Bob, thanks for the information...very strange for Sears to drop this design after only 1-2 years, IMHO. Personally I like this "chrome-y" style of control panel a LOT better than the later black-face versions, and wish there were more of these around. There was a similar machine from 1974 on eBay in Harvest a while back, complete with the original manual and a manual for a 1-18 dryer! The panel still looked great too!
Also, now that we're on the subject of BD Kenmore control panels, there was a variation of the black-face panel with the center timer dial, but semi-vertical knobs for temperature and water level!! Unless it was one of these chrome-face machines, I saw this style machine on Craigslist near Dallas a while back in Avocado (looked bad and had mechanical problems; I didn't want it), and for those of you who have the Convention 2002 DVD, run through Jason's intermission slideshow and you'll see what I'm referring to. It's a "junkyard" machine with a plastic tub ring and (anachronistic) Whirlpool agitator cap from the 1950's, but the strange control panel was what amazed me. Can anyone provide some insight on when this was offered; it appears to be during the same time as this chrome panel.
--Austin
