1.   In general, however, they found that consumers took better care of appliances on hire purchase and that servicing costs were lower.

2.   In the meantime consumers are taking the strain.

3.   For this situation, the consumer must take much of the credit.

4.   Although it recommended that consumers not take PPA, it only asked manufacturers for a voluntary withdrawal of their products.

5.   American consumers are taking up the Japanese rage for electronic pedometers, those small devices that clip to your belt to tell you how many steps you have walked.

6.   And after frenzied spending last year, consumers may be taking a breather, as Alan Greenspan, the Fed chairman, predicted they would in July.

7.   And consumers are taking the bait.

8.   And now consumers can no longer take for granted even that reliable bulwark of the audio world, the compact disc player.

9.   And now, fueled in part by a booming economy, consumers are taking their cues from fast food chains and demanding their lifestyles be super-sized.