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Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports cover dated November 2005

Consumer Reports cover dated November 2005
Editorial Director Kevin McKean
Categories Consumer advocacy
Frequency Monthly
Circulation 4,000,000 / month
Publisher Consumers Union
First issue January 1936
Country Flag of the United States United States
Language English
Website consumerreports.org
ISSN 0010-7174

Consumer Reports is an American magazine published monthly by Consumers Union. Cover date refers to the date displayed on the covers of Periodical publications such as Magazines and Comic books However this is not necessarily the true Consumer organizations are Advocacy groups that seek to protect people from Corporate abuse. This is a list of magazines by overall circulation. A Magazine 's circulation is the number of copies it distributes on average for each issue Consumers Union is an independent nonprofit testing and information organization serving consumers in the United States. Year 1936 ( MCMXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States An International Standard Serial Number ( ISSN) is a unique eight-digit number used to identify a print or electronic Periodical publication. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Magazines, periodicals or serials are Publications generally published on a regular schedule containing a variety of articles, generally Consumers Union is an independent nonprofit testing and information organization serving consumers in the United States. It publishes reviews and comparisons of consumer products and services based on reporting and results from its in-house testing laboratory. A laboratory (informally lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific Research, Experiments and It also publishes cleaning and general buying guides. It has approximately 4 million subscribers[1] and an annual testing budget of approximately $21 million U. S. [2] The annual Consumer Reports new car issue, released every April, is typically the magazine's best-selling issue and is thought to influence millions of automobile purchases.

Contents

Objectivity

Consumer Reports does not print outside advertising, accept free product samples, or permit the commercial use of its reviews for selling products. Its publisher states that this policy allows the magazine to "maintain our independence and impartiality. . . [so that] CU has no agenda other than the interests of consumers. "[3]

Consumer Reports states that all tested products are purchased at retail by its staff, that no free samples are accepted from manufacturers, and that this avoids the possibility of bias from bribery or from being given "better than average" samples.

Ancillary publications

ConsumerReports.org, the related website, claims more paid subscribers than any other publication-based Web site. Most of its information is available only to paid subscribers.

ConsumerReports. org provides updates on product availability, and adds new products to previously published test results. In addition, the online data includes coverage that is not published in the magazine; for example, vehicle reliability (frequency of repair) tables online extend over the full 10 model years reported in the Annual Questionnaires, whereas the magazine has only a six-year history of each model.

Magazine copies distributed in Canada include a small four-page supplement called "Canada Extra," explaining how the magazine's findings apply to that country and lists the examined items available there. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page

In 2002, Consumers Union launched the grant-funded project Consumer Reports WebWatch, which aims to improve the credibility of Web sites through investigative reporting, publicizing best-practices standards, and publishing a list of sites that comply with the standards. WebWatch has worked with the Stanford Web Credibility Project, Harvard University's Berkman Center, The Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Pennsylvania, and others. The Stanford Web Credibility Project, which involves assessments of Website credibility conducted by the Stanford University Persuasive Technology The Berkman Center for Internet and Society is a research center founded at Harvard Law School that focuses on the legal study of Cyberspace. WebWatch is a member of ICANN, the W3C and the Internet Society. ICANN (aɪkæn eye-can is the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. The Internet Society or ISOC is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1992 to provide leadership in Internet related standards education and policy Its content is free.

In 2005 Consumers Union launched the service Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs, which takes publicly available (but difficult to comprehend) studies on pharmaceutical effectiveness and combines them with pricing information with a goal of having an easy-to-read format.

Also in 2005 Consumers Union launched the service Greener Choices, which is meant to "inform, engage, and empower consumers about environmentally-friendly products and practices. " It contains information about conservation, electronics recycling and conservation with the goal or providing an "accessible, reliable, and practical source of information on buying “greener” products that have minimal environmental impact and meet personal needs. "

Product changes after Consumer Reports tests

In the July, 1978 issue, Consumer Reports rated the Dodge Omni/Plymouth Horizon car "not acceptable", the first cars it had judged such since the AMC Ambassador, in 1968. Year 1978 ( MCMLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar) The Dodge Omni and the similar Plymouth Horizon were Front wheel drive cars introduced by the Dodge and Plymouth divisions of Chrysler Corporation The Ambassador was the top-line automobile produced by the American Motors Corporation (AMC from 1958 until 1974 Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. In its testing they found the possibility of these models developing an oscillatory yaw as a result of a sudden violent input to the steering; the manufacturer claimed that "Some do, some don't" show this behavior, but it has no "validity in the real world of driving". [4] Nevertheless, the next year, these models included a lighter weight steering wheel rim and a steering damper; Consumer Reports reported that the previous instability was no longer present. Car handling and vehicle handling is a description of the way wheeled vehicles perform transverse to their direction of motion particularly during cornering and swerving

Lawsuits vs. Consumers Union

In 1981 the Bose Corporation sued Consumer Reports (CR) magazine for libel. CR reported in a review that the sound from the system that they reviewed "tended to wander about the room". The District Court found that CR "had published the false statement with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of its truth or falsity". The Court of Appeals reversed the trial court's ruling, and the United States Supreme Court affirmed in Bose Corp. v. Consumers Union of United States, Inc., finding that CR's statement was made without actual malice, which was the standard in cases where the First Amendment was involved; and therefore was not libelous. The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the federal judiciary. Bose Corp v Consumers Union of United States Inc was a Product disparagement case ultimately decided by the Supreme Court of the United States New York Times Co v Sullivan, 376 US 254 ( 1964) was a United States Supreme Court case which established the Actual malice standard The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the United States Bill of Rights that expressly prohibits the United States Congress [5][6][7]

In 1996, Consumers Union (CU) published a report indicating that the 1995-96 Isuzu Trooper sport utility vehicle had demonstrated a "tendency to roll over in certain situations" in its tests, and that it had determined that this was "not acceptable". The Isuzu Trooper is a Mid-size SUV produced by the Japanese automaker Isuzu between 1981 and 2002 A sport utility vehicle ( SUV) is a generic marketing description for a rugged automotive vehicle similar to a Station wagon but built on a light-truck chassis In a press conference, it called on Isuzu to discontinue sales and recall Troopers already sold, and continued to issue warnings about the Trooper, advising the public not to buy the vehicle, and suggesting that federal officials should launch an investigation into possible product defects. A news conference or press conference is a Media event in which newsmakers invite journalists to hear them speak and most often ask questions Isuzu filed a lawsuit against CU as a result of the article; the court ruled that CR had made "numerous false statements" and had put the Isuzu through tests that competitors were not subjected to, but though eight of ten jurors wanted to assign punitive damages, they did not find enough evidence of malicious intent and did not assign Isuzu cash damages. A jury a sworn body of persons convened to render a rational, impartial Verdict (a finding of fact on a question officially submitted to them [8]

In December 1997, however, the Trooper distributor in Puerto Rico sued CU, alleging that it had lost sales as a result of CU's disparagement of the Trooper. Puerto Rico (ˌpwertoˈriko officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ("Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico" {{lang-en|"Associated Free State of Puerto Rico"}} But the trial court granted CU's motion for summary judgment, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed the favorable judgment, on the grounds that CU had mentioned only Isuzu and the Trooper, not the distributor specifically; since the challenged statements were not "of and concerning" the distributor, they would be precluded from suing for any injuries suffered as a result of the statements. For the simplification and shortening of a longer text see Summary. The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit is a federal court with Appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts [9]

Related to this suit, in 1988, CU published that the Suzuki Samurai had demonstrated the same tendency to roll and deemed it "not acceptable. The Suzuki SJ-Series began production in 1982 in Hamamatsu, Japan. " In July 2004, this suit was settled and dismissed with no money changing hands. [10][11]

In 2003, Sharper Image sued CR in California for product disparagement, over negative reviews of its Ionic Breeze Quadra air purifier. The Sharper Image Corporation ( founded by Richard Thalheimer, was an American retailer that specialized in high-end electronics and gifts California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. An air purifier is a device which removes Contaminants from air CR moved for dismissal on October 31, 2003, under California's Anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) law, and the case was dismissed in November 2004, on the grounds that the Sharper Image "has not shown that the test protocol used by Consumers Union was scientifically, or otherwise, invalid," and had not "demonstrated a reasonable probability that any of the challenged statements were false. Events 445 BC – Ezra reads the Book of the Law to the Israelites in Jerusalem (see Nehemiah 91 NLTse Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. A Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (" SLAPP " is a Lawsuit or a threat of lawsuit that is intended to intimidate and silence critics by burdening " The decision also awarded CU $525,000 in legal fees and costs. [12][13]

Controversy over child safety seats

The February 2007 issue of Consumer Reports stated that only two of the child safety seats it tested for that issue passed the magazine's side impact tests. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which subsequently retested the seats, found that all those seats passed the corresponding NHTSA tests at the speeds described in the magazine report. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ( NHTSA, often pronounced "nit-suh" is an agency of the Executive Branch of the U The CR article reported that the tests simulated the effects of collisions at 38. 5 mph. However, the tests that were completed in fact simulated collisions at 70 mph. [14] CR stated in a letter from its president Jim Guest to its subscribers that it would retest the seats. The magazine issue with erroneous findings has not been recalled, but the letter states that after the seats are retested, the results of that test will be published. The article was removed from the CR website, and on January 18 2007 the organization posted a note on its home page about the misleading tests. Subscribers were also sent a postcard apologizing for the error.

On January 28, 2007, Joan Claybrook, who served on the board of CU from 1982 to 2006 (and was the head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration from 1977 to 1981), discussed the sequence of events leading to the publishing of the erroneous information. Events 1077 - Walk to Canossa: The Excommunication of Henry IV Holy Roman Emperor is lifted Joan Claybrook (born June 12, 1937) is an American Lawyer who has served as President of Public Citizen since 1982 The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ( NHTSA, often pronounced "nit-suh" is an agency of the Executive Branch of the U The magazine contracted with Calspan to do the actual testing; due to miscommunication, the tests were conducted (using test sleds) at an actual speed of 38 miles per hour. A sled, sledge or sleigh is a Vehicle with runners for sliding instead of wheels for rolling In fact, since automobiles in a crash continue to move after the crash—rather than absorbing all the energy of impact as a test sled does—a test sled impact of 38 miles per hour is considered equivalent to an automobile crash of 70 miles per hour; to replicate an automobile crash of 38 miles per hour, as was intended, the test sled crash should have been carried out at 20 miles per hour.

Claybrook admitted that the magazine should have been motivated to double-check the surprising results; however, she also pointed out that CR was attempting to execute what should have been NHTSA's work. "Consumer Reports does not conduct crash tests save for low-speed bumper-impact tests," she stated. "It has limited expertise in designing such [crash] tests. " She further noted that in 2000 Congress had mandated NHTSA to define a set of tests and issue a set of safety standards for child restraints within two years, but that NHTSA still had not yet done so, "though it took less than ten days to evaluate Consumer Reports’ testing and find the error. " [15]

Other errors or issues

In 2006, Consumer Reports said six hybrid vehicles would probably not save owners money. A hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that uses two or more distinct power sources to propel the vehicle The magazine later discovered that they had miscalculated depreciation, and released an update saying that four of the seven vehicles would save the buyer money, if the vehicle was kept for five years (including the federal tax credit for hybrid vehicles, which expires after each manufacturer sells 60,000 hybrid vehicles). Depreciation is a term used in Accounting, Economics and Finance to spread the cost of an Asset over the span of several years The term tax credit describes two different concepts The first is a recognition of partial payment already made towards Taxes due. [16]

In February 1998, the magazine tested pet food and claimed that Iams dog food was nutritionally deficient. Pet food is typically sold in Pet stores and Supermarkets It is usually specific to the type of Pet (such as Dog food or Cat food) Iams is a Brand name for Dog food and Cat food manufactured by Procter & Gamble. They later retracted the report claiming that there had been "a systemic error in the measurements of various minerals we tested – potassium, calcium and magnesium. Potassium (pəˈtæsiəm is a Chemical element. It has the symbol K (kalium from qalīy Atomic number 19 and Atomic mass 39 Calcium (ˈkælsiəm is the Chemical element with the symbol Ca and Atomic number 20 Magnesium (mægˈniːziəm is a Chemical element with the symbol Mg, Atomic number 12 Atomic weight 24 " They stated they would conduct the study again and publish the results but have yet to do so. [17]

In July 1996, Consumer Reports tested motor oils in a fleet of taxi cabs. Motor oil, or engine oil, is an Oil used for lubrication of various Internal combustion engines While the main function is to lubricate Moving A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of Public transport for a single passenger or small group of passengers typically for a non-shared ride In their article, they noted that "Big-city cabs don't see many cold start-ups or long periods of high speed driving in extreme heat. But our test results relate to the most common type of severe service - stop-and-go city driving. " They were unable to see a "meaningful" difference between any brands of oil which carried the API starburst symbol, but suggested that synthetic oil is "worth considering for extreme driving conditions high ambient temperatures and high engine load or very cold temperatures. Motor oil, or engine oil, is an Oil used for lubrication of various Internal combustion engines While the main function is to lubricate Moving Synthetic oil is Oil consisting of Chemical compounds which were not originally present in Crude oil ( Petroleum) but were Artificially " [18] This research was criticized by a Chrysler fan Web site, which claims that the research method did not include enough engine-damaging cold starts to be representative of personal vehicle use. [19]

See also

References

  1. ^ Our Mission. Good Housekeeping is a women's Magazine owned by the Hearst Corporation, featuring articles about women's interests product testing by The Good Housekeeping Underwriters Laboratories Inc (UL is a US non-profit privately owned and operated Product safety testing and certification organization Which? is a product-testing and campaigning charity with a Magazine and Website run by Which? Ltd (formerly known as the Consumers' Consumer Reports. Retrieved on 2006-06-20. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 451 - Battle of Chalons: Flavius Aetius ' defeats Attila the Hun.
  2. ^ Consumers Union shopping and testing. Consumer Reports. Retrieved on 2006-06-20. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 451 - Battle of Chalons: Flavius Aetius ' defeats Attila the Hun.
  3. ^ ConsumerReports.org - Our mission
  4. ^ Storm over the Omni Horizon, Time Magazine, Jun 26, 1978
  5. ^ Commentary on libel cases in general giving a specific example of Bose Corp. v. Consumer's Union of United States.
  6. ^ Opinion of the United States Supreme Court
  7. ^ NY Times editorial on the Supreme Court's ruling
  8. ^ The Car Connection
  9. ^ Legal Watch Defamation Claim Arising from Consumer Report Dismissed
  10. ^ ConsumerReports.org - SUZUKI AND CONSUMERS UNION AGREE ON DISMISSAL OF LAWSUIT 7/04
  11. ^ Suzuki & Cu Agreement
  12. ^ Quackwatch article
  13. ^ InfomercialWatch article
  14. ^ Detroit News
  15. ^ Joan Claybrook. Time (trademarked in capitals as TIME) is a weekly American Newsmagazine, similar to Newsweek and Events 363 - Roman Emperor Julian is killed during the retreat from the Sassanid Empire. Year 1978 ( MCMLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar) "Crash Test Dummies", The New York Times, 2007-01-28. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1077 - Walk to Canossa: The Excommunication of Henry IV Holy Roman Emperor is lifted Retrieved on 2007-01-29. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 904 - Sergius III comes out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed Antipope Christopher.  "How the testing mistake was made is instructive not only for Consumer Reports but for everyone who cares about public safety. " 
  16. ^ Update: This is a revised report on "The dollars and sense of hybrids". Consumers Union (September 2006). Retrieved on 2007-01-29. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 904 - Sergius III comes out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed Antipope Christopher.
  17. ^ Consumer Reports' good reputation takes hit from flawed car seats report. San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved on 2007-02-05. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1576 - Henry of Navarre converts to Roman Catholicism in order to ensure his right to the throne of France.
  18. ^ "The surprising truth about motor oils" (July 1996). Consumer Reports: 10-13.  
  19. ^ Statistical problems of Consumer Reports auto ratings (English). Retrieved on 2007-04-08. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 217 - Roman Emperor Caracalla is Assassinated (and succeeded by his Praetorian

External links

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