My Extensive Collection Part 2

[kirbyloverdan]

Still

More . I love the rare John Wanamaker , Macys , Bloomingdales ,
Kmart plastic Convertibles with the designer bags .

Dan

 

[gsheen]

Dan , Were some of the supplied without the rubber grip on the handle ? 

 

[kirbyloverdan]

Gareth

Yes low end models didn't have the hand grip .

Dan

 

[kirbyloverdan]

Still more

Convertibles yes I even have a denim Hoover Convertible

There's my Nanny's vacuum the highly controversial white hooded Model 65 these pics I took years ago before I put them in cool storage .

Dan [this post was last edited: 3/9/2014-19:57]

 

[kirbyloverdan]

Never ending

Convertibles ...

Dan

 

[vintagerepairer]

Handle grip

So if there was no handle grip, what was in the hole in the end of the handle? And did this not make using the cleaner more difficult? I cannot think of a cleaner on the UK market in the last 60 years which had a tubular metal handle and no grip. Interesting.

 

[kirbyloverdan]

Benny

There was a metal cap in the hole . We had many without the handle grip it was never a problem holding on to the Convertibles .

Dan

 

[vintagerepairer]

Thanks for the reply. I assume the lack of handgrip was more about making a distinction between models rather than a cost saving exercise. That is to say, the cost of not putting the hand grip on would probably be a good deal less than the actual retail price differences between cleaners which had no grip and those which did.

 

[kirbyloverdan]

Your very welcome

Benny thanks for the question .
The non handle grip models were the low end Convertibles .
I guess every penny helped as they had many models and sold
at many stores .

Dan

 

[stricklybojack]

Denim Hoover, nice!

.
Denim was to the 70's what "Clear" was to the 90's.
Don't believe me? Ladies and Gentleman too young to remember, behold: the 1973 Levi's AMC Gremlin!

"Optional was a Levi's interior trim package, which included spun nylon upholstery made to look like denim (fire safety regulations prohibited the use of real cotton denim). Details included removable map pockets, burnished copper denim rivets, and red Levi's logo tabs." -Wikipedia[this post was last edited: 3/10/2014-09:43]

 

[kirbyloverdan]

Kool

I had no idea Robert my neighbor had a purple Gremlin
what an interesting car that and the Pacer .

Dan

 

[stricklybojack]

Ahem...

.
did you say Pacer?
Those too came Levi clad, witness:

 

[kirbyloverdan]

Lol

Robert they did too ?
You live and learn every day

Dan

 

[stricklybojack]

Last pic...

Abbodanza!

 

[kirbyloverdan]

Love that

Pacer wow what a Kool interior .

Dan

 

[kirbyloverdan]

More

Convertibles another Pair

Dan

 

[gsheen]

handle grips

Benny 


 


When you do mass manufacture they tend to look at making a certain quantity on vacuums, ( batch).


Now why they do this is its pointless looking at the cost of making one vacuum, The tooling costs and such make this impossible, So you look at making say a 100 000. Now if they were making them in a particular color like they did in the USA( lets say pink)  This would mean they would have to specially order  pink grips, costing 1$ each. Now to you and I 1 $ is nothing mere pocket change so why not fit a handle grip, Trouble is you are not ordering 1 but 100 000 so that's 100 000 dollars you have to pull out of capital just to fit a grip to a handle.


 


This is more evident when you get to cars, You know those budget entry level cars that manufacturers make. They take the bottom of the range car, strip out a 4 dollar clock,  hubcaps $ 70.00, and car mats, $70.00 and remove the lower bumper spotlights ( $80.00 ) and suddenly they car is $ 3000.00 cheaper, How ? its all down to mass manufacturing and producing in batches.


 


Gareth 

 

[hoovercelebrity]

Totally unrelated, but similar context... That reminds me of a story I heard, probably in college, with relation to cost-cutting/reduction. In 1987, American Airlines removed one olive from each salad it served in First Class, and as a result saved $40,000 per year.

Love all of the Convertibles, Dan! You have some really nice examples.

 

[stricklybojack]

More than cost cutting...

.
I think Hoover did this to creat tiered pricing. At this time the biggest company in America, and probably the world was General Motors. They sold (and still sell) cars under different name plates from Chevrolet on the low end to Cadillac at the top. The thinking was people would climb the ladder as they moved up in income and continue buying GM.
So it wasn't really done to make the cheapest Hoover more affordable as much as it was to help differentiate, and justify, the TOL and it's higher cost. It's why cheap stuff of all kinds is usually ugly, they save the better looking designs and or colors for the higher priced items because those that can afford it will more often than not pay the added cost.

Seeing all these convertibles has made me realize how much i prefer some colors over others.

 

[hoovercelebrity]

Oh, I didn't mean to imply that Hoover was cost cutting by not offering handle grips on some models. For some reason, when the topic of ordering mass quanitites was brought up, that story about the olives entered into my mind. Just a random thought.

I agree - the handle grip, zippered bags, longer cord, full bumper - those were all to differentiate the machine as a higher-end model, and as you say tier the pricing.