Tolivac, you are thinking about the same way I am, which is why I am looking for confirmations from other sources. The metal Royals are still on their website, more for the pro and commercial users. Heck, shakeout bags are still an option!
I have seen where some dealers will ‘unpromote’ some brands/types/models in order to sell other more expensive/profitable ones. An older and wiser (the latter now questionable) lady that I had worked with in 2004 called her usual plumber about her water heater tank leaking. He responded that tank type heaters we obsolete, being discontinued, and tankless is the wave of the future. Therefore he said he could only install tankless. So she believed it and had it done or several thousand, including the special high-current wiring and service contract for routine descaling. I told her she was crazy but she insisted on believing him because they knew each other a long time. Just last year I had my tank-type heater replaced with another tank of same size. My plumber said they were not going away anytime soon and I had choices of many brands and sizes. Got a Bradford White 50 gallon gas unit for just under 1k.
Unfortunately, companies do well at brainwashing their customers, from automobiles to vacuums. The younger generation may not readily know that these old style metal vacuums could last for decades, clean very well and be very efficient. Most now accept the short life of appliances or else they would be buying vintage or high end. People are suckers for ‘high tech’ whether it works or not; the coolness factor always seems to win these days. I am one of the few who can see through the corporate BS and stick to what works best for me.
I do question how long Kirby will survive. They make a wonderful, reliable, tough machine, but the high prices, undesirable door to door marketing, weight, and dated looks are against them. However, it is hard to mess with something that has been proven for next to a century. I can only assume that most of their customers are in the higher working classes or the caretakers of large estates. They count on selling less units for more $. I bet if they move production out of the USA, they would soon sink.
Regardless, the 6 Kirbys I have will take great care of my property until I die. After then they will be sold to clean someone else’s homes.
