Another vote to the center dial Maytag...
Ralph has already said everything that I would want to about the timeless and iconic design of the center dial Maytag washing machine. Simple, reliable, and built to last several lifetimes. Scads of them still washing load after load to this very day with a few minor or no repairs. My Maytag is considerably later than the center dial models and has the newer style transmission, but there's no questioning who built it. It weighs a TON and you can't hear it running through the laundry room door. Hundreds of loads washed in its lifetime and hundreds more to come.
Another standout favorite design of mine is also from Maytag, but in the form of the reverse-rack JetClean dishwashers. Certainly a unique way of loading but once you get the knack those machines will clean damn near anything you could throw at them to a sparkling finish.
So many other vintage designs were truly unique to their brands, unlike today where everything is made by one of three or four companies. Norge had their burping agitators, GE had the Filter-Flo, Hotpoint had the Rim-Flo, Whirlpool had the Surgilator, etc.
No matter where you look in the realm of vintage appliances, you will see unique traits and, for the most part, impeccable quality that we are not likely to ever see again. When you look at the majority of these appliances, you can see the pride that was put into making them, the countless hours of R&D before releasing them to their assembly lines, the care and attention to detail in their controls and in their marketing.
It is so hard, if not impossible, to nail down just a few favorite designs. They are all worth remembering in their own special ways.
