Vacuums That Sold Poorly & Died An Early Death

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Hoover's Models Z . . .

. . . would be high on my list. They were advertised as "The SUV" of vacuum cleaners. They were a pricey piece of equipment when they hit the market. It took about as long for them to sink as did the Titanic (and they were as about as heavy). They were clunky, didn't clean that well, and that spinning filter was a tech idea gone wrong. My local Hoover store (back when Hoover had stores to sell and service their vacs) were selling out their stock of Z's before long at $99 new. I bought two as collector items. They sit here today with almost no use. Certainly, they are a curiosity to look at.
 
Kirby Ultimate G Diamond Edition

The Ultimate G Diamond Edition was an example of this in Kirby's stable because it was the only Kirby to have a separate auxiliary "delicate" switch for use on throw rugs and thinner carpets. Most users didn't know how to properly use this switch and mistook it for the rug nozzle's BPI light, or did not turn off the "delicate" mode before using the hose or the Carpet Shampoo System.

~Ben[this post was last edited: 8/13/2017-21:17]
 
Electrolux

Oxygen 3 and bagless machines made in Hungary. The versatility also. Maybe not the ultra silencer because it is simpler without all the auto suction motor speed pressure transducuers and fused circuit pcb boards that fail.
 
What about...

The Miele Art?
I'm not sure how long they were around but they were only meant for hard floors as they relied upon straight suction.
They seemed to have run anywhere from about $200-$350
They did have an onboard hose but it was a tiny little thing.
The bags were tiny as well.

Perhaps if it had larger bags and a brushroll it could have been more successful. It was a neat looking machine and despite having a chance to buy one i passed it up due to the bags and lack of carpet cleaning.

blackheart-2017081419120809522_1.jpg
 
I can think of a few.

The orange Electrolux Oxygen Upright. Fantastic performer and very convenient to use as it offered a cord reel, hidden onboard tool compartment, and an electronic mechanism to adjust the height of the power head. It seems electrical circuitry problems killed it.

The Hoover WindTunnel 2 with a pair of beltless counter-rotating brushes. Also a victim of technical breakdowns landing them in repair shops.

It seems that weird Martian-looking Panasonic upright with the two air hoses connected to the brush-roll chamber was quite short lived.

The most mysterious case: the 2 or 3 year appearance of excellent Samsung bagged vacuums - winners of some prestigious German industrial design award. Even Consumer Reports top-rated the "Quiet Storm" power nozzle canister. But in Canada, these were all over the place in every vac shop for 2 ir 3 years....then they suddenly completely disappeared overnight.
 
Electrolux upright,canister vacuums.The giant rear wheels on the uprights broke all of the time.The hoses,motors,control boards in the Oxygen canisters broke a lot.Lowes stopped carrying these because of all the returns and refunds.
 
But the suction-only canisters from Sweden's Electrolux that do not have power in the hose (like the UltraSilencer Green) are fine. Mine was bought 10 years ago and it is a great canister cleaner with no problems since bringing it home.
 
Eureka Europa

was made in Sweden. Probably Vastervik. The final product from there was the Oxygen first series, and the Cyclone Power single stage bagless cylinder.
Electrolux AB made good machines then, but their planned obsolescence scheme was/is more frequent.
The Excalubur preceded the Europa, and was a Volta design, as Electrolux owned them as it does Eureka. There were two Europa designs, one having a small hepa filter on the rear exhaust. The other was identical to the Excellio which was much quieter, and had a top exhaust and mounted hepa filter.
The first series Oxygen was marketed in the UK as the Smart Vac cylinder.

I see a lot of Sharks in the trash these days. I don't even bother with them.
 
Kenmore professional the rebranded sebo x2.

Miele red velvet the s6000 series. This was the second vacuum named red velvet.
Actually had crushed red velvet glued to the outside of the case and was the straight suction only machine.

Hoover Platinum Series Bagless.

As mentioned before the Hoover Z Transformer vacuum in mint condition would be a lovely addition to any collection.
The WindTunnel 2 that came after both bags and Bagless are kind of rare.
 

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