Founded in 1960 and published by Consumers Digest Communications, LLC, Consumers Digest is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 magazine

Magazine

Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...

. The magazine is a horizontal-based consumer products review periodical. Commentary and editorial features are published as well. This includes items of consumer interest, new products, industry trends, and safety/recall information. The magazine is based around three main offerings: 1. the bimonthly periodical; 2. the yearly complete car guide; and 3. the "Consumers Digest Best Buy" ratings featured in the magazine and yearly automotive special. Consumers Digest is based in the Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 suburb of Deerfield, Illinois

Deerfield, Illinois

Deerfield is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States and is located approximately 25 miles north of Chicago, Illinois. A portion of the village is in Cook County, Illinois, United States...

.

History

Consumers Digest was founded by Arthur Weber in 1960 (from masthead). Since then, the Weber family has carried on the tradition of publishing the bimonthly magazine as well as specials and yearly auto guides. The magazine has long focused on not just reviewing products, but featuring editorial and commentary on emerging consumer issues such as unfair business practices and legislation affecting consumers.

Bimonthly Periodical

Six times per year, Consumers Digest Communications, LLC, publishes a magazine called Consumers Digest. This magazine is one of the few horizontal-based publications (featuring a broad spectrum of consumer goods) that includes both objective product ratings as well as editorial and commentary about consumer safety, industry trends, and political issues of interest to the buying public. The signature feature is the "Consumers Digest Best Buys." The Consumers Digest Best Buys are not based solely on price or features, but value to consumers (from Complete Car Guide 2010). Examples of stories from the publication include Consumers Digest Best Buys on home-office furniture, freezers, and pet carriers. Editorial content is also featured, as well as articles such as finding the "Real Deal" on mobile apps, health-care reform, and bank fees.

Yearly Auto Guide

The yearly auto guide, known as "Consumers Digest Complete 2010 Car Guide" this year, features Consumers Digest Best Buy ratings, dealer invoice prices, concept cars, safety ratings, and expert reviews of over 250 cars and trucks. Contributors include auto experts such as Jim Mateja, Chicago Tribune

Chicago Tribune

The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...

 auto columnist (from 2010 Complete Car Guide). The Consumers Digest Best Buys are awarded by a process including research, driving tests at both test facilities and on road, and within ten categories. Those categories include:

• Small Cars
• Family Cars
• Luxury Cars
• Sporty Cars
• Pickups
• Minivans
• Compact SUV
• Midsize SUV
• Full-Size/Luxury SUV
• Hybrids

Factors under review include:

• Warranties
• Repair History (as available)
• Dealer reputations
• Estimated repair/maintenance costs
• Annual operating expenses
• Insurance-industry ratings
• Crash-test results
• Corporate service and manufacturing reputations
• Estimated resale values

Licensing and Neutrality

After choosing Consumers Digest Best Buys in each category, the magazine may license the right to use the Consumers Digest Best Buy logo to manufacturers. The magazine chose 15 General Motors

General Motors

General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...

 vehicles for its 2010 "Best Buy" awards, and then GM licensed the right to use Consumers Digest's seal in its advertising. The magazine awards its Consumers Digest Best Buy seal to products its staff judges to be of the best quality for the most reasonable price. Some of the brands that have licensed the seal include Cal Spas hot tubs, Bridgestone Tires, Brinks Home Security, Multi-Pure Drinking Water Systems, McKleinUSA Business Cases and Mercury Automobiles. The magazine is sold at newsstands only and does not reveal its sales figures. In 2001, when it ceased subscription distribution, it listed 700,000 subscribers (the list was sold to Time, Inc.). The publication has no connection with the Consumer Reports

Consumer Reports

Consumer Reports is an American magazine published monthly by Consumers Union since 1936. It publishes reviews and comparisons of consumer products and services based on reporting and results from its in-house testing laboratory. It also publishes cleaning and general buying guides...

magazine or with Consumers Digest Weekly.

In 1997, the Attorney General of Connecticut sent "cease and desist" orders to many companies, including Consumers Digest (which at the time sold subscriptions to its magazine), for failure to comply with state disclosure laws designed to protect consumers.