Marketbuster: The vac that roared

The vac that roared

The standard-size vacuum cleaner, squatting in countless American closets, is a veritable symbol of drudgery. But now there is a little vac hanging on the wall, designed just to clean up the spilled potting soil and the scattered cat litter. It is the Dustbuster, and its phenomenal success is dramatically changing the fortunes of its maker, Black & Decker.

Cordless and snout-shaped, the Dustbuster is 14 1/4 in. long and weighs 1.4 lbs. To clean up small domestic disasters, the user grabs the Dustbuster from its wall rack, vacuums up the mess and returns the machine to its base. There, its...

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