More than one model

[mixguy]

When did manufacturers begin making more than one model of washer in their line up? My best guess is that this varied. With most makers this began in the late 1940's and early 1950s. In a given model year, I read about BOL and TOL and varying steps in between. Some manufacturers varied in how many models offered in a given year. Sears and GE seemed to offer so many (at least 12 in some years!) while Maytag would have 5 or 6. They were all competing for the consumer dollar and premiering new models at yearly Trade Shows for buyer to see. Did this happen gradually over time and varied by the brand? Any comment??

 

[kenmoreguy64]

Even in the 1960s, Sears had MANY models...more than were in the catalogs, and often more than were featured on the sales floor at any given time. In the fully automatic line alone, in the early to mid 60s there was a 400 series Kenmore, at least one 500, a 600, several 70s, later on there were 700s, a couple 800s, and after 1964, a 900. There were then 24-inch versions of these, and semi-automatic versions too (those without dual fill valves or ones that were manually filled). Models from previous and future years were often available simultaneously as well.

In the 1979 model year, there was about 25 separate, 24 and 29-inch models. This was probably the most prolific year that I recall in belt-drive Kenmore offerings. Some models differed only in the number of water levels, or they had a porcelain top vs. painted, or one model offered a softener dispenser and another didn't, etc. Take that complexity into consideration with the fact that there were undoubtedly still some 1978 models current in 1979, and many of the 79s remained available when the 1980 models debuted, and the mish-mash becomes almost impossible to sort.

Gordon