ConsumerReports

The Walmart bribery scandal has shined a harsh spotlight on corporate misdeeds. How can you keep track of the probity of the businesses you patronize? These websites can help.

Despite its troubles in recent years, Toyota retained its crown in Consumer Reports' annual survey of auto-brand perception, but the survey also showed that Ford is rapidly closing the gap, and other brands aren't far behind.

Are women actually better at buying used cars than men? LeaseTrader, which runs a used-car marketplace for people who want to get in or out of a lease rather than buy, crunched some data and came to just that conclusion.

Coca-Cola has never shied away from trying new variations of its classic beverage. The company also is known for adding flavorful twists like lime and lemon to its drinks. But last week, both Coke and archrival Pepsi revealed that a more disturbing addition had made its way into their drinks: fungicide.

In this economy, people aren't just cutting out luxuries, nearly half of Americans are skimping on necessities like medication and doctor visits -- drastic actions that could be dangerous to their health.

The American consumer's financial health is showing signs of improvement, but the weak job market continues to derail the nation's economic recovery -- particularly for people in the lower income brackets, according to September's Consumer Reports Index, released on Tuesday.

Almost nothing loses its value faster after being bought than a car, and 24/7 Wall St. has found the 10 worst performers from a resale standpoint. But the reason most people would expect a new vehicle to drop in value -- poor reliability -- is rarely why they actually depreciated so much.

Which of your household products are the most prone to go kaput? It turns out laptop computers, lawn tractors and side-by-side refrigerators -- a disparate trio -- are the most likely to need repair, according to Consumer Reports' most recent Product Reliability Survey, featured in the August...

#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-771045{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-771045, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-771045{width:620px;height:439px;display:block;}Bottled water? That's so '80s. The $14.4 billion bottled-water market has come under...

Conventional wisdom would say that washing dishes is more energy-efficient than using the dishwasher, and that you need air cleaners to help keep your home free of pollutants. But sometimes, conventional wisdom needs to be rethought, and when warranted, debunked. People will shell out money on...