1982 Kenmore washer.. check out the color!

[captainmoody]

Here is a last minute save from the scrap man. The guy had it on Craigslist with an older Lady Kenmore dryer a while back. I originally passed on the pair, as I didn't need the dryer, and the washer looked too "new" for my taste. Well.. I gave in when I saw it listed in the "Free" section and picked it up yesterday!
Actually, it's a near mint keeper in great working condition.

 

[captainmoody]

A shot with the lid up. I thought coppertone was discontinued by 1982?

 

[pulsator]

WOW!!! It's GORGEOUS!!!!! Congrats!!

 

[westytoploader]

Fantastic, and look, it still has the original sticker on the lid!

 

[goatfarmer]

I sold a similar washer a few years ago. Coppertone is definately rare in that style Kenmore. Nice save!

kennyGF

 

[danemodsandy]

They Changed the Name...

By that time, Coppertone was catalogued by Sears as "Coffee", and of course, it was no longer shaded. Coffee appliances were intended to look a little more updated than Coppertone ones, but they were still supposed to look okay with Coppertone. The unshaded Coffee was also cheaper to produce than a shaded colour; you didn't have to pay a skilled painter to produce those shaded edges.

Of course, all that went away when the dread Almond came in.

 

[captainmoody]

When we loaded it into my Jeep, I noticed the machine looked like new underneath, with no rust or cobwebs even! Wish I knew the story behind it, but all the guy knew was that the elderly people that sold him the house owned it previously.
I think someone here on this forum got the dryer, he said they lived in Lansing and were the member of some "washing machine club". He then tells me "who would ever think someone would collect this stuff"!!

 

[bellalaundry]

Love the colour! Great luck, and a great price too! Have fun with it.

Guy

 

[DADoES]

Looks yummy!

 

[peteski50]

Kenmore!

I love the rich look of the Kenmore. BTW how do you rate the GE FL in the picture?
Peter

 

[cleanteamofny]

And the washer menu is still intact after all these years!
Left side of lid >

 

[exploder3211]

I love that color... I wish it where closer!

 

[westyslantfront]

Hi Dwight. Congratulations on your Lady Kenmore. It looks like a beautiful machine in mint condition.

Ross

 

[gansky1]

This era of coppertone (or was it Coffee by now?) was very rich and yummy. There was a set at a sale in similar condition near me a couple of years ago - just mint condition but I have no more room...

 

[peterh770]

I thought Coffee was a lighter, creamier brown/tan/beige... Something between Coppertone and Almond...

 

[captainmoody]

Peter, that GE to the far right is a refugee from the scrap yard! It was dumped by Lowe's from what I have been told. The Serial and Model number tag has been taken off. As far as working, all it does is fill, agitate (or tumble) the clothes then drain. For some reason, it will not spin. I haven't invested any time in it yet to determine the problem.

 

[captainmoody]

BTW, I checked an old Sears catalog I have from 1976 and the only colors available on those washers were White, Avocado, and Harvest Gold (they had another name I can't remember for it)But no Coffee or Coppertone, I know they had that color in the 60's and early 70's so what happened? Did they discontinue it then bring it back for some reason?

 

[gansky1]

I have the Fall/Winter 1982 catalog and that model was available in Coffee. $449.95

Peter, are you thinking of Mocha (from the early 60's) or Toast from the late 70's? Coffee was always a dark brown for Sears. Their coppertone was lighter in the 60's - usually with that awful shading around the edges.

 

[danemodsandy]

Coffee

I think Coffee was a colour that Sears came up with in response to customer complaints that they couldn't match Coppertone any more. Sears' customer base was too big in those days to ignore; they didn't want PO'ed customers prowling other retaillers in search of a match, I think.

Nice gesture on Sears' part, but it didn't last long- the chain went to Hell in a handbasket not long after.

 

[hoover1060]

WOW

now that is one gorgeous washer! Coffee or whatever, it is stunning!

 

[magic clean]

In the late 1970's GE introduced the new refreshed unshaded "new naturals" color palette. Harvest Wheat, Coffee, Almond & Avocado comprosed the collection. Naturally, the other manufacturers followed with their versions and names like Tawny Gold etc.

Then in the mid-80's Whirlpool & GE came out with the new colors of Platinum & Toast(Whirlpool) Silver & Sand (GE). This lasted about 2 years and quickly faded. Leaving the choices of Almond, White & Ebony with chrome accents. Then the desire to not have to deal with chrome plating and the environmental issues associated with it, the ever popular monochromatic look was introduced.

 

[danemodsandy]

Uh, Okay

"the ever popular monochromatic look was introduced."

Don't you mean "the grudgingly tolerated monochromatic look"? Major appliances have been boring as hell for about fifteen years now. You can hardly tell a TOL model from a BOL one without looking closely. It's cheap for manufacturers, but I don't know anyone who's really in ecstasy over it.

If the mackerels running appliance companies can make whole damn refrigerator doors out of stainless steel, why can't they make a little trim out of it, and bump up the excitement factor a little?

 

[user 12105]

At least if you saw a Kenmore with a side opeing lid,..it still on the surface had a distiction from a WP machine until you looked ..just.. a little closer. No distinction at all anymore. That company with all it's billions in revenue should be putting out the best of the best.

 

[Washaholic]

I love that color. I wish they still used it.

 

[magic clean]

Its all about a dollar

"If the mackerels running appliance companies can make whole damn refrigerator doors out of stainless steel, why can't they make a little trim out of it, and bump up the excitement factor a little?"

Yes and those stainless-steel models are much more expensive. Shoppers today want lots of features at a modest cost and most don't care about the lack of chrome trims. See the Sunday newspaper ad's for whats on sale.

If a more discriminating shopper wants chrome or stainless trims; its avaialable in upper end models at additional cost.

 

[danemodsandy]

It'll Happen...

My feeling is that manufacturers are getting away with the monochromatic look for a time, but that more contrast will be seen in appliances again soon. Today's silk-screened control panels look cheap, even on expensive appliances. Sooner or later, a manufacturer will put a great-looking "retro" control panel on something, and it will sell well, and then other manufacturers will follow suit. It's all about fashion, really. There was no cost-cutting reason to change from silk-screened black control panels to white ones; it was just to get a new look into appliances, to make older ones look a little dated. Since manufacturers have done about everything they can with silk-screening, I predict we'll see a return to something more detailled, with some bright trim. Right now, white-on-white appliances look almost Soviet to me in their cheapness and austerity. Stainless fronts are a misguided attempt to brighten things up- they can be very high-maintenance, as anyone with a houseful of kids and a stainless reefer can tell you. Black is nearly as bad about showing every last finger mark.

It'll change, trust me.

 

[anon8888]

electronic controls

sweet lookin' machine. Wonder if anyone has a pic or machine of the same year or prior Kenmore w/ the electronic controls?