GENERAL INTEREST
New Lincolns, Cadillacs run well on regular gas
While more carmakers are recommending that premium gas be used in their high-end cars, Ford and General Motors say their high-end cars are designed to use regular gas. Ford Motor's 2009 Lincoln MKS and Ford Edge were engineered to run just as well on regulargrade fuel as on high-octane gas.
A General Motors spokesman points out that the Cadillac CTS, introduced last year, was designed to run on regular. GM could see that the price of gas could become an issue.
Both companies are encouraging salespeople to point out their cars' nopremium feature, especially to buyers who want to save money on fuel.
In general, automakers advise using premium gas for nearly 62 percent of new vehicles on the market for 2009.
Though premium gas is recommended, the cars will run on regular gas (with some loss in horsepower).
2009 Chryslers and Dodges can be wireless hotspots
Chrysler says anyone who purchases a new Chrysler, Dodge or Jeep will have the option of turning their car or truck into a wireless Internet hotspot. The feature is part of the "UConnect" system and will come as a dealer installed option in the vehicles. It will work over cellular telephone links.
Buyers can use a laptop computer in their cars and trucks just as if they were in an office or at home. There will be a monthly fee for the service.
To connect to the Internet, vehicles will need the UConnect system, which will compete with Ford's "Sync" and various other in-car electronic systems.
GM ups warranty on used cars
General Motors now offers a oneyear/ 12,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty on its Certified Used Vehicles. They cover Buick, Chevrolet, GMC and Pontiac cars going back to the 2003 model year. Saturn Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles are also included.
Real estate television checks out the practical side
Television is getting it right for a change. Instead of recommending hugely expensive remodeling projects in order to sell a home, one show is moving to the more pragmatic side.
Hope for Your Home is providing participating families with advice on how to best increase the value of their homes so they can sell or refinance. The program started on TLC on Saturdays at 8:30 p.m.
Real estate advisors have been saying that homeowners should skip the big renovation projects and just clean up, paint up, and make moderate upgrades, such as new faucets and light fixtures.
Hope takes the nuts-and-bolts idea one step farther. In the course of the series, 12 families are allowed $10,000 each ton upgrade their homes. They each have 30 days to confer with contractors and renovate through such projects as landscaping and plumbing repair.
At the end of the month, each house is re-evaluated by a real estate agent and mortgage brokers who give the family a new market value for their homes.
Sometimes the value is lower than the homeowner expected.
Why the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree may last longer than yours
It's not easy to choose a specimen that will become the most famous Christmas tree in America. Each year in the fall, David Murbach surveys growing areas from a helicopter to make his choice for the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. It must be huge and beautiful.
For his own tree, Murbach doesn't make the selection by helicopter. He buys from a street vendor about two weeks before Christmas. Outdoor trees stay fresh longer because it's cold, Murbach says, but cut trees dry out much faster when they are in warm interior rooms.
He doesn't search for the perfect tree, because one with a flat side can be put against a wall to save space.
Rather than asking for a fresh square cut, Murbach asks the vendor to cut the tree trunk to a point, making more of the trunk available to water in the stand. The tree drinks more, stays fresh and holds its needles longer.
It is now customary to light outdoor Christmas decorations on Thanksgiving Day or shortly thereafter. There are beautiful artificial trees that could be lighted indoors at that time.
If your decorating choice is a real tree, it's better to wait a while before buying one. Let it soak in water over night before setting it up. The fresh-tree aroma makes it more festive.
The Rockefeller Lighting Ceremony is typically held in the third week of November. If you want to see the ceremony in person or on television, call (212) 632-3975 for this year's date.
New recipes make fruitcake more appealing
It's probably those sticky green, red and yellow things in fruitcake that turn people off. That's what modern bakers have decided. They are using very little dried fruit, lots of nuts, and in some cases, plenty of rum or brandy.
Trappist monks at Assumption Abbey in Ava, Mo., say the fruit in their cake is marinated in wine. The cake is infused with rum in eight places.
Collin Street Bakery in Corsicana, Texas sells a million fruitcakes each year. They now market them as Texas Pecan Cakes, or White Chocolate Macadamia Cakes. Nuts make up 27 percent of each cake by weight.
As bakers use less fruit and more of other ingredients, fruitcake recipes are merging with those for rum cake and other dense confections.