How popular would Hoover Futura and Hoover Spectrum canisters be in Japan in the 1990''s or today?

[tjhooverman]

I thought of this, if Hoover introduced them there. If Hoover expanded their business to Japan I thought the Japanese would have loved to have these Hoover canister vacuum cleaners. I thought that these Hoover canisters would have been appealing to the Japanese. I also thought Japan would have produced more Hoover Futura and Hoover Spectrum canisters, models that would have features like a dirt sensor, height adjustment, belt reset, 360* swivel, and an additional Hoover Powermatic for furinture, stairs and car interiors.

 

[durango159]

I would love to see those features on a Futura/ PowerMax cleaner. If Hoover took that model and improved the filtration, produced a rubber coating for the wheels, improved rear power nozzle wheels, implemented a serpentine belt with power head protection and a more flexible power cord- as that stiff cord was detrimental to the cord winders, I think you'd have a terrific machine. That traditional Hoover canister motor sound is SOOOO MUCH better than the sqealing new motors on todays canisters. Also that attachment set was terrific!!!

 

[rugsucker]

US vacs for Japan ?

To put it simply the Japanese have been fanatic on quality control of every aspect of vacs that have been considered for import.I have heard stories of Rainbow,Electrolux and Filter Queen being tested for the Japanese market and being rejected until issues with air quality,part appearance(including normal molding marks) and packaging have been corrected.Not sure these otherwise good Hoovers would have passed inspection.The other side of this is that when the Japanese buyer was satisfied with quality they would want deluxe vacs with all accessories and pay a high price.One of James Dysons books relates a story of being called to a factory when he was starting to sell his first model in Japan and panic stricken workers showing parts with minor scratches.

 

[tjhooverman]

Why don't we start a revival of those canisters?

 

[fan-of-fans]

Another issue is the intended market for these canisters. I believe Japan does use mainly canisters, but the living spaces there are much smaller than in the US. Typically small apartments instead of single family houses. The vacuums that have been popular there have been designed with this in mind.

Look at some of the interesting Japanese vacuums on here, such as those made by Sanyo and Panasonic. They are typically small straight suction machines. Many of them such as Sanyo and National machines store the hose and tools in a small compartment to save storage space.

A few of these machines have been sold in the US, such as under the Kenmore name.

So really I don't think full size power nozzle canisters would catch on there as well. But things do change so it could be that they are what people there want now.

 

[durango159]

Well the PowerMax/ Futura heads were nice that way. Not too small, not too big. They were much smaller and lighterweight than its predecessor the Quadraflex. At 12" wide by about 6" long and about 3" high they're a very easy to manuever head. Much easier compared to a 14" Centec or even 12" Eureka Worldvac style nozzle. But perhaps that's just my opinion.

Then again if this line were to somehow be recreated I'm sure they'd redesign the head and shave off another inch in length, particularly to suit the market its in.

 

[tjhooverman]

Why don't have petitions to revive them and send them to Hoover?