when did Hoover get so crap?

[kirbymodel2c]

I do like the early pure powers as they had the Hoover activator brushroll like the older turbos.
Now they a a very cheap brush roll.
The motor wattage is so high it just eats electric.
And because the motors so high they burn out quicker than the early models.

I think Hoover could do a high end market vacuum £1000 vacuum cleaner made out of metal etc.
Just have to be sold through in home demostration like with the Kirby.

Can't see them doing it.

Hay ho!

jb

 

[vintagehoover]

williamr1248:

Don't forget there are those of us on this side of the Atlantic who are also working damn hard to protect and honour the legacy of Hoover. A great American company, of course, but also a major presence and market leader over here since 1919.

 

[rolls_rapide]

UK Hoover Cleaners

I was in a Comet Electrical Store recently, and had a look at the upright cleaners.

The UK Hoover 'Purepowers' / 'Dustmanagers' (Made in China) really do exude a "much cheapness" feeling. The cleaner I looked at was a white 'Dustmanager', but its plastic handle and casing reminded me of the cheap polystyrene door racks that one would find inside a fridge.

I had a look at the UK Vax 'Mach' uprights (USA Hoovers in disguise). Quite good looking, apart from the 'agitator-stop' pedal on the 'Mach 6' which looked as though it was spray painted a metallic green.

I am dying to see the new Miele uprights!

 

[kirbyultimateg]

Hoover got crap when they introduced the WindTunnel line in the late 1990s.
Hoover should have kept the PowerDrive hardbag case dirty air upright in production.

 

[crazykirbydude]

My uncle actually worked at Hoover back in the good old days. He was fired when Maytag took over. He still curses Maytag to this day. Now he's a coal miner

 

[gsheen]

This is actually a interesting question and it depends who you ask.
After Leaving Electrolux I went to work for a appliance repair company called Lanzon which had its roots based on been a Hoover service centre in the early 50's . I got a chance to meet one of the original owners , Who had a passion for vacuum cleaners. If you asked him were Hoover lost the plot with vacuums, he would tell you straight out , The Concept one , biggest pile of S#!T he had ever seen, ( only time I had ever heard him swear )
Now my boss in those days would tell you the Hoover turbo power was the worst hoover vacuums, were they started making cheap junk, ( funny both the concept one and turbo power made that company and its owners very rich from all the repairs.
I like the wind tunnel , I own about 10 of them in various models, which I love because apart from on small 1300 model the rest were never sold in my country.

Even their current range has some gems in it, My current daily driver is a Hoover air windtunnel which is also from the USA and has been doing duty in my home for 2 years with no issues, and it does not lead a privileged life.I ther was ashamed when I cleaned the filters the other day after my son said it was not sucking as well as normal.
Its the one of the right,pic from just after I got it.

 

[kenkart]

For me

I would say when the D#$%^&Celebrities replaced the Constellations, and the Convertibles went plastic, If you compare what Hoover built up until the mid 60s with what was being made in the early to mid 80s it is like comparing a Imperial to a Pinto....I personally think the Elites were some of the most embarrassing machines Hoover ever made, Along with the Spirits, the Z, and the Wind Tunnels...they were pitiful , but I don't really blame Hoover, because most everything else went to hell in the 80s and 90s,..the quality metal construction of the pre 70s machines went away, and cheap flimsy plastic took its place, Same for Eureka etc, I wouldn't trade my 25, 26 ,27 or 28, my 29 or 63, and most especially not my 150 for ANYTHING made after about 1970 or so,

 

[tolivac]

I am with KenCart-the BEST Hoovers were those classic all metal ones-Have some of the "plasticonvertibles" the metal ones are MUCH better!Do the job with less noise!The plastic ones are noisier-the plastic acts as a sounding board for the motor.

 

[kloveland]

I actually like the Spirits and some of the plastic based convertibles. It’s probably because I’m a child of the mid 80s. I personally don’t care for the Hoover uprights prior to the convertibles. Especially the ones from the 40s.

 

[suckolux]

We were not a Hoover family, so I didn't see a lot. Personally I think after the Maytag issue it was down hill, or kind of normal now days for plastic vacs?

 

[gsheen]

The point is that for everyone here their is a point at which Hoover got lost the plot, For me I love the windtunnels and Elites, yes sure they creak as you use them but I still love them, I can imagine that way back in the day their were allot of people who thought Hoover's quality had gone down with the launch of the Convertibles , I mean Compare a 750 to a convertible, The quality is hugely different.

A better point is is Hoover the market leader is always was. In the 50,s 60 ,s 70,s Hoover was the dyson of its day, The vacuum all the housewives wanted, THe vacuum all its competitors wished they had.

In my market place Hoover lost its edge in the 80's , When Electrolux launched the 506 and 560 range it was light years ahead of anything hoover had, By the time Hoover caught up on our market with the turbo power, Electrolux launched the 610 and 612 with their on board tools again leaving hoover out to dry.
Today though I think allot of their products are better than the norm, Better than their direct ( cost ) competitors.

 

[kenkart]

I think the argument can be made...

Hoovers very finest hours were before they quit door to door sales....for instance the 150, which sold for 82.50 in 1936, would be comparable today to a Kirby and Rainbow, after the Convertible came out they became just another store vacuum, I think the 150 is the very finest thing they ever built,and quite possibly the best upright of all time, it was so far ahead of everyone else it was mind blowing...think of the fact it had a automatic height adjustment that not only worked then...but works on todays carpets that were not even thought of 80 plus years ago, it had a 2 speed motor, a plug in hose converter that had better suction than any other machine it made afterward up until the Convertible in 1958, 22 years later!!it had the industries first time to empty signal, something not on all machines eve now, made of lightweight magnesium and designed by one of the worlds most acclaimed designers....and yet today, it will clean as well or better than anything today...there really is no comparison with the plastivacs of today.

 

[gsheen]

I have a 750 in 220v . Its a great machine , considering its age it clean's very well. I also have a 262 that has amazing suction. I am missing a 150

 

[gottahaveahoove]

Hans, you are so right.

That vacuum was declared 'over-engineered' at the time. True... it can clean a rug of today not even dreamed of back then.
I DO have a special fondness for Convertibles, however....especially the metal ones...1960--1970+. They were made to last...and have lasted. Everyone is competing now, reinventing the wheel, as it were. Sadly, Hoover's finest hour is not right now. But, when things were humming on Maple Street in North Canton...........it was a different thing all together. Now....cookie cutters with badges on them .
John

 

[real1shep]

I sure.....

liked the Convertible I bought in the 70's. Wouldn't die.....my future mother-in-law was helping me clean up a house I rented and unbeknown to me, she took my Convertible into a carpeted room where I reloaded for rifles/pistols. Pretty quickly there was a BANG, BANG, BANG!! She had run over some primers that had fallen on the floor from the reloading process. The beater bar had triggered the primers. She talked about that until she passed....fun times.


 


Kevin

 

[shrink1982]

Hoover went crap around the time everyone else did. And it wasn't just with vacuums. Most appliances are not built to last as long as they once were. My grandmother had her Whirpool dryer for 35 years. After it finally died, she went through three other dryers in 10 years. They don't make appliances to last anymore. Apparently, it wasn't a good business model. They make more money when you have to replace something every few years. And because everyone does it, no reason for anyone else to be the exception to the rule. I will say, at least with vacuums, Kirby, Miele, Sebo have been the exception although I am worried Miele may take a dip south. I have heard some of their components are now made in China and the build quality, while still good, isn't as good as Sebo.

 

[real1shep]

A lot of....

truth in that. There was a general quality decline in most household appliances and auto related items all about the same time. When building things with pride in the US morphed into the corporate bottom line and the bean counters decided what we could have for our hard earned $$$$.


 


And don't even get me started on corporation executives and how they feel they dominate and rule over the masses. For generations now, advertising executives have indoctrinated the masses into believing that convenience is key and that should come to you through "bargain" items with a price point. At this point in history, China must view us as their savior; they supply the price point crap and we buy everything they make. 


 


Kevin

 

[turbo500]

My god, this thread is OLD. I was barely 18 & still living at home when I started it, I'm now 27 & practically married.

 

[fan-of-fans]

I like the older Hoovers in general, but to me the 70s ones were better before they went to all plastic canisters and Convertibles in the 80s. The attachments were also better in the 70s. I think some of the 90s Hoovers were still good though.

The Concept series and PowerMax were still good machines, good performers.

I like the design of the Elites but they were TOO LOUD. The machines sold today sound better to my ears at least.

Though Hoover still had some interesting models like the revived Constellation in the late 2000s, there weren't a lot of great ones, IMO after Maytag took over. No more bagged machines other than commercial.

The Z was an interesting machine I have to admit. Have seen a few at Habitat Restore and they are HEAVY!

I'm glad the Convertibles are still made in commercial lines at least. That's one of the good things. And the Portapower as well. So at least some old models live on.