Bit of history....
The Electrolux 600 series was launched in - the first domestic upright in the UK to feature a built in hose and was advertised as "the vac with the hose at the back".
The original lineup was the 610 and 612 Electronic and were Electrolux top of the line upright. The lower spec uprights were the 551 and 561, which were more modern variations on the older 500 series that had been in production since 1971.
The original 610 and 612 were riddled with problems - bits snapping off and hoses splitting, plus a major issue with the chassis cracking. There were a heap of variations on the 610 and 612 with very slight design modifications, until they were superseded by the 614 and 616 in 1989. The 614 and 616 were pretty much identical the the 610 and 612 except for the colour, but had many subtle design changes to make them more solid.
The 600 series was discontinued in 1991 after the launch of the Contour (which was, in my opinion, a far inferior cleaner but more solid).
Below is a pic from Argos Spring-Summer 1989 where you can see both the 614 and 616. You can also see the z1055 and z1065, which were the mid-range uprights at the time with the 400 "Lite" uprights being the BOL.
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