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What to check now so a flat doesnt leave you stranded

• Many new cars no longer include a spare tire automakers are cutting them to save weight and boost fuel economy, leaving many drivers without a true backup.

• Fix-a-flat kits have serious limits they wont work for blowouts, sidewall damage, or large punctures, which are some of the most common flat-tire scenarios.

• Check your car now, not later lift the trunk floor, confirm what your trim level includes, and decide if buying a spare is worth it before youre stuck waiting for a tow.

Drivers across the country are discovering that many new cars no longer come with a spare tire. The issue was highlighted in a recent report by WCPO-9 News, after multiple drivers opened their trunks expecting to find a spare and found nothing.

In one case, a new Toyota Prius owner discovered her trunk only contained Styrofoam and a tire inflation kit. Another driver learned her Jeep didnt even include a temporary donut tire, just a small air compressor that was useless for a sidewall puncture.

And these arent rare exceptions anymore.

Why spare tires are disappearing

According to Consumer Reports, automakers have been removing spare tires to remove some weight from the car which improves the overall fuel economy.

Their testing found that since 2020:

• Only 9% of cars come with a full-size spare.
• 46% include a space-saver or donut tire.
• 34% come with only a compressor and sealant kit.
• About 4% come with nothing at all.

That means many drivers are one pothole away from being completely reliant on a tow truck.

Why the 'fix-a-flat'kit often isnt enough

The small tire repair kits included in many vehicles sound somewhat reassuring, but they have some serious limits.

For example, they do not work if:

• The hole is in the sidewall
• The tire is blown out
• The damage is too large
• The tire pressure dropped too low before you noticed

In other words, theyre not a universal fix. Several drivers in the WCPO report said the kits included in their vehicles failed completely.

What to do right now:

With a little bit of forethought, you can avoid an expensive tow or repair down the road. Here are some things to consider.

Check your car first (dont assume anything)

Look under your vehicle, in the rear, for a hidden spare tire. If a spare isnt under your car, then open the trunk, lift up the cargo floor mat, and look underneath.

If you see molded foam, a small air compressor, or a sealant bottle, you dont have a spare.

Pro tip: Check again after dealer-installed accessories. Some dealers remove spares to make room for subwoofers or storage trays.

Confirm what your exact trim level includes

Two versions of the same car can be completely different.

Lower trims are far more likely to skip a spare, while higher trims may include a donut or full-size spare. The smart thing to do is check out the vehicles window sticker (if you still have it) or owners manual by VIN to see what was supposed to be included.

If youre buying used, dont trust the listing. Sellers often assume theres a spare when there isnt, so visually inspect to see whats included.

Ask the dealer to physically show you

If youre shopping for a new or used car, dont ask if it has a spare. Instead, ask them to open the trunk and show it to you.

If it doesnt have one, do the following:

• Ask if a spare is available as an add-on. Better yet, often times you can get them to throw a spare tire into the deal for free.
• Ask whether the vehicle is pre-wired or fitted to store one safely.
• Ask if adding one affects cargo space or fuel economy.

Getting this answered before you sign any paperwork can save you hundreds later.

Decide whether a spare is worth buying separately

Buying a spare or donut tire isnt cheap, but neither is being stranded, especially if you dont have roadside assistance that includes free towing.

Before buying a spare:

• Confirm the correct wheel size and bolt pattern of your vehicle.
• Make sure it clears the brake calipers (especially important on hybrids and EVs).
• Check whether your vehicle has a jack and lug wrench(many dont).

Reality check: A spare often costs way less than a single tow, especially if you need a tow after-hours or if your car is stuck in a garage where flatbeds cant fit.

How outdoor brands rewrote the rules on guaranteed for life

• Lifetime rarely means forever anymore it usually means the products useful life, narrowly defined by the brands policy.

• Open-ended guarantees became short windows many once-famous forever promises are now 60 days to one year and defect-only.

• The risk quietly shifted to shoppers keep all documentation, dont forget to register the product, and filing claims early now matter more than the guarantee itself.

There was a time when lifetime warranty felt like a handshake deal. You bought the jacket, the boots, the bag, or the tool, and the brand stood behind it. You didnt even need to hold to your receipt.

That era is mostly over.

Today, lifetime almost never means your lifetime. It usually means the useful life of the product, as defined by the company, enforced by a policy page that can change overnight.

This isnt just nostalgia talking. Over the past decade, some of the most consumer-friendly brands in America have dramatically rewritten what guaranteed forever actually means, and most shoppers didnt notice until it was too late.

What happened to lifetime warranties?

Two things can be true at the same time:

1. A small number of customers abused ultra-generous return policies.
2. Companies used that abuse as cover to walk back promises that helped build their reputations in the first place.

Add rising shipping costs, resale marketplaces, and social media hacks encouraging free rentals, and lifetime warranties became a real pain for companies.

So, brands didnt kill them outright, they just chose to redefine them.

The brands that quietly changed the rules:

Heres how this changelooks in the real world through the eyes of these major brands.

L.L.Bean

Then: They had a legendary, no-questions-asked satisfaction guarantee for all their products.

Now: They offer a 1-year return policy for most returns; with defects being considered after that.

For decades, returning an item to L.L.Bean felt like a civic right. Bought a coat in the 90s? Didnt love it in 2015? They would often make it right.

That ended in 2018.

Today, most items must be returned within one year, and anything beyond that is evaluated strictly for manufacturing defects. The company has openly cited abuse, with customers returning heavily worn items years later, as the reason for the change.

The policy shift makes business sense. But it also marked a turning point in the lifetime warranty game. If L.L.Bean could walk back forever, anyone could.

REI

Then: A near-unlimited satisfaction promise.

Now: 365 days for REI Co-op members, with some clear exclusions.

REIs return policy is still better than most retailers, but its no longer the open-ended safety net many members remember. You now have one year to return most items, and wear-and-tear exclusions are clearly spelled out.

In recent years, REI has also begun flagging excessive return behavior, another signal that even generous policies now come with behavioral guardrails.

Translation: the era of try it for a few seasons and decide later is over.

Pro tip: One company that has held on to their lifetime guarantee is Patagonia. Via their Ironclad Guarantee, theyll either fix, repair, or replace all of their products for as long as you own them. Theyll even repair items that have failed due to normal wear and tear at a discounted rate.

Duluth Trading

Then: No Bull Guarantee treated like a lifetime promise.

Now: One year. After that, theyll only consider defective products.

Returns are accepted within a year. After that, the company may consider claims for defects or performance issues. But its completely discretionary. This subtle shift happened around 2019.

This is the modern warranty trend in a nutshell where a company uses the same marketing language, but offers a much shorter guarantee.

Eddie Bauer

Then: A true unconditional lifetime guarantee dating back to 1922.

Now: They offer a 60-day return window.

Eddie Bauer once built its entire brand around its unconditional guarantee on all products. For many decades, this guarantee was part of their identity and really distinguished them from their competition.

Unfortunately, it quietly went away in2019.

Today, returns are limited to 60 days and many shoppers now question the quality of their clothing, especially compared to the stuff they made just 20 years ago.

lululemon

Then: They used to have a loosely defined, customer-friendly quality promise that told customers to bring back items at any time, for any reason. No questions asked.

Now: Starting in 2024, coverage is now framed around a 1- year policy.

lululemon still talks about standing behind its products, but the current Quality Promise is far more structured than shoppers remember. Claims are typically limited to issues within one year of purchase, and normal wear and tear is excluded.

As policies get abused, changes like this are not that unusual anymore. Whats unusual is how many customers still assume lululemon operates like it did years ago.

What smart shoppers should do now

Heres how to protect yourself in the modern warranty era:

1. Screenshot the policy the day you buy

Warrantiescan change, so its smart to take a screenshot of the current warranty, especially on significant purchases.

That way you have proof of the warranty on the day you bought the item, and can use it when dealing with a potential warranty claim with the company.

Also, if theres a tag or serial number, snap a picture of it and add the pic to a new folder in your phones photo roll labeled warranties or something similar.

2. Register products immediately

Unregistered items are the easiest claims for companies to deny. Thats because most warranties are time-based, so if you didnt register, the company may do the following:

• Default to the date of manufacturer, not your purchase date.
• Claim the warranty window already expired.
• Ask for some proof that you may no longer have.

3. Use a credit card with warranty protection

Many major credit cards include extended warranty protection as a built-in benefit.

This means that when you buy an item with that card, the card issuer agrees to step in after the manufacturers warranty expires.

Most commonly, this means:

• The card adds oneextra year to the original manufacturers warranty.
• Coverage applies to items with warranties of three to five years or less.
• The benefit mirrors the original warranty (same defects, same conditions).

So, if a product has a one-year manufacturer warranty, your card may give you two years total coverage without you having to lift a finger.

4. Dont wait until it really breaks

If something feels off, or if the product has what you consider a "small issue," I recommend returning the item right away.

When dealing with bigger items like electronics or appliances, file theclaim early as waiting almost always works against you.

If you wait until something completely dies or falls apart, the company can argue:

• The issue was caused by long-term wear.
• Your continued use of the item made the damage worse.
• The failure wasnt sudden or isolated.
• The product exceeded reasonable use.

In other words, you gave them an easy out. When you report a problem early, youre documenting a defect while its still clearly within normal use.

AI-powered shopping brings Targets catalog to Google Search and Gemini no hopping between sites required

• Soon youll be able to browse and buy Target products directly inside Googles AI assistant, Gemini.

• Target helped co-create a new AI commerce standard (UCP) that makes it easier to shop without switching apps.

• The experience aims to make discovery, recommendations and checkout faster and more conversational.

Target and Google just teamed up to make online shopping feel a lot more effortless.

Starting soon, youll be able to browse, compare, and check out Target products right inside Googles AI assistant including in AI Mode in Google Search and in the Gemini app without having to visit Target.com or the Target app for every purchase.

At Target, were focused on using technology to make shopping easier and more intuitive wherever our guests are, Prat Vemana, executive vice president and chief information and product officer at Target, said in a statement.

Were excited to co-develop a new standard for the future of commerce with Google and others. Universal Commerce Protocol will help us bring Targets curation and value into AI Mode and the Gemini app, making it easier for consumers to discover and purchase on-trend, design-forward products all with an experience that feels natural, helpful and built around their needs.

Whats changing

Traditionally, online shopping involves searching for products, opening multiple tabs to compare items, then navigating back and forth between sites which can feel clunky.

With this new experience, that all gets streamlined. When you ask Googles AI something like, Help me pick a cozy winter sweater from Target, the AI will show you curated Target options and let you buy right there in the same interface. No jumping between apps.

This is possible because Target helped co-develop a new technical standard called the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) with Google and other big retailers.

Think of UCP as a behind-the-scenes language that lets Googles AI talk directly to Targets product and checkout systems in a secure, seamless way. That means once youve found what you want, you can complete your purchase through Gemini or Googles AI Mode without the usual detours to another website.

For consumers, it all boils down to less friction. You can discover items, get helpful suggestions, and check out all conversationally, using natural language without switching apps or tabs. Its AI doing the heavy lifting while you shop.

What you need to know (and why it matters)

1. Its built for convenience. Instead of opening Targets site in a browser, you can ask Googles AI for recommendations, see options instantly, and buy in the same place. Thats a big time saver.

2. Personal shopping, simplified. The experience is meant to feel conversational. You dont have to remember exact product names you can describe what you want like you would to a friend, and the AI will guide you.

3. Its still rolling out. This experience will become available gradually, so you might not see it instantly, but its rolling out to more users soon.

In short, Target and Google are betting that the future of online shopping isnt separate apps and sites, but AI-powered conversations that help you find and buy what you want faster no extra tabs or steps required.

Supplies tightened at the worst possible time

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• Natural gas prices jumped sharply this week, extending a volatile start to the year for U.S. energy markets.

• Colder-than-expected winter weather and tightening supplies combined to push prices higher.

• Traders also reacted to strong export demand and production uncertainty, amplifying the move.

Not only is a major winter storm making life miserable for millions of Americans, the cost of staying warm has also dramatically increased. Natural gas prices surged this week as a convergence of weather, supply, and global demand factors jolted an already sensitive market. The increased marked one of the strongest weekly moves in recent months, reversing the relatively subdued pricing that had dominated much of the early winter.

A primary driver was a broad cold snap that swept across large portions of the United States, boosting demand for heating fuel in residential and commercial buildings. Forecasts calling for sustained below-average temperatures increased expectations for heavier withdrawals from underground storage, prompting traders to reassess near-term supply levels.

At the same time, production growth showed signs of slowing. While U.S. output remains historically high, some producers have curtailed drilling activity in response to earlier low prices, reducing the cushion available during periods of peak demand. Even modest disruptions or slowdowns can have an outsized impact when weather-driven consumption spikes.

Global dynamics

Global dynamics also played a role. Strong liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports continued to pull U.S. gas into overseas markets, particularly as Europe and parts of Asia seek to rebuild inventories and hedge against geopolitical risks. Higher export volumes tighten domestic supply and link U.S. prices more closely to international demand swings.

Market analysts noted that speculative buying added momentum to the rally, with traders betting that cold weather would persist longer than initially expected. Volatility increased as short-term forecasts shifted, underscoring how quickly sentiment can change in the natural gas market.

Looking ahead, much will depend on weather patterns over the next several weeks. Analysts say a return to milder temperatures could ease pressure on prices, while prolonged cold or unexpected supply issues may keep them elevated. For consumers and businesses alike, the weeks surge was a reminder that natural gas remains one of the most weather-sensitive and unpredictable commodities in the energy sector.