What are your favourite defunct brands?

[ilovehoovers]

Personally, I quite like Vactric cleaners. What are yours?

 

[kirbylux77]

Lewyt

They were a brand with some interesting ideas, ahead of their time. Most people that own canisters with a powerhead don't realize that Lewyt was responsible for bringing that to market. I also think the Big Wheel, with it's square body and large wheels, was revolutionary in how maneuverable it was for it's time - so much so, that Miele copied it with the Boost CX1!

It's a shame that the lawsuit over electrocutions from the rectifier that passed power to the powerhead which failed put the company out of business and the name sold. If they had stayed around, canisters could have seen many more innovations than they have I bet.

 

[hygiene903]

I Could Name Several!

Air-Way, Apex, General Electric, Lewyt, Kingston, Regina (they did make actual vacuum cleaners in addition to their Electrik-Brooms and polishers), Clements (they made Cadillac and a few other brands), Birtman (BeeVac and Kenmore), and Westinghouse. I might mention here that GE and Westinghouse were both full line appliance manufacturers, and both stopped making vacs in the late 60's (Westinghouse) and early 70's (GE).
Jeff

 

[eurekaprince]

Well, for me it’s obviously Eureka. Even though Midea slaps the Eureka name onto some of their Chinese vacuum cleaners, it’s meaningless. RIP Eureka…

 

[dysonman1]

Royal for me. Although you never know when Hoover will bring the name back.

 

[thevacomaticiec]

Well for me its  Compact IEC  due my  grand mother having one and my   godfather selling  em  .

 

[tolivac]

The Royal name and machines need to come back-both the metal uprights and the "torpedo" canister.

 

[hygiene903]

i Agree With Tom and Rex!

I should have put Royal on my list too, because after what TTI did to them they exist in name only. I'm sure P.A. Geier would roll over in his grave if he knew what has become of his company and the machines he designed and created. And speaking of P.A. Geier, I think you might find my post about him interesting if you haven't already checked it out. It includes information and pictures that his great-grandson, whom I have recently been in contact with, has graciously sent to me, along with permission to share it with other collectors.
I also forgot to mention other Royal built brands, most notably Electro-Hygiene and also including Electro-Grand, Galaxy Prestige, Modern Hygiene, Regal, and Good Housekeeper; Universal and Jet99, both made by Landers, Frary, & Clark; SweeperVac; and Filtex, which is actually still around but only makes central vac systems these days.
Jeff

 

[kloveland]

Regina for me then Singer and Royal.

 

[eurekaprince]

I really should give Sunbeam an honorable mention here - right after Eureka. They were the first to offer an air-driven turbo carpet nozzle in the 1950’s, they had a very good stick vac with a headlight and tools, and their Challenger canister carried every single tool - including the wands - on board. From what I have read, their flying saucer canister had a very very powerful extra large motor too.

RIP Sunbeam.

 

[human]

The first one that comes to mind is Lewyt, because the first vacuum I remember using was a pink and gray Lewyt canister that looked a bit like a fire hydrant. But reading the other posts in this thread, there are any number if once-proud brands that now exist in name only, having been bought out by Chinese parent companies. Eureka certainly is high on the list for me in that regard. And even though they weren't 'shanghaied,' at least not yet, Electrolux is also on my list. Yeah, they're still around under the Aerus nameplate, but they aren't what they once were.

 

[panasonicvac]

Panasonic

Made some of my all time favorite vacuums! I also have a bondness for other Japanese brands such as Sharp and Sanyo. And I think it's probably safe to say that Kenmore is on the list now that Sears is history. I really did liked the Kenmores that were built by Whirlpool before Panasonic took over so I guess Whirlpool can count as well.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Most definitely Royal!

~Ben

 

[tylerhawkins84]

Royal

For me it’s definitely Royal. I wish Royal had not sold out to TTI and remained an American based company. I especially love their metal canisters with the Panasonic power nozzle. They are great cleaning machines and groom carpeting very well. Now TTI has pretty much discontinued every service part for all of their legacy products (if not all models) which is very disappointing considering how many of the metal uprights and canister tanks are still out their functioning just as well as when they were new. Eventually people will have to throw out perfectly good vacuums because they can’t get bags, belts, wheels, and other easily replaceable service parts. I myself have a stockpile of parts both NOS and used as well as nearly 200 disposable bags for my metal tanks and hope to run them until I die, but I know most owners didn’t think that far ahead and won’t have that option.