I agree...
about the space efficiency of appliances in general. There used to be (in the not so distant past either) a lot of variety in the appliance area. LOTS of selection in them (ex. Frigidaire's pulsator, GE's Filter-Flo, etc.) and now everything's consolidated white-box boring. This could turn into a rant, and it may still but it's almost depressing. It's one of the things that attracts me to the old Hoover and Maytag portable washers-- they're neat and small and do exactly what they're supposed to. They're also very space/water efficient. I'm also starting to take a strong liking to the Whirlpool/Kenmore portables (BD) the more I see them.
The build quality of anything past the early 90's also leaves a LOT to be desired. For example: I now have 2 Maytag A50's (YAY!) and while neither are shoddily built, there are significant differences between new and old. The yellow one is a 1970 model and has all kinds of metal flashing around the motors and lower pump area. The newer unit (grey impellers) has nothing down there, just a weird aluminum lining on the tub bottom. It's lighter, but certainly no less durable. The new Haier HLP23E that I have is less than 1 year old and while it does seem to work fine, the build quality is non-existant. The membrane button panel is already separating and the tub brake is getting looser with every wash. The matching HLP140E dryer is the same way, it has a PLASTIC door with no structural support. I've also had to shim the drum bearing because there is already 1/2" of front-rear movement in the drum causing it to scrape the metal of the heating element housing. It also makes a lot of noise when it does this. The Maytag DE-50 dryer I just needs a lot of work, but it's still a brute, you can just tell by feeling it that it's solid. It also has a serviceable.. well everything is serviceable on it. I had to shim the bearing on the Haier dryer because it's NOT removable, it's pressed into the non-removable support brace in the rear. GREAT design. The DE-50 btw only needs a fan belt (on order) to be operational. It could also use a new rear felt support but in die time. It's near silent when the drum is rotating, only the hum of the motor and the bearing.
I'm off topic now, but I'm all about space efficient, compact appliances. A few months ago they tore down the house next to where I work and we watched the demolition. I noticed there was one of these in the kitchen, I though it was an odd bird, actually I wasn't SURE it was a dishwasher until seeing the pic above.
-Tim
