Kevin, the reason why the motor in the Electrolux 80 Series canisters is more powerful is because it was made by Electrolux Canada, at the plant in Montreal, Quebec. It was NOT American owned or made by that point. The only things the 80 Series shared with it's American counterpart, the Automatic G, was the telescopic electric wand & the first PN1 powerhead.
In fact, Electrolux Canada was ALWAYS different than Electrolux USA. We never used combo tools (unless it was a economy model) until the 1980's, we always got full, separate tools. The plastic AP Series canisters, starting with the AP100, was introduced in 1973, & over time with styling & other minor changes, evolved into the 2100 / Aerus Classic, while America was still selling metal canisters.
It wasn't till the mid 1980's, I think around 1986 or 1987, that both divisions merged together & things changed. And that's when the differences between the Canadian & American models ended for the most part. I think that one thing that made Electrolux special was that each country & each division did their own research & development, they determined what their consumers wanted & catered directly to them. That's the reason for the differences between American & Canadian models....Canadians wanted a lighter machine, hence the plastic model here. While each division shared ideas & shared parts & components worldwide, each division kept innovating to serve their country's customers & make sure their needs were met with products that worked for them. Such a shame that Joe Urso has taken a once great company & destroyed it.
Rob