Bartle Doo Article Archives

Provectus Presents Data on PV-10 Combination Therapy at American Association of Cancer Research Annu

April 10, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

Filed under: Investing

Provectus Presents Data on PV-10 Combination Therapy at American Association of Cancer Research Annual Meeting

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Provectus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCQB: PVCT, http://www.pvct.com), a development-stage oncology and dermatology biopharmaceutical company, presented data on PV-10 combination therapy today at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting in Washington, DC.

The presentation, based upon Abstract #4755 entitled, “Combination of PV-10 Immuno-chemoablation and Systemic Anti-CTLA-4 Antibody Therapy in Murine Models of Melanoma,” was authored by Eric Wachter, Savannah Blair, Jamie Singer and Craig Dees, all of Provectus Pharmaceuticals. The poster was presented by Dr. Wachter, Chief Technology Officer.

PV-10 is Provectus Pharmaceuticals‘s novel oncology drug designed to selectively target and destroy cancer cells without harming surrounding healthy tissue, significantly reducing potential for systemic side effects. Previous preclinical and clinical studies have established that upon intralesional (IL) administration, PV-10 localizes to injected tumor tissues while rapidly clearing from healthy tissue. Intralesional injection with PV-10 focuses the ablative impact on injected tumors and minimizes the potential for systemic side effects, making it an attractive candidate for both monotherapy and for combination therapy with other agents.

In Phase 2 testing PV-10 elicited an objective response rate of 51% in melanoma patients (CR: 25%; PR: 26%) after 1-4 treatment cycles, with a third of patients experiencing an objective response in their monitored untreated tumors (CR: 26%; PR: 7% in 42 patients with monitored untreated lesions). This apparent immune-mediated bystander response was highly correlated with successful ablation of injected tumors. Recent mechanism studies in B16 murine melanoma tumor lines have confirmed that PV-10 ablation induces T-cell mediated tumor-specific immunity, resulting in marked suppression of untreated metastases and tumor-specific IFN-ˠ production.

The data presented today at AACR utilized systemic immune stimulation by the anti-CTLA-4 antibody 9H10 to explore the potential benefit of combination therapy with PV-10 immuno-chemoablation in murine melanoma. Because advanced melanoma patients, particularly those with stage IV disease, have substantial tumor burden in areas that are often non-accessible to injection with PV-10, combination of PV-10 with systemic therapy may afford advantage in control of uninjected disease while the immunologic effects of PV-10 reach full potential. By combining PV-10 with the anti-CTLA-4 antibody 9H10 in very aggressive murine models of metastatic disease, researchers at Provectus aimed to ensure that any systemic treatment was potentially safe in combination with PV-10, and that efficacy signals from the combination therapy could be differentiated from those of PV-10 alone.

In order to discriminate the systemic effect of PV-10 alone from that in

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Cree Lights Way to Savings for Geneva, N.Y. Tops Friendly Markets

April 9, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

Filed under: Investing

Cree Lights Way to Savings for Geneva, N.Y. Tops Friendly Markets

New Grocery Location Saves Energy and Maintenance Costs with Cree ^® LED Lighting

DURHAM, N.C.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Tops Friendly Markets, a leading full-scale grocery retailer in the northeast United States, recently selected energy-efficient LED lighting by Cree, Inc. (NAS: CREE) to illuminate its 51,364-square-foot store in Geneva, N.Y. The store, which opened in November 2012, features Cree® CS18™ luminaires and CR24™ trofferslighting the aisles, specialty departments and pharmacy for an estimated energy savings of 70 percent over the T5 fluorescent lighting that Tops Markets had previously installed.

“Tops Markets has always been progressive in designing energy efficiency into its store. When we heard about the Cree CS18 linear luminaire, we conducted a test installation in Buffalo and the results were excellent,” said Dan Jaskza, energy consultant for Tops Markets. “Not only did the Cree LED lighting product offer us 70 percent energy savings [over the previous T5 fluorescent design], but also improved lighting quality without compromising lighting levels.”

Featuring Cree TrueWhite^® Technology, Cree CS18 and CR24 architectural troffers provide exceptional color rendering, helping to improve the visual shopping experience by making the merchandise colors more vibrant and appealing. In addition, the Cree CS18 troffers solve the need for strong vertical light levels when mounted on the store’s 13-foot ceiling.

“Consistent, high-quality light levels from top to bottom of the shelf are a critical need for retailers as they look to enhance the overall shopping experience,” said Mike Bauer, vice president of lighting sales, Cree. “The CS and CR troffers deliver the lighting quality Tops Markets desires, with the added benefits of low-maintenance and energy efficiency – ultimately supporting the bottom line.”

Designed to offer up to 100,000 lifetime hours, Cree CR24 troffers help Tops Markets reduce energy consumption by offering dimming capabilities – key considerations for the 24-hour store. In addition to savings achieved through dimmable light levels and decreased maintenance costs, the Cree LED troffers are backed by a 10-year limited warranty. Tops Markets estimates the Cree system will pay for itself within two-and-a-half years.

“For any supermarket operator today, whether they are building a new store or implementing an upgrade, Cree LED lighting is a must-do solution,” Jaszka continued. “It offers energy savings, quality of light and is also fantastic in terms of maintenance reduction.”

A second Tops Markets location featuring Cree CS18 luminaires …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Emergent BioSolutions to Expand Front Line CLL Clinical Trial of TRU-016 and Rituximab Based on Stro

April 5, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

Filed under: Investing

Emergent BioSolutions to Expand Front Line CLL Clinical Trial of TRU-016 and Rituximab Based on Strong Patient Enrollment and Encouraging Early Clinical Data

ROCKVILLE, Md.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYS: EBS) today announced its decision to expand the protocol for its ongoing Phase 1b, single arm, open label study (Protocol 16009) evaluating the safety and efficacy of TRU-016 in combination with rituximab in previously untreated patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The expanded protocol will include two new study cohorts to examine a lower dose of TRU-016 with rituximab in front line CLL and to evaluate the combination in relapsed CLL patients. This decision is based on strong patient enrollment along with encouraging early safety and efficacy data from this study. TRU-016 is the company’s humanized anti-CD37 monospecific protein therapeutic, built on its ADAPTIR^TM (Modular Protein Technology) platform, for the treatment of CLL.

“Emergent is pleased with the progress of our Phase 1b study of TRU-016 in combination with rituximab in front line patients with CLL. The strong enrollment and the encouraging early data from this open label study are expected to facilitate an expanded clinical trial program that would further support the start of Phase 3 clinical trials for TRU-016 in 2014,” said Scott C. Stromatt, M.D., senior vice president and chief medical officer of Emergent BioSolutions. “We thank our investigators and all of the patients for the progress thus far and look forward to presenting data later this year.”

The company anticipates that this expanded clinical program will significantly enhance the value of TRU-016 and the company’s active partnering program without impacting the company’s total 2013 operating expenses.

Update on TRU-016 in Combination with Bendamustine (Protocol 16201)

TRU-016 is also currently being evaluated in a randomized, open label, active-controlled Phase 2 study in combination with bendamustine in patients with relapsed CLL. This study is on track to achieve its target enrollment of approximately 60 patients in April 2013. The primary outcome measurement for this study is overall response rate. Results from the Phase 1b portion of this study, presented at the American Society of Hematology annual meeting on December 8, 2012, indicated that TRU-016 in combination with bendamustine was well tolerated and showed an NCI overall response rate of 83% with a CR rate of 33% (n=12). “Data from the combination study with bendamustine are very encouraging,” said Dr. Stromatt. “TRU-016 is a unique molecule with a novel target that has shown additive and/or synergistic efficacy in animal …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

By Rich Smith, The Motley Fool

3 Cable Companies America Hates the Most and 1 You Love

April 3, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

Filed under: Investing

The results are in. After polling its readers — habitual evaluators of the relative “goodness” of products — Consumer Reports announced this month which cable TV companies are the most hated in America, and which one actually might be worth a try.

Worst of the worst
I won’t keep you waiting for the results. Privately owned (and redundantly named) Mediacom Communications comes in at the very bottom of the list of 17 rated cable companies. It’s followed in short order by three publicly traded firms that were rated only marginally better in quality: Charter Communications , Time Warner Cable , and Comcast , ranked Nos. 16, 15, and 14, respectively.

All four of these cable companies get Consumer Reports‘ absolute worst rating for the “value” of the service they provide — a big black circle. (Indeed, Mediacom gets more fully blackened circles than anyone else, scoring unacceptably in five out of eight categories rated.) Of the three firms (barely) outscoring Mediacom, Charter and Time Warner avoid completely black marks on reliability, while Comcast actually scores a middle-of-the-road white circle for the dependability of its service.

Time Warner, meanwhile, can boast of at least the middling quality of its “cable guys” when they come to fix the cable. They probably get a lot of practice at fixing stuff, too. I mean, have you seen Time Warner‘s lousy dependability rating?

Charter, meanwhile, scores equally badly on both reliability and in-home customer support.

Is bigger better?
But what about the one company I said “actually might be worth a try”? Interestingly, according to Consumer Reports‘ findings, the best outfit in cable just might also be the biggest outfit in cell phones.

Topping the CR list for “cable” providers this year is a company that actually strings fiber-optics to the home — Verizon‘s FiOS service. According to CR readers, Verizon’s fiber-optic lines get top marks for reliability and picture and deliver decent audio, and the company offers customer service that’s only half-bad, to boot. And as I mentioned above, Verizon is also the country’s biggest cell phone provider, through its Verizon Wireless partnership with Vodafone. So if you’re a fan of “bundled” services, Verizon might be a good way to go.

Sometimes, bigger is better
Verizon’s stock doesn’t look like a half-bad value, either. Although possessed of an obscene-looking P/E, the company churns out a lot of cash from its business. “Doing well by doing a good job,” you might say. This gives the stock a price-to-free cash flow ratio of just 9.3 — which seems cheap relative to mid-6% growth estimates and a 4.2% dividend yield.

Meanwhile, the stock‘s occupying the bottom of Consumer Reports‘ list are a varied lot. Comcast, at a price-to-FCF ratio of 12.3, could actually turn out to be a better investment than the best cable provider if it lives up to expectations of a 17%-plus growth rate. Time Warner, also with strong free cash flow, looks slightly undervalued. Charter, unprofitable, but …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Articles of Interest

Obama Hits Wealthy On The Runway With Air Traffic Control Tower Cuts

April 1, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

By The Huffington Post News Editors

WASHINGTON — For the most part, the super wealthy are not directly affected by cuts to government services. Private security guards, private schools and private money have a way of blunting the impact of austerity. But the Obama administration is hitting the rich in one place that hurts — on the runway.

Sequestration-related budget cuts will lead to the closure of 149 air traffic control towers across the country, the Federal Aviation Administration announced last week. The decision strikes the type of smaller airports on which the well-heeled rely for private jet travel, in what looks like an effort to galvanize the one percent to exercise their considerable political influence to help end the sequester.

The congressional attempt to stave off the airport attack failed. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) was rebuffed last month when he tried to amend legislation to assure an extra $50 million was allocated to preserve private plane travel. “What cracked me up during the CR [continuing resolution] debate was watching Moran foam at the mouth with [Senate Majority Leader Harry] Reid stopping him from getting a vote,” quipped one Senate Democratic aide. “Fiscal control! We need the sequester! Except, of course, when it affects them.”

Why The Fiscal 'Sequester' Scheme Is Actually Bullish

March 15, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

By Richard M. Salsman, Contributor

Typical of the profligate state is its accelerating administrative-fiscal chaos: it lurches from crisis to crisis, while periodically instigating crises in markets, too. It misses mandated budget deadlines, resorts to accounting gimmicks, and evades long-term structural problems of social spending and debt. This pattern is becoming more apparent in the U.S. With Washington recording five consecutive years of $1+ trillion budget deficits, partisans from both sides of the aisle issue apocalyptic warnings about fiscal catastrophes – like the “fiscal cliff” (January 1st) and “sequester” (March 1st). Soon, we’ll see new threats of a government shutdown, when the current “continuing resolution’ (CR) expires (March 27th), and more threats of a public debt default are likely – similar to those launched in August 2011, when the U.S. lost its triple-A rating – when the federal debt ceiling is reached once again (May 19th). …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest

Linux

CSV to CSV MS-DOS

March 14, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

By shadyuk

Hello,

I have the following script which converts some data in a CSV file from one format to another. However, I have to convert the CSV (Macintosh) file to CSV or CSV (MS-DOS) first else the script wont work. I do this in Excel. I know it has something to do with the line endings, where CSV (Macintosh) saves with CR as the new-line character, and CSV (Comma delimited) and CSV (DOS) both use CR/LF.

Is there a way to add something to the top of my script that negates the need for me to convert manually?

Code:

#!/bin/ksh

if [ $# -ne 1 ] || [ ! -f "$1" ] then echo "Usage: $0 file" >&2 exit 1 fi awk ' NR==1{ $0="header1,header2,headerN" } NR>1{ for(i=2; i<=NF; i++) if($i~/^[KMG0-9]+/[KMG0-9]+$/) sub("/",",",$i) $0=$0 for(i=2; i<=NF; i++) if($i~/^[KMG0-9]+$/){ p=0 if($i~/G/) p=9 if($i~/M/) p=6 if($i~/K/) p=3 sub(/[GMK]/,".",$i) $i*=10^p } } 1 ' FS=, OFS=, "$1"

Virginia Commerce Bank Continues Partnership with Community Residences

March 4, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

Filed under: Investing

Virginia Commerce Bank Continues Partnership with Community Residences

ARLINGTON, Va.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Virginia Commerce Bank is pleased to announce that the Virginia Commerce Bank Foundation (the VCB Foundation) awarded $7,500 to Community Residences, Inc. (CR), as part of a five-year partnership that commenced in 2011. CR is a non-profit organization that provides services to individuals with disabilities in Virginia and Maryland, enabling them to live with greater independence and a higher quality of life. The partnership reflects the VCB Foundation’s commitment to support local health and human services organizations, thereby strengthening the communities that VCB serves.

Pictured (left to right): Byron Schulze, SVP Community Banking, Virginia Commerce Bank; Peter Converse, President & CEO, Virginia Commerce Bank; Dennis Manning, President & CEO, Community Residences, Inc. (Photo: Virginia Commerce Bank)

Since 2006, Virginia Commerce Bank has supported CR‘s mission by helping them finance capital investments, such as vans with chair lifts and CR-owned homes for residents. In addition to VCB providing CR with financial services and cash donations, its employees have volunteered with CR to organize fundraisers to benefit resident programs.

“Virginia Commerce Bank is dedicated to giving back to the communities we serve, including support for organizations such as Community Residences that make such a positive difference in the lives of individuals and families in Northern Virginia,” said Peter A. Converse, President and CEO of Virginia Commerce Bank. “We are honored to partner with Community Residences, providing banking services and direct financial support. Community Residences is just one example of how the VCB Foundation provides support for organizations to make a difference in their communities.”

For more about Community Residences, please visit www.communityresidences.org

About the VCB Foundation

The Virginia Commerce Bank Foundation was established in March of 2012 in partnership with the Arlington Community Foundation for the purpose of continuing its support of non-profit organizations throughout Northern Virginia and Fredericksburg. Grants awarded through the VCB Foundation support the following areas: economic development, financial and public educational programs, health and human services, social and civic services, youth programs and the arts.

About Virginia Commerce Bank

Established in 1988, Virginia Commerce Bank (NASDAQ-VCBI) is a full-service, community bank headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, with $ 2.8 billion in assets. The Bank serves the …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Canon U.S.A. Showcases Document Technology and Clinical Solutions at HIMSS13

March 4, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

Continue reading Lexus, Mazda and Subaru top Consumer Reports Brand Report Cards

Filed under: Investing

Canon U.S.A. Showcases Document Technology and Clinical Solutions at HIMSS13

Full Suite of Canon Solutions for Multiple Healthcare Environments, from Digital Radiology, Eyecare and Document Technology Solutions

NEW ORLEANS–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Canon U.S.A., Inc. (booth #8741), a leader in digital imaging solutions, will feature the latest of its digital radiography (DR) technologies, Eyecare instruments, multifunction devices and scanning solutions at the Healthcare Information Management Systems Society Annual Conference (HIMSS), at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, New Orleans, from March 3-7, 2013.

With an ability to provide solutions for both general information processing and clinical patient care, Canon’s comprehensive technology portfolio can help healthcare customers streamline their business operations while enhancing information management.

Canon’s booth will feature the demonstration of technology in real-world environments including:

Admissions, Records Retention and Nurses’ Station: State-of-the-art Canon document technology solutions, such as the imageFORMULA DR-G1130 document scanner and imageRUNNER ADVANCE C5255 MFP, quickly and easily transfer paper-based patient records into electronic health records (EHRs) leveraging HL7 Clinical Document Architecture (CDA) standards. These solutions can help healthcare providers capture paper-based clinical data and immediately incorporate it into patient records.
Digital Radiography: Canon’s digital radiography technology allows healthcare professionals to easily capture high-quality diagnostic images for routine diagnosis and/or challenging trauma while providing flexibility for in-patient positioning, workflow and throughput. Canon will showcase mobile and portable DR solutions with the RadPRO 40kW Digital Mobile X-Ray System¹,CXDI-70C Wireless Digital Detector and CXDI Control Software NE Software.
Eyecare: Canon Eyecare technology and advanced workflow management solutions easily integrate with leading PACS & EMR/EHR systems to help accelerate the eye exam process and create a streamlined diagnostic workflow. Canon will display its CR-2 Digital Non-Mydriatic Retinal Camera and imageSPECTRUM Software to demonstrate the system’s patient-friendly design and extreme operator ease-of-use. Canon Eyecare instruments provide some of the most advanced high-resolution imaging available and offer excellent interoperability with DICOM² networks, providing eyecare professionals with the ability to treat more patients.
IT Solutions: The extensive suite of Canon solutions and services help safeguard patient health information (PHI) and encourage providers …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Automobiles

Official: Lexus, Mazda and Subaru top Consumer Reports Brand Report Cards

February 26, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

By Seyth Miersma

Filed under:

A revised methodology in devising its annual Car Brand Report Cards has seen Consumer Reports award Lexus its top overall ranking for 2013. For the first time ever, the institute broke out individual brands from their larger corporate umbrellas, meaning car makers like Lexus and Scion were judged independently from parent company Toyota. That strategy worked out well for Lexus, as the luxury brand earned a top report card score of 79 for the 2013 model year.

The institute has recommended every one of the Lexus models it has tested to date, and said that the company’s products won out thanks to “a foundation of plush and very reliable vehicles.”

Meanwhile, Mazda and Subaru tied for the second-highest scoring report cars, with scores of 76. Subaru earned praised for sporting models like the BRZ, which CR testers apparently had a lot of fun driving (naturally), while the Mazda products were lauded for their blend of practicality, sportiness and efficiency. Both of the Japanese brands offered good handling, fuel economy and versatility, said Consumer Reports.

Acura and Toyota rounded out the top five with twin scores of 74 points. A full eight out of the top ten best brands were Japanese companies, with Audi (eighth place) and Mercedes-Benz (tenth place) the only European companies with high-ranking scores. CR noted that those Euro brands were inconsistent this year, with Volkswagen losing ground and Mini doing the worst overall of the European brands, at 20 out of 26 overall.

Domestic automakers didn’t do particularly well, either. Cadillac was at the tops of the General Motors portfolio, but was still held back by just average reliability and no love at CR for “complicated CUE controls,” a complaint we’ve heard before. Ford and Lincoln were also dinged for their infotainment systems and reliability, as well as for EcoBoost engines that didn’t deliver on promised fuel economy ratings. Chrysler’s brands were the worst off, however, with just the Dodge Durango, Jeep Grand Cherokee V6 and Chrysler 300 V6 being recommended by the publication. Scroll down for the full list of Brand Report Card scores, as well as the Consumer Reports press release. Or, head over to the CR website to read the full feature, and find out the granular info behind each of the brands.

Lexus, Mazda and Subaru top Consumer Reports Brand Report Cards originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 26 Feb 2013 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Hyundai, Los Angeles Times and Consumer Reports in fuel economy skirmish?

Automobiles

New York Times admits Tesla Model S writer didn't use "good judgment"

February 19, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

By Sebastian Blanco

Filed under:

And, lo, in the case of John Broder vs. Elon Musk, The New York Times is admitting defeat. A little bit. Sort of.

“Musk is at fault, too, for using the car’s driving logs “in the most damaging (and sometimes quite misleading) ways possible.”

Yesterday, the NYT‘s public editor, Margaret Sullivan, wrote the official Times response to the very public dispute between the newspaper’s reporter, John Broder – who wrote a story about how a Tesla Model S failed him on a trip up the east coast – and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who called that original story a fake and then dumped a bunch of data from the car’s log to show why he used that word. Editor Sullivan admits the drive “did not go well.” In the aftermath, she says she tried to look at the facts in an unbiased fashion, eventually determining that Broder was not precise enough at times and did “not especially” use “good judgment along the way.” Musk is at fault, too, she says, for using the car’s driving logs “in the most damaging (and sometimes quite misleading) ways possible, as he defended his vehicle’s reputation.” Sullivan also says she believes Broder, “took on the test drive in good faith, and told the story as he experienced it” even as he “left himself open to valid criticism by taking what seem to be casual and imprecise notes along the journey.”

This whole story, of course, is really about the fact that electric vehicles suffer a drop in range in cold weather, which matters more than in normal cars since there is less range to begin with (not to mention it takes longer to refuel an EV‘s energy reserves than it does its liquid-fueled counterparts). There are a number of factors in play, but Tesla has said range drop in the Model S is about 10 percent (which, interestingly enough, is about the same as what vehicles powered by gasoline engines suffer in such weather).

Interestingly enough, a 10-percent efficiency drop is about the same as what ICE vehicles suffer.

Consumer Reports has an interesting article up about learning how to adjust to cold-weather changes in its Model S, including a tale similar to Broder’s about running the car down to the “charge now” warning screen, but the institute managed to make it to their destination. CR writes, “To its credit, the Model S delivered 176 miles from a full charge in cold weather – considerably more than any other EV on the planet. While it was in line with what the car predicted, it proved well short of the rated 240 miles the car promised when I started, let alone the 265 estimated by the EPA or the 300 touted by Tesla.”

Meanwhile, over in take-a-step-back-ville, Grist suggests that the entire public dispute is a “sideshow” and that:

It is …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog

White House Press Office

Presidential Memorandum — Presidential Determination Regarding Waiver of Restriction on Providing Funds to the Palestinian Authority

February 8, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

By The White House

MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE

SUBJECT: Waiver of Restriction on Providing Funds to the Palestinian Authority

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 7040(b) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2012 (Division I, Public Law 112-74) (the “Act”) as carried forward by the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013 (Public Law 112-175) (the “CR“), I hereby certify that it is important to the national security interests of the United States to waive the provisions of section 7040(a) of the Act as carried forward by the CR, in order to provide funds appropriated to carry out chapter 4 of part II of the Foreign Assistance Act, as amended, to the Palestinian Authority.

You are directed to transmit this determination to the Congress, with a report pursuant to section 7040(d) of the Act as carried forward by the CR, and to publish this determination in the Federal Register.

BARACK OBAMA

Automobiles

Exclusive: Hyundai, Los Angeles Times and Consumer Reports in fuel economy skirmish?

February 7, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

By Chris Paukert

Hyundai chart showing Consumer Reports vs. EPA fuel economy data

Filed under:

On Wednesday, Consumer Reports issued a story taking umbrage with the auto industry’s move toward smaller, turbocharged engines, noting its own testing revealed that many such powerplants fail to deliver their promised fuel economy numbers. The story covered a variety of domestic and foreign automakers, with Ford and Chevrolet featuring prominently in the discussion. Hyundai was also mentioned for its Sonata Turbo, but the Korean automaker’s family sedan came within one observed mile per gallon of its EPA ratings in CR‘s test, and its normally aspirated 2.4-liter counterpart actually beat its combined EPA ratings, 27 mpg to 26.

Good news for Hyundai, right? The automaker was so pleased with its report card that it sent out a small statement to a handful of news outlets including Autoblog, reading in part:

“We at Hyundai believe that Consumer Reports real-world average fuel economy testing results and EPA combined fuel economy results should correlate, and in fact do correlate nicely for some brands. Among all brands, Hyundai does particularly well in this correlation, with no high-volume brand having a better correlation between EPA combined and Consumer Reports real-world fuel economy.”

Garden-variety PR stuff to this point, but here’s where the issue gets more complicated…

Hyundai, Los Angeles Times and Consumer Reports in fuel economy skirmish? originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 07 Feb 2013 15:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Consumer Reports criticizes small turbo engines for misleading performance, fuel economy claims [w/video]

Automobiles

Study: Consumer Reports criticizes small turbo engines for misleading performance, fuel economy claims [w/video]

February 5, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

By Zach Bowman

Filed under: Sedan, Crossover, Chevrolet, Ford, Hyundai

Consumer Reports has taken aim at at small-displacement, forced-induction engines, saying the powerplants don’t manage to deliver on automaker fuel economy claims. Manufacturers have long held that smaller, turbocharged engines pack all power of their larger displacement cousins with significantly better fuel economy, but the research organization says that despite scoring high EPA economy numbers, the engines are no better than conventional drivetrains in both categories. Jake Fisher, director of automotive testing for Consumer Reports, says the forced induction options “are often slower and less fuel efficient than larger four and six-cylinder engines.”

Specifically, CR calls out the new Ford Fusion equipped with the automaker’s Ecoboost 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine. The institute’s researchers found the engine, which is a $795 option over the base 2.5-liter four-cylinder, fails to match competitors in acceleration and served up 25 miles per gallon in testing, putting the sedan dead last among other midsize options.

The Chevrolet Cruze, Hyundai Sonata Turbo and Ford Escape 2.0T all got dinged for the same troubles, though Consumer Reports has found the turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder in the BMW 328i does deliver on its promises. You can check out the full press release below. You can also read the full study on the Consumer Reports site, or scroll down for a short video recap.

Consumer Reports criticizes small turbo engines for misleading performance, fuel economy claims [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 05 Feb 2013 10:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Toyota, Ford and Honda again top Consumer Reports Car-Brand Perception Survey

Automobiles

Study: Toyota, Ford and Honda again top Consumer Reports Car-Brand Perception Survey

February 1, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

By Zach Bowman

Filed under: Car Buying, Marketing/Advertising, Ford, Honda, Toyota

Consumer Reports has released its annual Car-Brand Perception Survey, and the list looks awfully familiar. The top six brands are identical to last year’s results, with Toyota, Ford and Honda continuing to occupy the podium. All told, Toyota walked away with 133 points, putting it 15 ahead of second-place Ford. Honda jumped 26 points this year, narrowing Ford’s lead to just four points in total.

Consumer Reports polls buyers from across the country on how they see multiple brands in seven categories, including quality, safety, value, performance, design/style, technology/innovation and environmentally friendly/green. Researchers then combine the findings to come up with the total brand score.

While value and performance remain important to buyers, CR found quality and safety are still on top when it comes to significance. Scion and Mitsubishi found themselves at the bottom of the pack with the worst score of all, tied at just six points. Ram, Fiat and Mini filled out the lowest five with scores of seven, eight and 10 points, respectively. You can read the full press release below for more information, or head over to the Consumer Reports site.

Toyota, Ford and Honda again top Consumer Reports Car-Brand Perception Survey originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 01 Feb 2013 13:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Consumer Reports selling its road-tested roadsters [w/video]

Automobiles

Consumer Reports selling its road-tested roadsters [w/video]

January 31, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

By Jonathon Ramsey

Filed under: Car Buying, Convertible, Performance, Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Luxury

Here’s a chance to acquire a celebrity-owned vehicles, and this time at a discount instead of a premium. So the celebrity in this case is Consumer Reports, that magazine that could be equally adored and abhored by car enthusiasts. CR buys all of its test vehicles and usually finds willing second owners within its own ranks, but its opening its small used-car lot to the public. On the forecourt are four roadsters: an automatic 2012 Audi TT 2.0 TFSI Quattro S-Tronic with 6,600 miles for $36,500, a manual 2012 BMW Z4 sDrive28i with 8,400 miles for $45,000, a manual 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLK250 for $39,500 and a manual 2013 Porsche Boxster with 7,000 miles for $48,000.

Those numbers mean a savings of $9,000 to $10,000 before haggling – each car is listed with an “Asking price” so there could be some wiggle room if you show up with pockets full of dough and eyes full of serious intent. Since the money CR earns from the sales go back into the magazine’s budget to buy more test cars, however, it probably won’t take any oddball trades, so you can forget about getting any purchasing help from that track-day AMC Javelin project on blocks in the back yard.

The vehicles have been taken care of and spiffed up for sale; buyers will take delivery at the CR test track in East Haddam, Connecticut and get a tour of the facilities. While you’re there they’ll even take you on a lap around the track so you can feel how your car handles when driven by one of its testers. They will probably not help you with advice on which toaster and dehumidifier to buy – you’ll still need to get a subscription for that. Have a look at the video below to see a day in the life of a CR test car.

Consumer Reports selling its road-tested roadsters [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 31 Jan 2013 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Daily Dividend Report: NBL, ARG, MWV, AHGP, CR

January 29, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

By MarketNewsVideo Noble Energy Incorporated (NBL) maintained its quarterly dividend of 25 cents per share. The dividend is payable on February 25, 2013 to the shareholders of record on February 11, 2013.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Markets

Automobiles

Report: Consumer Reports: Ford Fusion fun but flawed; Mitsubishi i-MiEV slow, chintzy [w/videos]

January 23, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

By Jeffrey N. Ross

Filed under: Budget, Hybrid, Sedan, Hatchback, Ford, Electric

Waiting for a Ford compliment from Consumer Reports these days is like waiting for a low-cost new product from Apple. So we weren’t really expecting a glowing review of the 2013 Ford Fusion when CR got its hands on the car. The institute’s crew bought three different versions of the Fusion (Hybrid, 1.6-liter EcoBoost and a Titanium with the 2.0-liter EcoBoost) to put through its barrage of tests, and while we aren’t too surprised by some of the findings, they’re still interesting nonetheless.

CR praises the Fusion for its “eye-catching” design and says that the sportier Titanium trim level is the best-handling midsize sedan they’ve ever tested, but that’s about where the good news ends for Ford. The Fusion Hybrid also posted the best-ever fuel economy CR has recorded in a midsize sedan, but the only problem is that their number was 39 miles per gallon combined – far less than Ford’s 47 mpg rating for city, highway and combined. As expected, CR also dinged the Fusion for its MyFord Touch, but some of the other gripes about the car include a cramped cabin and poor fit and finish.

Other Ford products tested this time around include the Focus Electric and C-Max Hybrid. Like the Fusion, CR‘s observed fuel economy of 37 mpg for the C-Max fell well short of Ford’s advertised 47-mpg rating, and both cars were criticized for the use of MyFord Touch. CR notes that the Focus Electric‘s interior is also cramped, with the battery pack taking up a lot of cargo space.

In other news, CR slams the Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric car rather mercilessly, something that is perhaps less surprising. The institute digs into the low-cost urban runabout for its lack of speed, payload, and chintzy finish, among other things.

You can check out videos about the Fusion Hybrid, Focus Electric and i-MiEV by scrolling below.

Continue reading Consumer Reports: Ford Fusion fun but flawed; Mitsubishi i-MiEV slow, chintzy [w/videos]

Consumer Reports: Ford Fusion fun but flawed; Mitsubishi i-MiEV slow, chintzy [w/videos] originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 23 Jan 2013 16:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Consumer Reports buys Tesla Model S. Yes, we’re jealous

Automobiles

Consumer Reports buys Tesla Model S. Yes, we're jealous

January 22, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

By Danny King

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Tesla Motors

Lucky them. That’s our opinion of Consumer Reports, which really took one for the team by taking delivery of its Tesla Model S last week. The organization is noted for purchasing most of the vehicles it tests rather than reviewing ones loaned to them by manufacturers.

The institute groused about waiting for more than two years after paying its $5,000 deposit to receive the goods. While the car’s base price is $57,400, Consumer Reports managed to jack that up to an $89,650 tab by opting for the largest 85-kwh battery pack (good for a 265-mile single-charge range) as well as leather interior, air suspension and other goodies. The publication also complimented Tesla for making the purchase possible without a dealer visit – the car, which won 2012 Car of the Year golden calipers from Motor Trend, was ultimately delivered on a flatbed.

Of course, it remains to be seen how Consumer Reports rates the Model S. CR is a tough judge, and the publication notably bought a Fisker Karma extended-range plug-in hybrid last year, only to have it die with less than 200 miles on it. Naturally, that led to a rather harsh assessment of the $107,000 model. We’re hoping – and predicting – the Tesla will fare a lot better.

Consumer Reports buys Tesla Model S. Yes, we’re jealous originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Tue, 22 Jan 2013 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.