Skip's answer is correct. The companies that sell in the home don't want potential customers to know anything about the new machine if the local dealer is still trying to sell the unsold inventory of the old. It is easier to tell the customer that this is a new model, too new to be on the website, than to be trying to sell the old model when they can see the new on online. My involvement with Rainbow, whose website is far more complex than Kirby's bears this out. We were selling E2's while the website still showed the e-Series, and before that we were selling e-Series while the website showed the SE. These companies business revolves entirely around getting a dealer in the house to sell the product. They are not looking to sell over the internet. In fact, I'm sure Kirby prohibits internet sales, just as Rainbow does. As a Rainbow service distributor I am prohibited from selling anything, even a belt, online, or making any mention of Rainbow on a website, under penalty of immediate cancellation. I would assume Kirby takes the same position. With these types of companies, the product becomes almost incidental - it is only a vehicle to make money when a sales person gets into the home. Websites, to these companies, are a necessary evil, but necessary because the portray the company as up-to-date in the eyes of consumers.
