Westinghouse laundromat in Europe?!

[dj-gabriele]

Hi guys, I was looking at a nice website about the disappearace of a historical detergent company in Italy: Mira-Lanza.
In the past they used to bundle illustrated cards with their products to collect prizes, I was most surprised when I saw this: isn't this a Westinghouse slant front laundromat?!? I had no idea that those things were exported to outher countries other than Canada! But it seems that there were at least a few examples in Italy, otherwise there wouldn't be much sense in not putting a Candy or other Italian brand washing machine on the card!
Can you give me more info?

http://marcoeula.tripod.com/id13.html

 

[aquarius1984]

Nothing to say there was any in Italy.

It could simply be just a "Stock" Picture or Photo.

Many companies dont employ someone to just sit down and draw pictures to decorate their leaflets. They have a company do it for them and they will have a selection of graphics which they can use themselves.

Its highly likely and possible they just used an American or Canadian picture drawn by an artist who does just that for a living. Especially as its not advertising a particular machine as a universal symbol which most people can relate to.

Perhaps had it been a real italian photo taken in an italian kitchen with italian wares and the such then you could question the machines existance in italy but a simple basic illustration dosnt really point to any evidence.

Such illustrations happen all over the world.

Rob

 

[chestermikeuk]

Westinghouse Sloping Fronts...!!

Hi Gabriel, they where certainly exported & sold here in the UK so every chance they could have been custom imported to Italy and Europe as well!!! I have a 60`s / 70`s copy of Good Housekeeping magazine which has a feature on the singer Adam Faith, it show a full suite of Westinghouse products, sloping washer & dryer, Westinghouse sink with built in dishwasher, and oven & hob, quite futuristic back then...

Perhaps Diomede might be able to advise!!! happy searching, Mike

 

[candyrijk]

FIAT

In the past, these machine were sold by Fiat. A friend of mine has got the washer, which is the same model as Westinghouse in US.

Ric.

 

[dj-gabriele]

FIAT?!

Unbeliavable! Do you have a bigger picture I'm so curious now! What time were they sold? And when FIAT did stop producing appliances?

 

[hilovane]

any possibility you could post that Westinghouse/Adam Faith ad?
(his song "It's Alright" was a hit in the U.S. during the 60's "British Invasion" era (it was also one of my favorite songs at the time).

 

[maytagbear]

Fiat?

As in The Agnelli Family?

Interesting!

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[candyrijk]

yes... FIAT

Yes, Fiat in the past ('50-'60) used to sell also appliances, like stoves, fridges and... laundromats!

Fridge advertising: E-Bay obj. n° 160251295960
Laundromat advertising: E-bay oby. n° 200287594458

Ric.

 

[vivalalavatrice]

Whestinghouse license

Ciao Gabri,

Here in Italy appliances was producing "under Whestinghouse license" by Fiat and some other appliances producers like Zanussi i.e. who did the same, there wasn't a real import of goods.

1958 was the deadline of the "license", after which the producers could start design, develop and produce appliances by themselves, just inside each industry.

Candy was the first to start...

 

[intuitive]

FIAT....

We have a nicname for FIAT in Australia
Fix
It
Again
Tony

They have a shocking return/ repair record!!!

FORD isnt much better
Fix
Or
Repair
Daily

 

[intuitive]

Wesinghouse Slant fronts...

we had laundromats in Sydney fully stocked with Westy slant fronts... they always reminded me of cement mixers slowly sloshing ..... never seemed to spin very fast.

I always tried to use the Miele at the end of the row!

 

[launderess]

Don't know why it is so hard to believe US companines allowed overseas companies to produce their goods under license. Ya think the process was invented recently?

Westinghouse and others had little to loose and much to gain. After all pre and even post WWII major appliances were just that, and cost dear. Shipping and transportation being what it was then, it certianly would have been much cheaper to allow any European company to produce rather than import.

There were factories all over Europe and the UK remember. If there weren't there hardly wouldn't have been a huge war, now would there?

After the war, countries all over Europe had to rebuild and get on, which was the perfect time to get people out of the "old ways" of doing things and into modern appliances. It may be hard to comprehend,but in many places on that side of the pond, food still went rancid for lack of modern refrigeration, and women still did laundry at worst, the traditional way, and at best with semi-automatic washers.

 

[sudsman]

This is widely done in commerical equiptment today.

Washers, Dryers, Flatwork Ironers, Drycleaning Machines and Laundry and Drycleaning presses are done that way even today. Nothing new about it at all.

 

[dj-gabriele]

hahah, I love the acronym for FIAT!
And figures, Altroconsumo, even rated the new 500 the best compact car on the market today
Thanks for the info!

 

[candyrijk]

... another.

Ric.

 

[launderess]

Awhile back posted a vintage picture of a Bendix laundromat, which many though was in Europe as well.

 

[toggleswitch2]

~FORD isn't much better

variation

Found
On
Road,
Dead

 

[hilovane]

FORD stands for First On Race Day (last to the finish line)

 

[favorit]

FIAT fridge

When my father had his first car in 1957 (a FIAT 500), he bought a Fiat fridge too. This was a very silent fridge and it did its duty till 1998 (41 years !!). Now it is in the garage with some other vintage stuff

 

[hydralique]

Maybe someone should have taught Betty Furness a little Italian so she could say "You can be sure if it's Fiat" in the proper language!

It shouldn't be surprising that Fiat would make appliances; after all they've made lots of non-automotive products for years and have the industrial strength to do pretty much whatever they want. I just wish Fiat still sold cars here in the US! I got rid of my last Fiat (an '87 X1/9) six years ago when it had over 180,000 city miles and I couldn't depend on finding OEM parts on an timely basis. It was replaced by a new VW that at 108,000 miles has had way more problems than either Fiat that preceeded it. Plus, Fiats are simple and easy to repair, not something I'd say about a lot of cars.