jikReport: Costco Has Plans To Sell A “Kirkland Signature” Chevy Truckde

4 4 4 4

(JeepersMedia)

Soon it won’t just be Costco brand toilet paper, vitamins, peanuts and other everyday items for members of the wholesale club, but Kirkland Signature trucks. According to a new report, Costco and Chevrolet have plans to sell a co-branded Silverado “sometime” in spring or summer — an offer that’s for members only, of course.

Jalopnik got some PowerPoint slides from an anonymous source outlining the plans for a 2015 Chevy Silverado LTZ Kirkland Signature Edition for “Costco members only,” and got confirmation from Chevrolet that the whole thing is not some weird fever dream after someone overdid it on the Kirkland peanut butter pretzels one night.

The truck will probably be based on LTZ luxury or Z-71 Off-Road packaged vehicles in a configuration “best compared to (top of the range) High Country,” the report says, with 400 getting built for warehouse display. Customers will then special-order their own vehicles through dealerships.

Though Chevrolet did confirm the truck is happening in some for or another soon to Jalopnik, Costco has yet to chime in with any official announcement. No word on how much a pallet of these things will cost, either.

Costco Will Sell A ‘Kirkland Signature’ Chevy Silverado [Jalopnik]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

jikCoca-Cola Pulls Fanta Ad Suggesting Nazi Germany Was “Good Old Times”de

4 4 4 4

In a recent video recounting the birth of Fanta soft drinks, Coca-Cola explains that its German operation had trouble getting cola-making ingredients to the country’s bottling plants 75 years ago, leading the bottlers to dream up a beverage they could make without Coca-Cola syrup. Perhaps Coke was hoping people wouldn’t do the math and realize that the reason for the syrup scarcity had a little something to do with the Nazis.

Not only does the above Fanta 75th anniversary clip (in German) skip right over the role World War II and trade embargoes against Nazi Germany played in the development of the drink, but it states that Fanta wants to bring “the feeling of the Good Old Times back,” according to the The Express.

A decidedly negative online response to the video has resulted in Coca-Cola, which said the ad was intended to evoke “positive childhood memories,” pulling the official clip and apologizing for hinting that Nazi Germany is something worth recalling through rose-colored glasses.

The company is also quick to deny the long-held rumors that the Nazis had anything to do with Fanta, saying that while the beverage “was invented in Germany during the Second World War… the 75-year-old brand had no association with Hitler or the Nazi Party.”

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

jikOne-Hour Facelift Company Lifestyle Lift Abruptly Closes, Considering Bankruptcyde

4 4 4 4

Here a Lifestyle Lift commercial claims to provide facelifts in just an hour.

Cosmetic surgery chain Lifestyle Lift promises clients it can remove wrinkles, frown lines and sagging skin in just a matter of an hour. But if you were planning to stop by one of the company’s centers on Monday you were likely met with locked doors and few answers.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the company, which claims to offer a “minor one-hour procedure with major results,” abruptly shut down a majority of its 40 surgery centers Monday and announced it would consider filing for bankruptcy.

Lifestyle Lift, often featured in informercial-like advertisements claiming to allow consumers to “look as young on the outside as you feel on the inside,” specializes in less-invasive facelift procedures that require only local anesthesia and short recovery periods.

In a letter sent to employees over the weekend, Dr. David Kent – the founder of the company – said he made the “decision to temporarily cease operations until further notice.”

“The future of the Company is uncertain and therefore it is currently developing both a wind down plan to close the business and a reorganization plan to accommodate a new investment,” the letter states.

A spokesperson for Michigan-based Lifestyle Lift tells the WSJ that the company is considering its options, one of which is filing for bankruptcy.

As of Monday, Lifestyle Lift is only providing some post-operation checkup procedures.

Lifestyle Lift came under scrutiny back in 2008, when it engaged in a he-said, she-said lawsuit battle with online review site RealSelf.

The company sued RealSelf claiming trademark infringement after consumers posted negative reviews about their experience with the less-invasive facelift procedures. RealSelf subsequently countersued asserting the surgery center posted fake reviews to lure in more business.

The back-and-forth led to an investigation by the New York Attorney General’s office. In 2009, then-attorney general Andrew Cuomo announced Lifestyle Lift would pay $300,000 and stop publishing fake reviews.

At the time, Cuomo called the company’s business practices, “cynical, manipulative and illegal.”

Lifestyle Lift Shuts Down Most of Its Business, Considers Bankruptcy [The Wall Street Journal]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

jikNYC Officials Would Like To Remind Everyone To Please Refrain From Peeing On The Subway Platformde

4 4 4 4

(frankieleon)

While there are some things one might hope wouldn’t need spelling out, if you want to get your message across, you’ve got to be clear. That’s why New York City’s transit officials felt the need to spell it out for patrons of the subway system, with a sign asking people to please not pee on the platform.

The New York Times’ Andy Newman has a photo of the polite missives, several of which were posted by transit workers in the West Fourth Street subway station.

“Please Do Not Urinate in This Area,” they read, with “urinate” in all capital red letters. “Active Work Area.”

The NYT had to wonder, as does anyone, if the Metropolitan Transportation Authority really felt the situation was so dire that it had to beg people to hold it, or what else could have possibly prompted the signs.

“No mystery at all,” a spokesman for the agency told the Times. “That station is an area that is notorious for public urination.”

People going out to bars and such late at night, the homeless and others just feel the urge to go there, he added, which is even more bothersome due to the fact that there’s a lot of work going on at the station right now.

Don’t think that if there is no sign in sight that it’s okay to let loose anywhere in the subway system, the spokesman added. You know, in case you thought that might be okay.

“If you look at our rules of conduct, there is explicit language that says that urination is not allowed in the system,” he told the NYT.

New Subway Etiquette Campaign: ‘Please Don’t Urinate in This Area’ [New York Times]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

jikTarget Wants To Sell More Groceries: Stocks Yogurt, Snacks, And Beerde

4 4 4 4

(Mike Mozart)

If you want to sell more groceries, stock food that people want to buy. That’s logical enough, and it’s Target’s new strategy to draw younger customers to its stores to buy food…and pick up everything else they need along the way to the checkout. Now the company is looking for an experienced grocery executive to help them ride the Greek yogurt and granola bar train to being cool again.

Do you remember when Target was considered the classier alternative to Walmart and Kmart? Target does, and they would like consumers to have that perception again. They’ll get there through their food offerings. The Wall Street Journal learned that Target is looking to stock items like good quality coffee, bottled craft beers, Greek yogurt, and classier snacks to draw some sweet Millennial spending.

Food is about 20% of Target’s sales. The chain hoped that expanding grocery sections in many stores would mean that customers would pick up more profitable items as long as they were in the store. That investment didn’t pay off as planned, so Target did some research to find out why. They learned that most customers weren’t interested in the brands or selection that Target sells. That means revamping the selection for the customers that the chain wants: fewer Oreos, more local craft beers.

Target Revamps Groceries for Millennials [Wall Street Journal]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

jik3 Ways You Could Be Hurting Your Credit Score Even If You Pay Your Bills On Timede

4 4 4 4

(frankieleon)

If you pay make regular credit card payments that are well above the minimum, and no one is hassling you about outstanding bills you might assume that your credit score is getting healthier or at least maintaining its current level. But there are some mistakes that consumers don’t even realize they’re making that could be hurting their FICO numbers.

Credit.com has a good roundup of ways people “accidentally” hurt their credit scores. Here are the ones we found the most intriguing:

1. Not Paying Attention To Credit Balances

You don’t have to be in deep debt to creditors to harm your credit score, especially if you don’t have a substantial line of credit to begin with.

Your “amount of debt” is the second-biggest chunk of your FICO score (after your payment history), accounting for about one-third of the calculation, and your debt-to-credit ratio has a big impact on this figure.

If that ratio goes higher than 30%, it’s negatively impacting your score. So someone with $1,000 in debt and $10,000 in credit isn’t hurting themselves, but if that same person only has $3,000 in credit, their credit score is worse for it.

This is why you should be cautious when closing out credit card accounts even if they don’t carry a balance. The loss of that available credit pushes your debt-to-credit ratio higher.

2. Co-Signing Loans

We’ve told you horror stories in the past of family members left on the hook for loved ones’ loans after the borrower died or became unable to pay, but if that borrower misses a payment or comes up short on payments your credit score may start sinking without you even realizing why.

3. Applying For Too Many Lines Of Credit

It can be so tempting to take advantage of promotions like 0% financing or cards with huge rewards bonuses for new members. Even if you have no problem paying off the purchases made with these new lines of credit, merely applying for these accounts results in “hard pull” inquiries of your credit report, which accounts for 10% of your score.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t sign up for lines of credit; just be aware that each application results in a short-term ding on your score.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

jikDEA Agent Says Legalizing Medical Marijuana In Utah Will Lead To Stoned Rabbitsde

4 4 4 4

(frankieleon.)

There are many arguments for and against using marijuana legally in this country, whether for medical use or for fun, but one drug enforcement official’s reason for his stance against legalizing it in Utah is surely one nobody’s about to forget: He says wild bunnies will get high off the stuff.

The state is currently mulling a bill that would allow people with certain medical conditions to be treated with edible forms of marijuana, reports the Washington Post.

During a Utah Senate panel on the topic last week, an agent of the Drug Enforcement Administration weighed in with his testimony, saying that if the bill passes, the state’s bunnies may “cultivate a taste” for the plant. Once they’re baked, they won’t be afraid of humans and will just sit around in their parents’ basements eating dandelion greens.

DEA Special Agent Matt Fairbanks spoke about the environmental costs associated with growing a bunch of pot on public land, mentioning all the pesticides, chemicals and possibilities for deforestation and erosion.

“The ramifications to the flora, the animal life, the contaminated water, are still unknown,” he said, adding that at some marijuana grow sites, he saw “rabbits that had cultivated a taste for the marijuana. … . One of them refused to leave us, and we took all the marijuana around him, but his natural instincts to run were somehow gone.”

On the one hand, points out the Post, illegally farming anything can hurt the environment. But on the other hand, if it was legal to grow marijuana, the state would be able to regulate how it’s cultivated on farms and in gardens instead of tucked away in the mountains.

The specter of stoned rabbits roaming lethargically through the mountain passes wasn’t enough to convince the panel against the bill, as it approved it and sent it to the full Senate. It’ll be debated this week.

Now while we all think about the stoned bunnies, let’s remember to never feed Fido or Mr. Furrykins McCatterson pot.

DEA warns of stoned rabbits if Utah passes medical marijuana [Washington Post]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist