Consumer Reports articles from November 2007

Consumer Reports archives from November 2007

Have you heard? Health-care tales of woe.(Editorial)
November 1, 2007... When I asked you in the September issue to tell us your experiences with health care, I was pretty sure I'd get some tales of bad medical decisions and denied treatment, and I did. But there was also a compelling theme running through most of...

Batteries: choose the right one for the job.(Product/service evaluation)
November 1, 2007... When the camera won't flash or the flashlight flickers, you might decide to buy the cheapest batteries on the rack. But batteries that perform well in one kind of device can be duds in others.To help you determine what's best for your gear, we...

Is it really decaf?(decaffeinated coffee)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Try not to lose sleep over this, but you're getting some caffeine when you order decaffeinated coffee. For a snapshot of what consumers might expect from the big chains, we had secret shoppers buy a total of 36 cups of decaf from six locations...

Best & worst: SUVS for fuel economy.(sport utility vehicles)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Below are the results from our real-world tests (city and highway combined). Gas-savers noted with a check* are recommended by CONSUMER REPORTS based on their performance, reliability, and safety. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] GOOD ON GAS ...

Do lip plumpers have pucker power?(lip cosmetics)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... The claim. Some products say they deliver "an at-home answer to lip-enhancing injections"; make lips "look up to 30 percent plumper"; or produce "wickedly plump lips" or "perfectly plumped lips" or... Well, you get the idea: At least a small...

Just say [yellow tail][R].(wine)(Product/service evaluation)
November 1, 2007... Yellow Tail, an Australian brand, has hopped ahead of most other brands. It has become the No. 1 import in the U.S. by dollar sales. To see whether the wines are still as good as our taste tests have indicated over the years, we asked our...

Car rental 101.(tips for renting a car)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Renting a car can leave even the savviest traveler itching to hit the brakes. Rates change often, and fees and taxes can drive your bill 30 percent or more above the base rate. But you'll save money if you take the time to: Compare. Use...

Curse the darkness or try a stickup.(Westinghouse Stick-Up Bulb 2670, light bulb)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... If your house has a dark nook with no hardwired lighting, you might have been intrigued by ads for the Westinghouse Stick-Up Bulb 2670, which is powered by four AA batteries and attaches to any surface with double-sided adhesive or two screws....

Fake fat Z Trim makes the cut.(Z Trim, fat substitute)(Product/service evaluation)
November 1, 2007... Cutting fat when you prepare cakes and other dishes has not been easy as pie. Fat substitutes sold in the past were likely to make food taste like cardboard, or add sugars in place of fat. But our recent tests show that a new product called Z...

Computer security.(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2007... When you review spam-filtering software ("Best Security Software," September 2007), it always disappoints me that you do not address one of the most effective approaches to stopping spam: challenge and response. This system sends a "challenge"...

Health care.(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2007... I enjoy your magazine and have been a subscriber for years, but I was seriously disappointed with your September 2007 article on health care ("Are You Really Covered?"). In particular I thought the explanation of why health care costs so much...

Going digital.(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2007... The June 2007 article "Go Digital" was right on target except for one statement: "Once you've burned a CD, you can't make digital copies of it." I did this more than a year ago on my Sony RCD-W500C. JAMES CHASTAIN LOS ANGELES In our...

Tires pose danger of tread separation.(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Foreign Tire Sales of New Jersey has issued a recall of 255,000 steel-belted light-truck radial tires imported into the U.S. under the brand names Compass, Westlake, and YKS. The defective tires may lack a component called a gum strip or...

3.6 million Ford vehicles recalled.(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Some Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury pickup trucks, passenger vehicles, SUVs, and motor-home chassis have faulty speed-control deactivation switches. Under some conditions, this cruise control feature could leak internally and overheat, causing a...

Treatment traps to avoid: insured? You're money in the bank to the health-care system.(avoiding unnecessary medical treatment and tests)
November 1, 2007... Ron Spurgeon's health began to unravel when he hurt his shoulder doing yard work. He eventually wound up at Redding Medical Center in northern California, where a cardiologist told him he had a life-threatening heart condition. Four days later,...

How to bargain for almost anything.
November 1, 2007... Most people wouldn't think twice about bargaining for a new car or house, but how about negotiating with a doctor, a phone company, or a big-box store? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In a nationwide survey of 2,167 U.S. households by the...

When bargaining works best.(consumers who have successfully bargained for products and services)(Survey)
November 1, 2007... It pays to bargain, judging by the experiences of 2,167 respondents to our nationally representative survey. Of those who negotiated for furniture, for example, 94 percent were successful at least once during the past three years. Overall,...

Where to buy: readers rate walk-in and online stores, based on 90,000 purchases.(Survey)
November 1, 2007... You might not yet know which flat-screen TV, digital camera, or laptop you'll buy this holiday season, but chances are you'll enjoy the hunt. Our latest surveys found that shoppers were very satisfied with their experiences buying computers and...

Get the best price.(shopping for consumer electronics online)
November 1, 2007... Skip the extended warranty. Most electronic products are likely to outlive the period of an extended warranty without a problem. And if there is a glitch after the manufacturer's warranty expires, the cost of repair or replacement isn't likely...

LCD & plasma TVs: Both are better than ever. One plasma hits a new high.(Product/service evaluation)
November 1, 2007... Bigger, better, cheaper--those three words sum up the major trends in LCD and plasma TVs this year. The supersizing of flat-panel screens is hard to miss. More LCD sets are sporting bigger screens, so we've added a new size category (46-...

DVD recorders: Not high-def yet, but they still have a lot to offer.(Product/service evaluation)
November 1, 2007... ADVD recorder gives you a whole lot of bang for the buck. It's easy to use, offers better recording quality than a VCR, and allows random access to sections of a disc. It can replace a DVD player, and many incorporate VCRs. Some fine models,...

Cut from this story but save; may use elsewhere: recording high-def on your computer.(high-definition DVD burners)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Stand-alone Blu-ray and HD DVD recorders have yet to arrive, but a few laptop PCs already have a built-in high-definition DVD recorder. When used with an ATSC tuner (typically included) or CableCard-equipped video card, those pricey portable...

Digital cameras: more fun and features for less.(Product/service evaluation)
November 1, 2007... This season, you'll see small cameras not only in sober black and silver but also in hues such as Wasabi Green and Sunset Orange. You'll also find even modestly priced models with features such as image stabilization, which can compensate...

Camcorders: Standard-definition models still offer the best value.(Product/service evaluation)
November 1, 2007... You can expect a digital camcorder to deliver good or very good video. Here are the main types: MiniDV models,which record on tape cartridges compatible with older models, win on price, making them the type to consider first.DVD models are for...

How to use the Canada Extra section.(consumer electronics, luxury sedans, and car tires)(Buyers guide)
November 1, 2007... 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 choices to the products that are sold in...

Laptops: stylish machines with cutting-edge features.(Product/service evaluation)
November 1, 2007... If you haven't shopped for a laptop lately, you might be pleasantly surprised by what you'll find in stores or online: a case with a red finish as glossy as a new sports car, a display that's brighter than ever, longer battery life, and lighter...

Smart phones: tests of the iPhone vs. new multimedia models.(Apple iPhone, LG Prada, Nokia N95)(Product/service evaluation)
November 1, 2007... If you've long owned one of the smartest of the smart phones, chances are you bought it to do work, such as checking office e-mail. Now a new breed of smart phones, including Apple's hit iPhone, is designed more for play. Slimmer and lighter...

Winter blues When to consider drugs.(seasonal affective disorder)
November 1, 2007... Bupropion (Wellbutrin XL) is the first drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the prevention of seasonal affective disorder, or winter depression. About 5 percent of Americans, three-quarters of them women, experience SAD each...

Debit cards Smart ways to avoid the traps.
November 1, 2007... For many Americans, debit cards have become the way to pay.Customers say they prefer the cards, which directly tap into their checking accounts, over credit cards for the convenience of not having to carry cash or pay finance charges. ...

Seasonal tips inside and out.(lawn mowers and gas furnaces)(fraud prevention tips)
November 1, 2007... USE YOUR MOWER TO MULCH Shredded leaves, even from slightly acidic oak trees, enrich the soil as they break down. Most lawn tractors and mowers have a mowing deck that can be closed off in the mulching mode so that leaves are chopped...

High-tech models top test.(car batteries)(Product/service evaluation)
November 1, 2007... Many car batteries look and perform much like those we tested 10 years ago. But a newer type of lead-acid battery called absorbed glass-mat, or AGM, is gaining ground in new cars and as a replacement battery. Battery manufacturers claim...

Big grippers.(ultra-high-performance tires)(Product/service evaluation)
November 1, 2007... In our test of summer and all-season ultra-high-performance tires, we identified a few excellent tires from Falken, Michelin, Nitto, and Pirelli and found big differences in performance among models in the group. These tires, also called...

The money class: Luxury sedans the Infiniti M35 is tops. And the new 'Clean Diesel' Mercedes E320 has that sweet smell of success.(luxury sedans)(Product/service evaluation)
November 1, 2007... The Infiniti M35 retains its spot as the class leader in our tests of mid-luxury sedans. But the other big news is that two versions of the freshened Mercedes-Benz E-Class are close in its rear-view mirror, with the new diesel-powered E320...

Ultra-lux face-off: the Lexus LS 460L vs. the Mercedes-Benz S550.(automobiles)(Product/service evaluation)
November 1, 2007... We extended the luxury theme of this issue by including a one-on-one showdown of the top-of-the-line, flagship models from Lexus and Mercedes-Benz. Both received major redesigns for 2007 and are the most popular models in their class. ...

Your voice can help reduce identity theft.
November 1, 2007... If you think that one person can't make a difference, note the story of Jaimee Napp. When a former boss stole her personal information and opened fraudulent credit-card accounts, Napp tracked her down and then mounted a successful campaign to...