Glenn,
I am glad to hear that. One club member wrote to me overnight that there is a big difference between European expectations and US acceptance of repair and quality-related issues.
Here in Europe, one repair every eight years is seen as "acceptable". People in the US are happy if they make it through to three years without a problem.
So our definition of what is good and bad is based on two very different criteria.
I moved to Europe way back in the early 80's, back when US appliances from the 50's, 60's and 70's were still in general use. Certainly we would not have put up with machinery which broke down after only three years...so I guess things have changed tremendously since then.
The consumer magazines test washers continuously until they break down. Fix them and test again. Not just one, but several units, chosen at random.
Miele, AEG (Electrolux), Bosch/Siemens/Constructa always come in way at the top for reliability (usually test out at between 10-12 years service without problems) followed down the line to the Italian makers then down to the Whirlpool family of products.
I don't think it is the "European Environment" - after all, think how many of the US front-loaders are built over here - I think it is simply the Whirlpool mentality. Whoever is running their heating/cooling division is much more in tune with what customers expect and want then the folks running laundry.
Of course, we have much more choice and variety over here than in the US - so the manufacturers have to pay a little more attention to customer's wishes.
