Quote from tiger21 on 03/17/07 at 6:59pm: I am not saying how many of anything at any age do you see.
My observation is the bagless vacuum Dyson and all are not the type of cleaners needed. It is what they asked for thru the years. These machines have one big flaw. They are not easy for the consumer to maintain.
Bagged vacuums is what the consumer understand and like. Take the bag out and replace and run. Bagless are clean and empty but remember to clean the filters, replace filters, and don't get the dirt in your face. If you forget to clean or change the filter shame on you. Service or replace.
It is the vacuum cleaner independent that will care for the people, not the big box stores. They(BBS) don't repair or know how to teach the consumer. Grab and Go is all they care about. Get your money and bye bye until you need another one.
Dyson may have some good ideas but until the consumer is taught and can understand how to maintain their machine it will be a hard road to take and keep their reputation.
Bagless will be here for awhile but not as a dominating force in a few short years.
What you say may be truthful about most bagless vacs, however I notice that you singled out Dyson. They require less maintenance thatn the other bagless so you used a poor comparision. A quality bagged vacuum also has filters that must be cleaned/replaced, oh and remember the belts that need to be replaced on a regular schedule. Of course this is added money to the vac shop so they fail to tell you this.
Vacuum maintenance is not rocket science as you want others to think. Most comsumers today are not interested in maintenance. The only vacuum maintenance that I have paid for in nearly 40 years of marriage is brushes in a Rainbow motor. THis was at the rainbow dealer. The Panasonic/Hoover shop tried to sell me a new motor or possibly a new vac. Yes, those independents are real honest men.
BTW, you will not see a 40 year Cobalt for about 38 more years. Like Dyson, they have not been on the market for 40 years. Who wants to use a 40 year old vac anyway? I do not think they were designed fot modern carpet.