P.S., Kenny:
I think one factor in the motor life of TriStar/Compact vs. Electrolux is that Lux only has one-stage filtration. Everything depends on that single bag.
Even in that abused Compact C-2 of my mom's, there was a motor pre-filter. In those days, it was a round metal frame holding a fiberglas mat, not today's foam. And my mom never bought a new one; she kept knocking the dust out of the original. Even so, having two levels of filtration in that Compact made a difference, I feel. And it would have been three had she ever used the paper bags. Years after the Compact went to the dump, I found the original sales papers for it in her garage - along with a "starter" supply of paper bags, still pristine after all those years.
Three levels of filtration before the airflow ever gets to the motor HAS to make a difference in motor life, seems to me.
