My sister gave one of these to my parents for Xmas in probably 1971 or 72. It had a black collar instead of the brushed one, which came later. The carafes changed shape at some point and became a little shorter and fatter, likely to accommodate the bulky Dial-A-Brew baskets that came later. The cap stayed the same, though.
I found a Norelco 10, which is even older, at an estate sale a few years ago. Never used. Black collar. Even though the machine was marketed as a 10-cup, it used the same size carafe, just with different markings. I gave it to another AW member who loves it.
$40 is a little steep, but some would pay that. Norelco made the Chemex Automated, which is a super rare machine that commands prices well into the hundreds of dollars. A Norelco is a good substitute even though it doesn't offer the "shower head" emitter or the wetting/bloom period where the machine shuts down early in the process to allow the grounds to swell and facilitate extraction of maximum flavor. Just using a Chemex carafe with Chemex filters is enough to make a big difference in the already impressive brew a Norelco renders.
I snatched up the Norelco + warming plate accessory that my mom had. It can come in handy sometimes and doesn't take up much room to store.
