Electrolux Contour - Information Wanted!

[jmurray01]

Yes another one of these threads, I am becoming rather predictable aren't I?

Anyway, I don't actually have the cleaner in my hands yet but I have won the eBay auction so I'd like to know more about it for when it arrives.

Hopefully you can give me some information from the eBay listing (with pictures).

Here's the link:


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Electrolu...185?pt=UK_Vacuum_Cleaners&hash=item337ddc27b9

 

[durango159]

This is a UK model only. Nothing like this in the U.S. that I have ever seen. Show us agitator pictures and let us know how you like it!

Enjoy and congratulations on the interesting buy!

 

[parwaz786]

Warwick!

Is this being sent by post? ITs near me By the way, Nice machine, I have seen quite a few around the carboot sales and look interesting, similar in design to a hoover purepower

 

[turbo500]

Believe me, they're nothing like a Purepower. Info to follow when I get home

 

[turbo500]

Right...


 


The Contour was launched in 1991 to replace the 600 series. It was intended to be launched alongside the Glider (which originally replaced the 500 series) however it actually ended up being launched almost a year after the Glider.


 


Originally, there were 2 models - a white, 600w single speed model and a green 800w "boost" model. At the time, they were the most powerful cleaners on the market, and were advertised as such. At £139, they were also one of the most expensive cleaners on the market at the time.


 


The original Glider/Contour range looked like this:


 


Glider z1250 - white, single speed, 600w, no on board tools
Glider z1260 - blue, 2 speed "boost", 600w, no on board tools


Glider z1270 - pink, 2 speed "boost", 600w, no board tools cord winder


 


Contour z1410 - white, single speed, 600w, on board tools


Contour z1450 - green, 2 speed 600w with 800w "boost", on board tools


 


Somewhere around 1992, the z1450 was dropped and replaced with the z1460 which was virtually identical apart from the addition of full variable power and the removal of the boost button. 


 


The original Contour and Glider series came with a horrible friction fit handle release that was later upgraded to a full release pedal as the orignal had a tendency to wear out very quickly.


 


About the same time as the launch of the 1460, the Airstream was launched, which was 1000w, grey with full variable power and higher level filtration. I think Electrolux were going neck and neck with Hoover here as the Turbo 2 had just been launched and was also 800w (like the contour), so the existence of the Airstream was purely to keep up with the "most powerful cleaner on the market" ad campaign, which was later replaced with a rather vile ad campaign featuring magnified dust mites printed on sales stickers on the machine. 


 


There were a million and one varieties of the Contour during the 90's - boost, varipower, ESP, Contour 1000, Contour 2, Airstream, Airclean etc. etc. It's hard to keep up with them all. I believe the model you have there is from the main run of the first ESP models, from around 1994. 


 

 

[turbo500]

Here's a pic of the 1992 line up (excluding the 2 top end Gliders) from Argos. 


 


Interesting piece of info, the 1055 and 1065, which were originally the last of the 500/Twin Turbo/Turbo 2 style machines, were discontinued in 1990 in favour of the newly launched Glider. However, due to high back stock sales and popular designs, they were relaunched in an even more basic form as the 1070, which ran as a very popular budget seller until at least 1995. 


 


In my opinion, despite being considerably cheaper, the z1070 Twin Turbo was a far superior cleaner to both the Glider and Contour. I always thought that the Contour was a massive step down from the 600 series - they were more flimsey and had a significantly more underwhelming brushroll compared with the 600's (which can be seen in the video in the link below).  Never the less, the Contour, Glider and Turbo 2 were all very popular cleaners throughout the 90's - I doubt there was a street in England that didn't have one of these cleaners on it at some point. 

 

[jmurray01]

Thank you for the information Chris! Much appreciated.

 

[hooversrus2012]

electrolux contour

didt no the contour was that expensive

 

[turbo500]

Oh yeh, they weren't cheap! Here's a pic from 1996 showing the Contour 2 at £149.00 and the Airclean 1200 at £199. It wasn't until the introduction of the Widetrack and Powerline series in 1997 that they started to come down in price. 

 

[ultimatevacman]

My nan has one of these! lol

 

[turbo500]

Joe...

..which one?

 

[ultimatevacman]

The electrolux contour.

 

[vintagerepairer]

Chris, although the original contour cleaners had two friction pads to hold the handle upright, this was changed prior to the introduction of the foot pedal on the updated contour range. The two read pads at the rear were removed and a stiff latch at the front fitted instead. Although the cleaner was still designed to have the handle yanked back to lower it, the latch I mention was used as an integral part of the new design, with a metal bar pulling the latch away from the cleaner when the foot pedal was pressed.

 

[vintagerepairer]

The Z1070 went on sale in late 1991, and not without some controversy as not all store sold it with tools, yet the retail price remained the same. By the Spring of 1995 it was down to £59.99 in most shops and I even saw them in a Co-Op for £49.99 shortly before they disappeared altogether.

 

[turbo500]

Great bit of info Benny, thanks. Controversial or not, they sold like hot cakes! Not surprising as they were great cleaners.

Joe, I got that but was asking which contour she has

 

[vintagerepairer]

No, sorry, I mean it was controversial that some consumers had tools and some didn't. This was 1991 and an issue between Currys & Comet. Comet did not supply tools but Currys did. In the end I believe they came with tools as standard.

 

[sebo_fan]

"You won't believe how powerful it is..."

So says the advert from that video, but then again I didn't believe how difficult it is to push, either IMHO!

I had a green one with Z1460 with variable suction. It was okay but very heavy to steer. They were soon to be rebadged years later as many a catalogue brand including Dirt Devil DD6060 DD6102, DD6110, DD6112/3/4, DD6120/1, DD6130, DD6141, DD6161, JMB U3002/4/5, 800 & Swan SCU400 and I think there was even a Bush model.

Sadly I've seen quite a lot of the Contour based catalogue models than the actual Electrolux originals through my student years. They were dirt cheap to buy at the time and as such quite popular. The height adjuster mechanisms were also liable to break with the Dirt Devil models.

 

[sebo_fan]

Here's a 1300 Contour Flexhead I just found on EBAY UK. Apparently hasn't been used much!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Electrolu...UK_Vacuum_Cleaners&hash=item27cd673993&_uhb=1

 

[turbo500]

here are the first of the Gliders from Grattan 1990. Notice how the Gliders are alongside the last of the 600 series