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July 23. 2008
P o r fla n t
1 Ok s e r v e r
A t u f o ¿ R e v ie w
News and reviews on new motor vehicles
bold, interesting and aggressive, with
ventilated grille bars, a pi• wer-diune
hixxl design and wild-lixiking inte
grated headlamps. In profile, the
wheel arches loom large and promi
nent. There's an unmistakable char
acter line rising front to rear, and a
forward-slantingC-pillarthat trames
trapezoidal real side glass.
Inside the M ercedes-B enz M-
Class, the dashboard, door panels
and seats com plem ent the aggres
sive exterior design nicely. W ood,
leather, plastic and metal finishes
are generally top-draw er, as they
should be at this price.
Four huge, round air vents spread
across the dash panel, which is
dom inated by a deeply hooded in
strum ent cluster with sharp graph-
2008Mercedes
Benz ML550
K athleen C arr
T he M ercedes-B enz M -Class
SUV is ju st the right size and is set
up well for families. It isn't so large
that it's cum bersom e or hard to park,
but it com fortably seats five and
carries plenty o f stuff. As daily
transportation, it doesn't feel like a
truck, and it won't beat its driver or
passengers up. Yet it has the po
tential for some fairly serious off
road adventuring, and it can tow up
to 7,200 pounds.
For 2008, the M -Class line re
places the M L500 with the m ore
pow erful ML55O. A lso called the
M -Class, the lineup continues to
include the ML35O with its gasoline
V6, the fuel-efficient ML32O CDI
diesel, and the ultra-high perfor
m a n c e M L 63 A M G . E ach is
equipped with a seven-speed auto
m atic transm ission and electroni
cally m anaged 4ETS fulltim e all
wheel drive. The primary distin
guishing feature for each model is
its engine.
The ML55O is fun to drive. The
5.5-1 iter V8 engine will take this 2.5-
tonSU V from 0-60 mph in less than
6 seconds flat, and then settles
dow n to a background burble by
the tim e you reach seventh-gear
overdrive.
T he seven-speed autom atic o f
fers a m anual-shift mode, and it’s
the best autom atic M ercedes has
built. It's flexible, in that it kicks
dow n to a low er gear m ore quickly
than its predecessors, and it alm ost
alw ays keeps the engine in the most
PageA9
by
Specifications: 5.5-Liter, V-8, 32 Valve, 382-hp@391 Ib-ft. torque, DOHC engine: 0-60 mph: 5.6
sec: 7-Speed automatic transmission: 13-City 18-Highway MPG; $67,030. MSRP
productive part o f its pow er band.
Yet its overdrive top gear m akes for
quiet high-speed cruising and bet
ter fuel economy.
The suspension is good at m ini
mizing body roll in high-speed cor
ners, and it sm oothes dips and
p o th o le s w e ll. T h e o p tio n a l
AirM atic suspension we tested can
be dow nright supple, which trucks
aren't supposed to be. The larger
standard 19-inch wheels and tires
and the pow er rack-and-pinion
steering deliver a nice feel o f the
road, and quick reactions when
necessary. At high speeds through
m ountain passes, the M L550 leans
over a little, takes a set, and then
grabs the ground and turns the
com ers.
In place o f the original body-on-
frame, truck-style design, this sec
o n d - g e n e ra tio n M -C la s s h as
w elded unibody construction with
isolated front and rear subfram es, a
technique that em phasizes rigidity,
d ec reased v ib ratio n and lo w er
weight. The unibody also reduces
its overall height, making it easier
for families to get in and out. The M-
C lass has given up any pretense to
being a large-fam ily vehicle. The
optional side-facing rear seats from
the old model are gone, so the M-
C lass is strictly a five-seater.
O ptions include D istronic radar-
m anaged cruise control, Parktronic
obstacle warning dual-screen rear-
seat DVD entertainm ent system.
Keyless Go starting, iPod integra
tion kit, C D 6changer. Three pack
ages are available, designated Pre
mium I that includes DVD naviga
tion, PI I. and P ill, with exact co n
tent tied to the model. Last year's
AMG Sport Package is standard on
M -Class V8s.
Safety features on all models
includes tw o-stage front airbags
for the driver and front passenger,
side-im pact airbags front and rear
(torso protection) and curtain-style
head protection airbags. A rollover
sensor can activate both the seat-
belt tensioners and curtain airbags
if the vehicle senses an imminent
rollover. An Electronic Stability
Program com es standard along with
advanced anti-lock brakes with elec
tronic brake-force distribution. A
tire pressure warning system is also
standard.
The 2(X)8 M ercedes-Benz M-
Class styling tweaks vary between
V6 and V8 models. From the em o
tional perspective, the front end is
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“Keeping a food diary doesn't
have to be a formal thing. Just the act
o f scribbling down what you eat on
a Post-It note, sending yourself e-
mails tallying each meal, or sending
yourself a text message will suffice,”
Bachman says. "It’s the process of
reflecting on what we eat that helps
us become aware o f our habits, and
hopefully change our behavior.”
Study says
write down
what you eat
Everyone know s that eating less
and exercising m o ra will help you
lose weight. The hard part is figur
ing out how to do that consistently.
A n ew stu d y fro m K a is e r
P erm ancnte’s C enter for Health
Research finds that one o f the most
important things you can do is write
down w hat you eat.
“The more food records people
kept, the more w eight they lost,"
says Jack Hollis, a researcher at the
center and lead author o f the study.
"Those who kept daily fix>d records
lost tw ice as much w eight as those
who kept no records. It seems that
the sim ple act o f w riting down what
you eat encourages people to co n
sum e few er calories.”
T he study is one o f the largest
and longest w eight-loss m ainte
nance trials ever conducted. It is
also one o f the few trials to recruit
a large percentage o f African Ameri
cans as study participants (44 per
cent). African A m ericans have a
higher risk o f conditions that are
aggravated by being overw eight,
including diabetes and heart dis-
%
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(503) 281-3949
THE
SPINACOLUMN
A new study says that keeping a journal o f what you eat may
double your weight loss.
ease.
"M ore than tw o-thirdsof A m eri
In addition to keeping food d ia cans are overw eight or obese. I f we
ries, study participants were asked all lost ju st 9 pounds, as most people
to follow the Dietary A pproaches in this study did, we would see vast
to Stop Hypertension diet w hich is decreases in hypertension, high
high in fruits and vegetables and cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease
low in fat, attend weekly group ses and stroke," says V ictor Stevens,
sions and exercise at m oderate in study co-author.
In an earlier study, Stevens found
tensity levels for at least 30 minutes
that losing as few as five pounds
a day.
After six months, the average can reduce by 20 percent the risk of
w eight loss am ong the nearly 1,700 developing high blood pressure.
participants was 13 pounds. More
“ Every day I hear patients say
than tw o-thirds o f the participants they ca n 't lose weight. This study
lost at least 9 pounds, enough to shows that most people can lose
low er their health risks and qualify w eight if they have the right tools
for the second phase o f the study, an d su p p o rt,” say s Dr. K eith
which lasted 30 m onths and tested Bachm an, a Kaiser Perm anente in
strategies for maintaining the weight ternist and w eight m anagem ent
specialist.
loss.
•, , •
-I
• J •
Miraculous Cancer Recovery
(A P) — An O regon man, given ported in the New England Journal
less than a year to live, had a com , o f M edicine is being counted as the
plete rem ission o f advanced deadly latest in a small series o f successes
skin cancer after an experim ental involving im m une-prim ing treat
treatm ent that revved up his im ments against deadly skin cancers.
When caught early, melanomas
m une system to fight the tumors.
The 52-year-old patient's dra can be easily treated by surgically
matic turnaround was the only suc removing thecancerous patch of skin.
cess in a small study, leading doc
The Oregon man had a m ela
tors to be cautious in their enthusi nom a on his back before it had
asm. H ow ever, the treatm ent re spread to his groin and right lung.
An ongoing senes of questions and answers about America's natural healing profession
Dr. Billy R. Flowers
Part 26 KIDS AND CHIROPRACTIC
As the twig is bent so grows the tree
: I have recently noticed my Q: I have been told that my child
son has one shoulder higher needs an operation for a curvature
than the other. Could this be in a her spine. Is there an alternative?
A: You most definitely should have
sign o f a problem in his spine?
G ood thinking, mom! It a thorough Chiropractic checkup
surely could. In fact having on your child im m ediately. Spinal
o n esh o u ld erh ig h erth an th eo th er surgery gets. All conservative ef-
is a cardinal sign of curvature of forts at handling your ch ild 's prob
the spine. According to C hiro lem should be considered before
practic research, the earlier a cur consenting to surgery. O ur office is
vature is caught, the higher the
potential for success. T o be cer
tain about health o f your child,
call our office today for a profes
2124 N.E. Hancock Street,
sional spinal evaluation. Spines
(big or small ) are our specialty.
Q
therapist. She then spent several
years in various management posi
tions at the Juven i le Justice Center in
Philadelphia, including a year as
behavioral health clinical director.
"W e are thrilled Io w elcom e
Ebony back toL ifeW orks NW. She
is a strong addition to our m anage
ment team, bringing a wealth of
experience from her work with Afri
can American youth and families in
highly trained and skilled at han
dling problem s like that o f your
ch ild ’s. D on’t be fooled by the
though o f "w atching the condi
tion” either. W ithout proper as
sistance it w o n 't go away. O ffer
your children the best in health
care. Give them regular Chiroprac
tic checkups. As the twig is bent
so grows the tree!
Flowers* Chiropractic Office
Portland Oregon 97212
P hone: (5 0 3 ) 2 8 7 -5 5 0 4
He was treated in July 2005. Two
m onths after the treatm ent, ad
vanced scans o f his body revealed
no tumors.
H ow ever, the case raised ques
tions. The man had been treated
earlier with other drugs. It's pos
sible those treatm ents had already
w eakened or altered the cancer.
Also, none o f the eight other pa
tients in the study did as well.
Clarke Returns to Life Works NW
Mental health and addiction ser
vices provider LifeW orks NW has
re-hired a former Portland resident
to enhance the gro u p 's culturally
specific services.
Ebony Sloan Clarke began her
career as an advisor for Mothers
againstGang Violence. After receiv
ing her Masters in Social Work from
Portland State University, she joined
LifeW orks NW asachildand family
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H ealth ______________
Food Diaries Double Weight Loss
ics and prom inent chrom e trim
around the tachom eter and speed
ometer. A central inform ation w in
dow between the gauges can be
program m ed to supply about as
much driving and m aintenance in
formation as one driver can stand
to absorb.
The M -Class is more than pow
erful enough in any o f its varia
tions. And it offers the safety equip
ment, luxury accoutrem ents, style
and sm ooth finish expected o f a
M ercedes-B en/.
The 2008 Mercedes Benz M L550
is one sw eet-dream o f a ride. But if
you are consciously aw are o f rising
gas prices the disappointing lack o f
fuel efficiency will give you night
mares.
P h ilad e lp h ia 's in n er-city ." said
Mary M onnat, President and C FO
Sloan Clarke said sh e's excited
to return to the Portland com m u
nity w ere she grew up
LifeW orks NW was founded in
1961 and prom otes a healthy com
munity by providing quality and
culturally responsive mental health
and addiction services across the
lifespan.
r
People o f Royalty Expanding the Kingdom o f God
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Office: (503)777-2674, Website: vsww.royalpni.org
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