You said the answer to your own question---consumer demand is what made most of the more "Deluxe" appliances lose their grip on the market. Back then, most women were only housekeeping, baby sitting,laundry ironing,dinner making,floor sweeping,silver polishing folks who,in some cases, drank vodka and/or wine,had their hair,nails and faces lifted,tugged,cut and pulled while their doctors had them on Valium.I remember that all too well. The husband would usually have a 9 to 5 mon-fri job and come home to a clean,fresh smelling house where he ruled. When there was a need for a new appliance, the wife would go and visit neighbors,usually (the Jones's of the block who had every new invention under the sun---at least the sun that was over their local Sears Roebuck and company or Montgomery Ward) and get advise on what washer,dryer,range dishwasher,or refrigerator to get.I remember the neighbors where I grew up were mostly Sears folk but,there were a few who stuck to our local dealerships like Eckes Appliance, Rudolf's Appliance,Norman R.Mitchell and The Hecht Company(May Company owned)where the brand, Duracrest (made by kelvinator) was sold.
The appliances then were much more feature packed and some,like the electric and gas ranges, had clocks,timers,dispensers and outlets to plug small appliances like a mixer or coffee pot in to.One of the outlets was automatic and could be set to turn on and shut off all by itself. The other was just a regular 120 volt outlet.I remember there was a Norge dryer that had a hair dryer attachment you could hook up to its exhaust to dry your hair.Frigidaire had a few great features like the "Pull and Clean oven" where you just pulled the entire oven cavity out to spray with oven cleaner and wipe off. They made it look so easy but I seriously doubt that the real housewives who took on the drudgery of cleaning them were that impressed. At least they were smart enough to remove their silk shoulder length white gloves off before then!
But seriously,the luxurious lifestyles of the middle/upper class people changed dramatically back after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.That was the end of an era and the beginning of "Corporate America" where everybody screwed everybody else and didn't care who knew or found out about it.They became stingy and were not real impressed with Permanent Press.They fell in love with McDonalds, Burger King,Wendy's and Subway so,no need for any fancy features on an appliance they only used on Christmas,Easter and Thanksgiving holidays.Just give them a top loading washer,a basic standard clean oven range, a frost free top freezer refrigerator and a very basic GE "Potscrubber" dishwasher and they were set for life."Progress is our most important product." was GE's slogan for that period. I wonder if they actually meant that?
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(Wausau, WI ) 
Comes to the Rescue!
