new Maytag washers and dryers

[laundromat]

Yesterday,our Maytag rep.visited us to show the new line of Maytag washers and dryers.The top loaders will be direct drive with stainless steel tubs and the lower models will come with plastic (polypropoline)tubs.They will also have their line of the "Cabrio"washers and dryers as well as a Maytag version of Whirlpool's "Sport"and "Duet"front loaders abit less generic than the current ones are.The top loaders should arive at The Home Depot around 02/10/07 and the others arond 04/01/07.The timer dials on the Maytags have been relocated to the center again except the Admiral line which looks identical to the Roper line.

 

[gadgetgary]

Chuck,

Thanks for the update. Are there any pics available?

 

[westytoploader]

Thanks Chuck for the update

I will be anticipating their arrival. Very interesting (and good!) that the dial has been relocated to the center again. Will definitely take some getting used to for those of us who have seen and used real Maytags. Seeing the familiar name but then opening the machine up to find the familiar direct-drive tub with a Dual-Action or Surgilator inside will be too strange!

Any news on the fate of the existing Norgetags? I know that even though some of the new Amana models are DD, they haven't phased out the others with the Atlantis/Performa design yet...

 

[peterh770]

Such a travesty...

Maytag, Admiral, Whirlpool, Kenmore, Roper, Inglis and Amana are all the same machines mechanically.

Such a shame...

Can't wait to see how way out the next washer issue of Consumer Reports will be.

 

[llmaytag]

Ugh!

Sounds like they are abandoning the Maytag design. No more swirl-away, no more two belt systems. Very sad.

 

[runematic]

Not all of the new Maytag TL units will be center dials. The lower models available to me, from what I understand, will look more like the Amana DD models with a side timer control & porcelain tubs & tops. The more deluxe SS tubs will have the center control. The Cabrio washer I believe will be called Bravos. In another nice move these will only be available at Home Depot & select Maytag home centers. Hopefully we independent dealers that supported Maytag through thick & thin will get a chance to sell some of these models while they're still new & hot, not once the big boxes have moved on the next flavor of the month.

 

[agiflow]

I can't wait to see what these new machines will look like.

 

[magic clean]

"Maytag, Admiral, Whirlpool, Kenmore, Roper, Inglis and Amana are all the same machines mechanically.

Such a shame..."

Peter, I have to respond to this: From what we are hearing from the national dealer and service network, this is an anxiously awaited, welcomed change and relief.

 

[repair-man]

From a servicers point of view the more DD machines out there the better. Customers are always happy with them. They are very reliable. I agree they are not of the "old" Maytag standard but they sure are a lot better than some of the Maytag products lately. And when they do need a repair it's usually very reasonable. I would bet 90% of the laundry repairs I do (on a Whirlpool product) need a part that's less than $35. Plus the machines are very repair friendly (except tall tub dishwashers).
Ed

 

[peterh770]

I agree, a welcome change and relief from the below-par products Maytag has released over the last few years and the bad management decisions that plagued Maytag in their death throws.

OTOH, now there are less machines in the market that are not much different from eachother -- less competition, more choices of the same basically mechanical machine in more price ranges to confuse consumers.

 

[johnb300m]

While I am an ardent fan of the traditional Maytag technology; with the motor, pump and drive pullies, all driven by two belts with the nice simple transmission...I have to acknowledge that it's dead and our family's LA511 is the last i'll ever see of it.
With that said, I know the WP DD system is extremely well recieved and is pretty much the "default" wash system of America today. That's not a bad thing. It's boring, sure. And as you recall, I LOATHE the neutral drain. With this standardization will come cheaper repairs and higher reliability due to scale. It's a bullet "resistant" design that has been fine tuned for a long time. I'll welcome it when it comes time for me to buy my first Maytag laundry set.

I'm extatic that WP has decided not to canibalize Maytag, but to lift it up as a premium brand and pump some of its heritage back into it with the reliability of the DD and the style of the center dial. Maytag is still a super premium brand and is used as an example regularly in some of my engineering classes still.
I can't wait to see the new machines.

 

[magic clean]

"OTOH, now there are less machines in the market that are not much different from each other -- less competition, more choices of the same basically mechanical machine in more price ranges to confuse consumers."

Well, the vast majority of consumers in todays marketplace, shopping for traditional deep fill agitator washers & dryers don't really care what makes them tick as long as it works. They expect features, price, capacity, attractive appearance and reliability (not necessarily in that order).

Over 82% of american homes have a washer, so most folks are very familiar with them and give laundry machines little thought except when they need attention or are in the market for a new one. The various brands & different models are featured and assorted differently, will be made available just like now through Big Box, Home improvement Mom & Pop stores, Home builders and Regional dealers. No different than now.

 

[tomturbomatic]

I believe that another factor in so many machines with the same design is the efficiency standards for washing machines. There is only so much you can do with an agitator top loader to make it more efficient and the major factors are the water/hot water use and improved extraction. Whirlpool had to partner with Fisher-Paykel to get the more advanced design for a more efficient top loader because they needed it fast. I don't know that the debt that they have taken on is going to allow a whole lot of research into more radical designs, but there will be continuing improvements.

llmaytag, the swirl away draining has been eliminated from almost all new toploaders because they use a separate drain pump. The main motor no longer needs to be on to power the drain pump. Even General Electric top loading agitator washers now drain before the basket starts to spin. The newer non-agitator top loaders do not usually fill with enough water to make much of a difference between a spin drain and a neutral drain.

One quality feature that I hope will not be lost to the traditional top loader design is KitchenAid's 3 speed motor and larger, more gentle agitator with the lower number of oscillations per minute.

 

[rp2813]

I'm willing to wager that somebody in product development at WP is going to schedule some brainstorming sessions where they'll uncover people's love of the Maytag brand, what they loved about it and why, the whole lonely repairman thing that worked so well for them (he's sure not lonely anymore, is he?) and they'll decide they need to pull Maytag out of the sewer and use that brand to their advantage. Currently they are making a mockery of it and I suspect WP hasn't even begun to assess the damage they are doing to themselves by ruining the Maytag brand.

Maybe they'll end up following the lead of companies like Chrysler and GM who have the retro PT Cruiser and HHR models (and let's not forget the Plymouth Prowler) and we'll see some kind of center-dial inspired DC Maytag back on the market before too long. They could do stupider things--as witnessed by what they did to the Maytag brand already. Things tend to come full circle, as the folks at AT&T can attest.

 

[johnb300m]

SO FAR, I think Whirlpool has managed Maytag fine. It's been a very short period of time, and I like what's going on so far. It sounds, at least, that they're not going to be stupid enough to hurt the brand name.

 

[DADoES]

How many people have we run across who don't know what brands are their appliances? As has been said, many consumers are brand-blind. They just know it's a washing machine (or whatever type of appliance). Last summer I investigated a local ad for a washer, seller said it's a Maytag, but couldn't give me a model number being that the machine was in a storage unit. Upon going there for a look, I found it to be a Whirlpool.

I turned down a Maytag after questioning the seller enough to determine that it was an orbital tranny (not that there's anything wrong with an orbital tranny). I'm sure said seller was thinking what the hell difference does that make?

Those that do buy by brand often aren't *really* aware of the mechanical differences between one generation or design change to the next or machines of wildly-different design such as the Calypso or Harmony or Oasis/Cabrio, or different brands (Whirlpool/Kenmore/KitchenAid/Roper/Estate/Inglis) that are mechanically identical under-the-skirt. Many times I've read reviews on Epinions or rants on THS saying "I'll never buy another [insert brand here]" after experiencing trouble or dissatisfaction with one of the newfangled machines. Or "We had so much trouble with a Kenmore [direct-drive toploader] we got rid of it for a Whirlpool [direct-drive toploader]" .... clearly with the belief that the Whirlpool is a completely different animal.

Of course, that's where brand-damage comes in for those who are brand-aware, when a plastic GE or Maytag doesn't compare to the "old machine" that served reliably for so many years. Being that Whirlpool's direct-drive IS a proven, largely-reliable design, perhaps they can successfully recover any damage Maytag has suffered.

A coworker's mother was at the office last year, made a remark about going shopping for a new washer, "Probably the last one I'll ever have to buy at my age" (she's not *that* old!). I suggested she take a look at Lowe's for F&P. She pondered on it, but said "I've always bought Sears."

When I picked up my 906 pair, I asked the seller what brand and type of new machines she had selected. "Oh, a Maytag toploader, of course!"

Then there's the friend from whom I got an A206, who is so completely unaware of what the machine DOES throughout a cycle that he didn't realize his clothes hadn't getting washed at all for some period of time.

 

[pulsator]

I'm pretty excited for these new center dial Whirlpools!!! I think that it'll be neat to see them in stainless too, I wonder if they will change the perforation pattern for them.

Glenn, I totally get what ur saying about brand-concious people. SOOOO many people at school ask me about their Maytag Neptunes, they say, it's a Maytag, so it'll last 30 years right? I'm tell them, "HA you'll be lucky if you squeeze 10 years out of it!!!" And that always seems to shock them....

 

[agiflow]

I guess only time will tell what WP does with Maytag down the road. Remember if it was not for Maytag ruining themselves, WP would have not been in a postion to buy them up.

I do hope though, that the washers will be as Tomturbomatic pointed out made with the quality that the KA machines had.

 

[washoholic]

Glenn, you’re right about people being unaware of what’s goi

They’re unaware about new VS. old, too.

My brother & his girlfriend of 4 years had the Maytag LAT9900 (Computer touch model before Maytag made the lid opening wider) that I bought my mom in Feb. 1991, but it was making some noise that only his girlfriend could hear, so it went to the curb.

My brother called me to “break the news to me” before I came for the holidays, but it was already gone. The only repair to that washer was a $6 siphon break (it goes on the fill nozzle) that I put on for him a few years ago when they noticed water on the floor of the laundry room. I did change both belts at the same time just for fun, but I didn’t tell them.

My brother said that they couldn’t justify fixing a 15 year old machine when they could buy a new GE for less than $300. They didn’t call because they knew I would have talked them into fixing the old Maytag, & besides, his girlfriend deserved to have a new machine (I moved to TX in July & they live in VA, so they couldn’t call me to fix it).

While I was visiting at the holidays, his girlfriend was washing a load in their new GE, so I grabbed a magnet from their frig (To trick the lid switch) & opened the GE to find that it had the straight-vain agitator and about 3 loads stuffed into it. There were shirts, jeans, towels, sheets, and the stuff on top wasn’t even wet. I just closed the lid and kept my mouth shut.

I asked them how they liked the GE. My brother said it was louder than the Maytag and didn’t seem to get the clothes as clean, & his girl friend agreed and said it doesn’t fit as many clothes as the Maytag did, but snidely added that the clothes did dry in less time using the GE washer.

I smiled & nodded, but I was thinking, yeah, it takes less time to dry because they’re not even getting wet, and yeah, she does deserve to have that GE; if you know what I mean.

The Maytag probably WAS making a noise if she put more clothes in it than the 3 loads she stuffed in the GE.

The good new is that my brother said that when they set the Maytag on the curb; it was gone the next morning before the trash people came. His girlfriend said she couldn’t imagine who would have wanted that old piece of junk. I’ll bet that old Maytag is still working the day they set that GE out to the curb.