Cola

For rust, crust and greasy goo, grab a can of cola. When chrome faucets get water spots, or auto trim and bumpers become rusty, moisten the shiny side of aluminum foil with cola, rub lightly, wipe and watch the shine return. To clean toilets, pour in some cola and let it sit. Then swish, and porcelain will sparkle.

Kevin Harvick pulled away from Kasey Kahne on a restart with 11 laps left to win the Coca-Cola 600 for the second time in three seasons, a race stopped for nearly 30 minutes Sunday night when a TV camera support rope snapped. Kahne led 156 laps and appeared to have the strongest machine in NASCAR's longest race, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. But Harvick took the low line following the last of 11 cautions and slowly pulled away. Kahne finished second, Kurt Busch third and polesitter Denny Hamlin was fourth in his second full race since returning from injury.

I mixed the old Coke and the new Coke together, and it makes a marvelous drink. OLLIE CRAWFORD North Hollywood

Coca-Cola is making major promises to fight obesity - ceasing advertisements directed at kids, slapping calorie counts on all its packaging - as the soda giant stares down a rising tide of concern over sugar-stuffed beverages. On Wednesday, as part of an initiative it's calling Coming Together, the Atlanta company made a series of pledges that also involved offering low- or no-calorie drinks globally and backing of physical activity programs. Coca-Cola said its new rules, announced in part to commemorate the brand's 127 th anniversary, will apply in more than 200 countries where it does business.

Two decades after adding the designation, Coca-Cola Co. is removing the word "classic" from its cola sold in the U.S. The "classic" tag line was added in 1985, when the company introduced a formula that consumers called "New Coke." New Coke never caught on and was dropped in 2004.

Did anyone else notice that Coca-Cola spent around $800,000 to let us know they gave the USO $1 million? RON BURLA Woodland Hills

The day after John Elway grabbed his first Super Bowl ring, most viewers had already fumbled the messages from many Super Bowl advertisers. Ferndale, Mich.-based SAAResearch called 402 viewers on Monday and asked them to identify firms that had advertised during the game. *--* Percentage of viewers able Rank Advertiser to identify advertiser 1. Budweiser 56% 2. Pepsi-Cola 42 3. Federal Express 13 4. Tabasco 11 5. Coca-Cola 8 6. Bud Lite 6 7. Doritos 6 8. Pizza Hut 5 9. American Express 5 10.

I just want to confirm the impression made by your Chuck Norris article (TV Times, April 18). As a former bartender at the L.A. Music Center I came across quite a few celebrities. Norris, who had a Coca-Cola, was both the nicest and the least stuck-up famous person I served. Tom Haggerty, Hollywood

After the death of longtime Calendar Letters contributor Felix de Cola, I feared that opposition to rock 'n' roll coverage in your pages would degenerate into the glum grumblings of naysayers who would repeat the mantra "It's too loud; you can't understand the words" ad infinitum. I'm pleased to see that Dr. Marvin H. Leaf has picked up the fallen banner of intelligent, informed opposition to rock 'n' roll, quoting Artie Shaw yet--something I don't believe De Cola would ever stoop to. Thanks for helping us keep our perspective, Doc--keep it up. CARLO PANNO Burbank

Note to Arte Moreno: You're right, "L.A." sells better than "Anaheim" in front of Angels, but if you wanted an L.A. team you should have bought the Dodgers. It's like wanting a Coke but only being able to afford the generic cola. A. JUSTIN LUM Pasadena

A perennial target for critics of sugary drinks, Coca-Cola Co. took to prime-time TV broadcasts to acknowledge its role in the fattening of Americans - and to defend itself. In a two-minute advertisement that was to debut Monday night on cable news channels, the world's top beverage company addressed what it called the "complex challenge of obesity. " In a spot it called "Coming Together" - a similar phrase Starbucks Corp. used in the fall to try to get fiscal cliff negotiations moving - Coca-Cola showcased its efforts to be transparent about the nutritional content of its products and to expand its line of drinks with low or no calories.

Re "Calculating the cost of living," Editorial, Dec. 19 The editorial about the proposal to change to a "chained-CPI" for calculating cost-of-living increases for Social Security entirely misses the problem with using this type of calculation. It mentions that the current calculation doesn't consider the fact that if prices rise on meat, seniors on fixed incomes may replace meat with pasta. The proposed changes, however, will necessitate that seniors continually downgrade their standard of living, eventually to the point that it won't be a choice between meat and pasta but between dog food and cat food.

Senior citizens are braced for Tuesday's announcement of how much more money they will get from Social Security, an automatic increase that is expected to come in at less than 2%, one of the smallest since the Cost of Living Adjustment first began in 1975. The increase, also known as a COLA, is tied to the rise of consumer prices, which has been running at an annual rate of about 1.5%, according to federal figures. The formal announcement, which will include September's rate of inflation available on Tuesday, is expected to be around that number.

Maybe it was the soaring unemployment, or possibly the deep debt crisis. But as Greece struggles with its myriad troubles, its largest company, Coca-Cola Hellenic, is jumping ship to more stable ground. The company, one of the world's largest Coke bottlers, is the biggest Greece-based company by market value, at $7.6 billion. But on Thursday, the company said it is switching its main stock listing from Athens to London and relocating its corporate headquarters to Switzerland as it looks to "enhance liquidity" for shareholders.

Will.i.am, the Black Eyed Peas member and occasional movie star, has a pretty good handle on being cool. And Coca-Cola Co. is betting he can transfer his hipness into a new line of recycled gear. The green-goods industry has been growing in recent years but is still struggling with a perception among many mainstream consumers that recycled products are drab-looking and overpriced. The will.i.am partnership aims to sex up that image with the Ekocycle line, which will attempt to make green living "aspirational yet attainable" with partners such as Dr. Dre and New Era and products such as $349 headphones and $32 hats.

Coca-Cola Co., the world's largest soft-drink maker, plans to spend a total of $7 billion on India through 2020 as it attempts to take advantage of the country's changing consumer tastes. The company will add a $3 billion investment to the $2 billion plan it announced in November, Chairman and Chief Executive Muhtar Kent said Tuesday . Coca-Cola has already put more than $2 billion into its India operations since re-entering the country in 1993. To compare, $7 billion is the same amount that R. Allen Stanford was convicted of bilking from investors in one of the U.S.'s largest Ponzi schemes . Locally produced foods sold at U.S. farmers markets, roadside stands or by middlemen brought in $7 billion in revenue last year . Last month, the L.A. City Council approved a $7.2 billion budget . Coca-Cola abandoned India in 1977 when government regulations required it to partner with a local company.

Senior citizens are braced for Tuesday's announcement of how much more money they will get from Social Security, an automatic increase that is expected to come in at less than 2%, one of the smallest since the Cost of Living Adjustment first began in 1975. The increase, also known as a COLA, is tied to the rise of consumer prices, which has been running at an annual rate of about 1.5%, according to federal figures. The formal announcement, which will include September's rate of inflation available on Tuesday, is expected to be around that number.

Re "Calculating the cost of living," Editorial, Dec. 19 The editorial about the proposal to change to a "chained-CPI" for calculating cost-of-living increases for Social Security entirely misses the problem with using this type of calculation. It mentions that the current calculation doesn't consider the fact that if prices rise on meat, seniors on fixed incomes may replace meat with pasta. The proposed changes, however, will necessitate that seniors continually downgrade their standard of living, eventually to the point that it won't be a choice between meat and pasta but between dog food and cat food.

MEXICO CITY — Adolfo Calero, a former Coca-Cola executive who led the largest anti-Sandinista Contra rebel force in 1980s Nicaragua and served as one of its most articulate lobbyists in Washington, has died. He was 80. Calero died Saturday night in the Nicaraguan capital, Managua, of complications from lung disease, an aide told local media. Calero's career mirrored the tumultuous history of Nicaragua as it emerged from a sleepy Central American backwater to the center of the Cold War struggle.