I disagree with people who say that the quality of Kenmore vacuum cleaners dropped when Cleva took over. Just to name one, I have both the Cleva and Panasonic versions of the 31150, and I can confirm that they are made to the exact same quality standards. There are slight differences in manufacturing (Cleva loves their hot glue), but the build quality is the same; at least with the 31140 and the 31150/BU1017/BU1018. From what I have seen, their in-house models are made to the same quality standards. On top of fixing some issues with the canisters, they also retained most of Panasonic's more recent designs like the 31140/31150 base, the CrossOver lineup, the bagless 600 Series, the 600 and 700 Series canisters; all of which were solid designs. I am a sucker for my bagless 600 Series. The amount of filth from other vacuum cleaners that it ingests without complaining is amazing.
The metal rear wheel axles on the power nozzle and the more reliable hinges are the first improvement I noticed to the canisters. Upon further investigation, I noticed that Cleva seals the leaking points of the Panasonic models. To single out one model, the bagged 600 Series uses the same motor housing assembly as the older Panasonic Progressive models, but they wrap electric tape around the front of the motor housing to seal the fan housing gasket to it, they hot glue the holes in the back of the motor housing to seal them, they put a little gasket on the keyed rear motor mount, and they put seals where the motor housing clips onto the filter housing. On top of that, the EF-9 filters are far better than the older EF-2 design. They obviously put some thought into making them sealed.
The main thing that I wish they would fix about the bagged canisters is the bag dock. I would like to see that happen very soon. The current one leaks a little more fine dust than I would like, which was normal in the 1980s and 1990s, but is dated nowadays. It would be easy for them to change the bags and the dock, but have it mount in the same spot with the same base casting.
I would not mind seeing a more modern hose on the canisters as well. I do not hate the hoses that they use on them now and they are certainly tougher than some of the far older models, but they could benefit from upgrading to a lighter and more flexible material. The hoses, especially on the ones like the 200 and 400 Series, seem to be the first things to fail. I have seen a couple where people have given them a good yank and disconnected a wire or two, even on the Panasonic models.
They need to offer an extension hose for the 31140 and Elite 31150/BU1017/BU1018 models! The main complaint I hear about them other than the weight is that the on-board hose is way too short and tight. The uprights are amazing in terms of their cleaning ability and raw airflow and suction numbers on top of having above average build quality for the price range, but the lack of ease of use in attachment hose bugs me.
I have never handled one of the new Kenmore models such as the Intuition or the bagless versions of it. I would place money on them being some sort of deal with KingClean, who works in conjunction with Shark, hence the similarities. I know the models in question have issues with the hoses ripping, but the idea of a bagged lift-away upright did fill a gap in the market. In my opinion, it was smart. On the other hand, the bagless uprights (not the CrossOver) look like total garbage with single cyclones and foam filters.
