Last Flat Hoover constelation

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As stated above a Celebrity, in fact Celebrity Air Ride. Sold here from the mid 1970s, through to the early 1980s and strangely enough sold (in this country) alongside the Constellation, and at onetime sold alongside the a larger Celebrity which did not float - that one was not all that popular. Two colour schemes yellow/brown and orange/brown. In the US there were several models and a couple of series of Celebrity cleaners - the Air-ride was the US BOL, the other one we had was one next up in the series.

Al

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Wow...

Either the bags or the motors (probably both though) must be small to fit in there!

It makes you wonder why anybody would buy a Constellation over that neat wee thing!
 
Small?

Well partially, in that the motor was small but the bags certainly were not. The motor sits in the middle and is almost completely surronded by the dust bag. While it might have looked innovative in this country compared to the USA (its country of origin), compared to the wide variety of styles and designs available there, and some for quite a few years before, its not all that much at all.

Why buy one of these instead of a Connie? No good reason at all (can you tell I dont like them much?) As I recall they were certainly no cheaper than the connie yet their BOL status really shows in terms of hose (US style - shortish and no stretch), tools, and they are really NOISY compared to the connie, which is quite quiet. Thet are a lot lower to the ground than the connie and so you had to bend much lower to the ground to pick them up, which you had to do quite often.

The house I lived in for my first year when I came to London had one, and I HATED it. I do have one in my collection but I dont think I have ever even switched it on.

Al
 
It Was the Times, I Think:

The Dreyfuss-designed Connie looked a little archaic by the late '60s, even though Hoover was very careful to keep it updated with new colors. The Celebrity Air-Ride just looked more up-to-date when it was a new machine.

If you'll all recall, TTI re-introduced the Connie in a stainless finish a few years ago. Big news for collectors - big yawn for the rest of the marketplace.
 
Big news for collectors - big yawn for the rest of the marke

I think that's partly because they were marketed so poorly, if at all.  The new Constellation really had no presence in any of the big box stores.  I think that if they would have gotten it into a big-box, especially Target -- it could have been much bigger and more successful.  At $199, it was a pretty good value.  Super long cord, metal construction, a TON of power, HEPA bags... and just so different.  Granted, it does blow the dust around, and the turbo-nozzle is... well, a turbo nozzle.  Nonetheless,  I think for how different it was, it would have done well. 


 


The celebrities are so much louder because of that tiny little motor, which spun so fast.  They had considerably more airflow and a much larger bag capacity than the original Constellations.  The hoses were a tad short on the BOL Models, and do go into the cleaner at a pretty low point -- but they weren't bad machines as far as cheap bottom of the line machines go. 
 
Fred:

I don't disagree. When that new Connie was introduced, I did a story on it for Modernism Magazine, working with TTI to get photo material and info. They were very helpful, but I never saw the merchandising and ad follow-through I thought the machine warranted.

That stretch hose and the turbotool didn't help! I have only had one experience with a turbotool, on a Miele White Star, and I swear waiting for the cat to do the vacuuming would have yielded a better result.
 
In the end, and as HOOVER...er...TTI was closing all it's stores the SS and White New Connies were heavily discounted, even on line. I got my two for $99 but I couldn't pry a HOOVER Carpet from any closing dealerships. :-(

I intend to modify mine with an electric hose and PN because the suction is astounding...but the vinyl stretch hose is a joke.

Btw, Tom A told me that the Original Constellation had many innovations in store on the drawing board in 1958 and in the Engineering Department as prototypes. Such as, internal cordwinder, electric hose based on the Model 87 and an all new design for a PN )based on the standard wheeled Floor tool shell) to go with it. Apparently there are Patent Drawings out there.

Due to many things happening at the factory and problems with the 87 - Lewyt's developing Big Wheel Electronic debacle notwithstanding - further development was squelched for another half-decade when the Celebrity was King of the Hoover Hill. By then the Constellation was truly a BOL entry level model that made money because the tooling was all paid for.
 
Constellations and Celebrity's

Having come from a Eureka family and never having any experience with Hoovers till the last couple of years, I have to say that between Celebrity's and Constellations they have expanded my feelings for Hoovers. Having just bought my first Constellation (843) I really love that machine! And now I have one of the new white constellations and with the carpeting I have that turbo tool works great on it. Now if you want to increase the effeciency of it , at the top of the constellation on the inside there is a bleeder hole about the size of a dime, cover that with a small piece of tape and it increases the turbo tools power greatly!


I have also grown to really like the Celebrities also! With a pn I think they are a force to be reconned with.

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