How to Buy a Used Car Now

Safety EquipmentIn recent years, a growing number of new cars have included advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) technology as optional, if not standard, equipment. That means used cars are more readily available with features ranging from automatic emergency braking (AEB) to adaptive cruise control (ACC). Among those features, Consumer Reports highly recommends AEB with pedestrian…

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Phonak Audeo Infinio Ultra Sphere Review: Premium Hearing Aids

If you’re comparing the photos of the Audeo Infinio Ultra Sphere—Phonak’s most powerful hearing aid to date—to the product’s name, you’re not crazy: It’s not the slightest bit round. Rather, it’s a traditional, teardrop-shaped, behind-the-ear hearing aid that takes its name from Phonak’s new Spheric Speech Clarity 2.0 system, designed to enhance the understandability of…

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Talking Cars 478: Driving the Subaru Forester Hybrid

Main theme: In this podcast episode, we give our driving impressions of the all-new 2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid. Adding a hybrid powertrain to the recently redesigned Forester is a smart choice because it should better position the highly rated small SUV to compete with its prime rivals, many of which have offered hybrids for several…

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How Much Melatonin Should You Be Taking? (2026)

Two things I always watch for with supplements, even with guidance from my doctor: Does it have a CGMP certification, and is there any data to back up the marketing claims? CGMP stands for “Current Good Manufacturing Process,” which are FDA guidelines put in place for a product’s safety. This includes where and how it…

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Best Clothes Dryers of 2025, Tested and Reviewed

Keith Flamer Keith Flamer has been a multimedia content creator at Consumer Reports since 2021, covering laundry, cleaning, small appliances, and home trends. Fascinated by interior design, architecture, technology, and all things mechanical, he translates CR’s testing engineers’ work into content that helps readers live better, smarter lives. Prior to CR, Keith covered luxury accessories…

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CR’s Holiday Tipping Cheat Sheet

There are no hard-and-fast rules about how much you should tip at the holidays, but some tipping norms have become a social convention. For example, giving your barber a holiday bonus equal to the cost of one haircut has become a customary way to show thanks for year-round service. (See “Your Giving Guide,” below, for…

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Most Reliable Kitchen Appliance Brands

The luxury appliance brand Gaggenau sits atop our kitchen appliance rankings with our highest Overall Score, though it has only three product categories in our brand reliability ranking calculation: dishwashers, cooktops, and wall ovens. Gaggenau debuted in our appliance rankings in 2024. LG takes second place, followed by Signature Kitchen Suite in third. Thermador and Wolf/Sub-Zero…

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