often kicked up into the air when old walls come down, can settle on everything...

Pricey property deeds.(SCAM ALERT)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... An official-looking letter arrives from an official-sounding outfit touting the importance of having a certified copy of your property deed. They'll gladly get you yours--for a fee, of course. HOW TO SPOT IT Classic high-pressure sales...

Family sedans: the redesigned Nissan Altima accelerates to the top of our ratings.(LEAPING AHEAD)(Product/service evaluation)
March 1, 2007... The best family sedans provide agile handling and quick performance, and get decent fuel economy. And for years, the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, and Volkswagen Passat dominated our Ratings. But the redesigned Nissan Altima, perennially an...

Information from Consumer Reports[R] for Canadian readers.(Canada extra)(Buyers guide)(Table)
March 1, 2007... How to use the Canada Extra section Every month, Canada Extra provides Canadian pricing and availability information about products tested for that issue. The Ratings in this section are based on this month's reports, but they narrow your...