When Did Vax Hop Into Bed With Electrolux/AEG?

[sebo_fan]

So I am standing there at my local electrical showroom shop since I asked them to call me when they were getting new vacuums in - and lo and behold a Vax "U88-t4p" appears before my eyes. It is known as the "Vax Mach 9," and I remember it when it went on sale in 2012/3.

I recall an ex-member of this forum buying the model and glorifying it to the hilt.

Well folks, right next to the Vax was an AEG/Electrolux Powerlite. I couldn't believe my eyes - the models are the SAME except for different paint work, plastics, colours and of course cyclone bits in the plastic.

Cheeky Vax!


Previous link to the archive thread.

http://www.vacuumland.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?20819

 

[matt8808]

While the design is VERY similar they are still totally different machines. All the mouldings are different and such like

 

[sebo_fan]

Well that's what I thought - I will have to go to the shop again and take a photo with them from their rear angle - they are identical save for different plastics for the pedal. After all, when did Vax ever have a "tools to floor" dial on their bagless uprights? I can't remember...

 

[rolls_rapide]

I noticed the similarities too, recently. The machines do have more than a passing similarity. They probably came out of the same Chinese factory.

 

[Gr8DaneDad]

they are very similar, but not identical. One has a pull out handle the other does not, the hose routing and tools are different, the floor brushes are different, etc. The design is the universal Dyson Clone look of the last 5 years for all bagless uprights and not a few bagged models.

 

[sebo_fan]

As an ex owner of the DC01 and DC04, the only thing those upright share in my mind are the curved carry handles on top of the bin. The DC07 brings the shape of the cyclones housing at the top/shaped as shown on the AEG but there's no actual Dyson clone here that I can think of - which Dyson upright has a round dial at the front and a slim, thin neck and handle?

 

[Gr8DaneDad]

If one is to evaluate the overall design aesthetic... the references to Dyson in construction an materials is clear if not exact.

 

[sebo_fan]

Well that could be a phrase that could be twinned to all other brands before this TTI/Electrolux tie up occurred.

Im returning to the shop on Monday to take a photo of the two models side by side. I look forward to examining the undersides. Im intrigued to why Electrolux and TTI would go down this avenue.

Interestingly I was talking to the manager at the shop who tells me that before the September law came in, a lot of the established brands months ago got together to produce one design and filter it out to all the brands with cosmetic differences. It would appear that the Vax Mach 9 and the AEG Powerlite is a clear example of this profit making decision.

This would also reiterate what other members have said in regard to the general industry where these Chinese made vacuums are concerned.

 

[sebo_fan]

This is what I first saw when I found these two models sitting next to one another. Yes they have different plastics but the tool dial and the pedal on each look incredibly similar...

 

[sebo_fan]

The underside tells a similar story. Clearly, yes there are similarities and differences. However I'm puzzled as to why the Vax would have two clear open rectangles whereas the AEG's version has been covered up using the height adjustment panel grid.

Mains cord seems to have been located in the same spot and the two vacuums have very similar brush rolls.

Externally the other main difference with the Vax is that it has a push button on at the handle compared to the Powerlite which has a separate pedal elsewhere.

 

[matt8808]

They're still two completely different machines if you ask me

 

[sebo_fan]

They would be completely different had the sole plate on these uprights been different - but both of them have five space grids. As much as Vax and AEG have tried to hide their differences, the tool slider suction dial gives the AEG/Electrolux origins away. I know TTI have since gone onto develop the dial for use on their other Hoover Pro Steerable models - and quite possibly later Vax models when they arrive in the UK.

As others have said it is possible that both models came off the same production line in China and then re-dressed for each company.

After all, when you look at Bissell's Powerforce bagless uprights and the Samsung Jet Propel uprights, they have virtually the same patterned floor heads and undersides despite differences elsewhere.