by Gabrielle DeSantis

Are you in the market for a new lawn mower? If your yard is bigger than half an acre, chances are you’re shopping for a new zero-turn lawn mower. But with so many models to choose from, how do you choose the best one for satisfying your lawn maintenance needs? The good news is that we have the inside track on the best zero-turn lawn mowers recommended by Consumer Reports. Let’s find out which new mowers made the cut. 

What is a zero-turn lawn mower?

Zero-turn lawn mowers are one of the most common types of lawn mowers.  They ride on four wheels and are controlled by a pair of levers, making them one of the easiest lawn mowers to maneuver. According to Consumer Reports, zero-turn mowers are also among the best lawn mower types for big yards. 

There are downsides to zero-turn lawn mowers, however. The Spruce reports that this type of lawn mower can be dangerous in uneven and bumpy conditions. Zero-turn lawn mowers are also known for being expensive. So if you’re shopping for a new lawn mower on the cheap? A zero-turn mower might not be the best choice for you.

The best zero-turn mowers by John Deere

As for the best zero-turn lawn mowers? Turns out, Consumer Reports recommends quite a few. Among them are several John Deere lawn mowers too. Take, for example, the John Deere Z515E. Consumer Reports gave this year’s model an 86 overall score, making it the best zero-turn John Deere mower it recommends. The organization also gave it Excellent ratings in side-discharging, cutting evenness, mulching, and handling.

The Z515E isn’t the only zero-turn lawn mower by John Deere that Consumer Reports recommends either. The organization also gave the John Deere Z375R-54, John Deere Z355E, and the John Deere Z345R-42 pretty high marks. It’s the John Deere Z335E-42, however, that also earned a Consumer Reports Best Buy designation. So if you’re after the best zero-turn lawn mower but don’t want to break the bank? The John Deere Z335E-42 might be the best zero-turn lawn mower for you.

These lawn mower brands make the best zero-turn mowers

John Deere isn’t the only lawn mower brand manufacturing zero-turn mowers. Popular lawn mower brands such Toro, Craftsman, and Cub Cadet also sell this type of lawn mower. Consumer Reports recommends several mowers from each brand too. When it comes to Toro, the Toro MYRIDE TimeCutter 75755, Toro 75750, and Toro TimeCutter SS4225 75742 are the best zero-turn lawn mowers recommended by Consumer Reports.

The organization also recommends two zero-turn lawn mowers from Craftsman. The Craftsman Z530 earned itself an 82 overall score, along with Excellent ratings in side-discharging, cutting evenness, mulching, and handling. Consumer Reports gave the Craftsman Z5200 similarly high scores.

As for Cub Cadet? The Cub Cadet RZT SX 42, Cub Cadet Ultima ZT2-50 Fab, and the Cub Cadet Ultima ZT1 50 are the best zero-turn lawn mowers recommended by Consumer Reports. All three Cub Cadet lawn mowers earned Excellent ratings in side-discharging, cutting evenness, mulching, and handling too.

The Gravely ZT HD 48 991152 is the best zero-turn lawn mower

The highest-rated zero-turn lawn mower that Consumer Reports recommends is the Gravely ZT HD 48 991152. The organization gave it a 92 overall score, ranking it ahead of mowers like the Toro MYRIDE TimeCutter 75755 and the John Deere Z515E. “This Gravely 48-inch zero-turn-radius tractor boasts top-notch handling and delivers Excellent performance in both side-discharging and mulching modes,” Consumer Reports explained.

Perhaps the only downside to this zero-turn mower is its price. At $5,300, this mower is the most expensive model that Consumer Reports recommends. But if you’re after the best zero-turn lawn mower on the market today? You really can’t go wrong with the Gravely ZT HD 48 991152.

“This is one of the most expensive riding mowers CR has tested, but the high-level performance and solid feel arguably justify the price.”

Consumer Reports

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The post The Best Zero-Turn Lawn Mowers Recommended by Consumer Reports appeared first on MotorBiscuit.

by Gabrielle DeSantis

The Cannes Film Festival, officially named Film de Cannes, is an annual film festival held in France. The festival started in 1946 for the recognition of artistic achievement in the film industry. It is a central location where film industry professionals worldwide can come together to exchange ideas, critique each other’s work, and present their work. 

Since the beginning, the festival has produced films that otherwise may have never been seen due to their controversial nature. This year’s winner is no exception. The film titled Titane is about a woman who has a sexual relationship with a Cadillac. As you can probably glean from the premise, this would be a hard sell at any other venue other than Cannes. However, Cannes has a reputation for taking in the unusual and injecting it into the mainstream. Let’s take a look at how this film won such high accolades at the festival.

Cannes winners of the past

Cannes certainly doesn’t shy away from controversy. For example, Vogue reported in 2002, Gaspar Noe’s violent thriller Irreversible caused audience members to faint. Another notable film named The Brown Bunny caused controversy for a different reason. A particularly sexual scene between Vincent Gallo and Chloe Sevigny may have crossed the line, even for Cannes standards. 

The festival’s top honor is the highly coveted Palme d’Or. This is the award given to the best director at the festival. The winner is expected to give an acceptance speech in front of festival-goers. However, sometimes the acceptance speech is met with a chorus of boos. Audiences at the festival are not afraid to show their distaste if a film wins when they feel it wasn’t deserved. It is a long-standing tradition for audiences to let their voice be heard either in the form of applause or jeers as the credits roll.

‘Titane’ is this year’s Cannes winner

The winner of this year’s Palme d’Or was Julia Ducournau with her film titled Titane, who incidentally is only the second female director in the festival’s history to win the prestigious award. The film is about a woman who has an affair and is impregnated by a Cadillac car. The film begins with a woman being involved in a car crash. After she has a metal plate placed in her head, she begins to have sexual feelings for the car. 

After having relations with a car, she becomes pregnant and tries to destroy the hybrid child growing inside. She then poses as the adult version of a boy who went missing a decade ago and moves in with the boy’s father. Not exactly blockbuster material, to be sure, but it sure got the attention of Cannes festival-goers and could be well on its way to becoming an internationally acclaimed film.

Reception of ‘Titane’ by critics and audiences

The film received positive reviews from film critics and audiences alike. Rotten Tomatoes gave it 96%, and Metacritic gave it 74 out of 100. One critic from Collider claims, “A bizarre, funny, tender, sexy, gory movie about transformations and human connections that prove that Vin Diesel does not and should not get the monopoly on movies about fast cars and found family.”

Titane is a film that certainly follows the Cannes formula of unusual, controversial, and sometimes downright bizarre award winners. It’s hard to imagine a more outrageous premise for a movie. However, Titane ticks all the boxes and promises to be an entertaining and unusual film that likely won’t be everyone’s cup of tea but certainly stays far away from the mundane.

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The post Woman Impregnated by a Cadillac in the Outrageous 2021 Cannes Palme D’or Winner ‘Titane’ appeared first on MotorBiscuit.