CRAUMER, Martha <br/><br/>
The sputtering R&D machine 

 -  aug. 2002 
<br/><br/> For years, HomeStar was the most inventive company in the appliance business. Now, upstarts are stealing its thunder, and its top engineer doens't seem to care. HomeStar has been the top innovator in the appliance industry for years, but upstar Vanguard has grabbed the spotlight with its wildly popular retro line. HomeStar's legendary head of R&D dismisses the Vanguard threat, but the CEO is worried: is the R&D department out of touch?