You're saying that older companies never have a decline in quality in favor of better profit margins? I can understand it as one factor among many, but not as the sole reason to cross a company from your list.

We have a Bissell vacuum cleaner, and while it does a good job there's one thing it's terrible at: cat litter. I really don't understand why it's so terrible at picking litter! You would think it would be one of the easiest things for it to get, but instead of sucking the stuff up, at least a quarter of it shoots out the back of the vacuum at high velocity. That means it sends the litter to the other side of the room, which is of course the area I just vacuumed. I then go back and forth until I get it all up. This seems to be the case on our wood laminate floors AND carpets. So I'll be interested in this discussion too, and if any of you have cats that need vacuuming after...