This was the last of the DC Maytags available at our Nebraska Furniture Mart as they dropped the DC washers in favor of the Norgetags and Amanatags that were likely more profitable at the time. My parents bought the very last one of these, the display model and it's nearly matching dryer. While not the prettiest of graphics, it was still a Newton Maytag and lasted nine years without repair.
Nope. This wasn't the last design. The LAV3600 was. I tried to find a pic but couldn't. The washer pictured above was a special edition celebrating something but my mind is foggy this AM for some reason. It wasn't exactly the best looking washer at the time.
The LAV3600 had an oblong oval in the center across the whole control panel that was light greyish blue. That was the last design.
Yes, there was another panel change after this. Rune is right, I can't remember what they were celebrating with this model but there was one more. They have the very last machine to roll off the Newton line at the Jasper County, IA museum, signed inside the front panel by all the assembly workers at a little party. I'm sure they had cake, too.
They went back to a more plain-Jane panel after this one. I do like that they used the old Maytag script logo on the pictured machine. At least it wasn't the pedestrian all-white & beige that we're so used to seeing on nearly everything. They tried.
You are right. I forgot about the LAV. The 'special edition' was a pain as the console graphics didn't match anything else except for the one matching dryer. It made it difficult to sell as no one wanted a mis matched set. Probably feared that Martha Stewart would find out... LOL,
Not too long after Whirlpool purchased Maytag they also did a limited edition model, however it wasn't bad, it had that copper look kick plate on fronts of the washer & dryer and had the same copper (gold-tone) color on the control panel.