40" GE ELECTRIC STOVE - $300 (BLOOMSBURY NJ)

....Is:

While GE did service the replacement market for 40-inch ranges all through the '70s and '80s, the average consumer was completely unaware of that fact. I have always had an interest in appliances, and during the second half of the '70s, the only 40-inch availability I was aware of was Kenmore.

For a while, it was quite common to see a 30-inch range shoved into the space formerly occupied by a 40-inch range that had come with the house. Homeowners shoved whatever they could into the remaining space, like a trash can, or came up with homemade solutions like shelves.

It seems to me that GE could have benefited enormously from just one ad showing a 40-incher, with a tag line like, "You know that big, beautiful range that came with your house? We still make them, only better." And then a little bit of copy making sure people understood that direct slide-in replacement was the most cost-effective option, with no cabinetry expense; 40-inchers always did seem spendy next to 30s - until you figured up the additional cost of making the size switch look good.

Is a puzzlement!


Forum Topics & Rules Manuals & Literature	New users Click-here to sign-up

Post# 736461 2/19/2014 at 23:23 (3,716 days old) by ovrphil (N.Atlanta / Georgia )
Checkrate/Likes JCS57 or JCP67 - which ? No other photos of interior, etc. :-( Ad: " WHITE 40" RANGE WITH 2 OVENS, LARGE OVEN SELF CLEANING, EVERYTHING WORKS, GE, X-LARGE STORAGE DRAW BELOW BOTH OVENS, SMALL OVEN HAS BAKE AND BROIL like large oven. RANGE STILL MADE TODAY-----COST $1300+++. MUST have help to move. $300.00. live by rt 78 exit 7 by Phillipsburg NJ." CLICK HERE TO GO TO ovrphil's LINK on Allentown Craigslist

Post# 736486 , Reply# 1 2/20/2014 at 05:20 (3,716 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E)
Checkrate/Likes *Alphabet Soup....* As in "WCI POS." "No, Mr. Maine. Pasadena. Leave it alone."

Post# 736488 , Reply# 2 2/20/2014 at 05:56 (3,716 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)
Checkrate/Likes A very sad, ignominious end to a once proud line of 40" GE ranges, but even in the late 50s, CU stated in their tests of electric ranges that the 30" range was the most popular size electric range.

Post# 736491 , Reply# 3 2/20/2014 at 06:14 (3,716 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E)
Checkrate/Likes *What I Can't Figure Out....* ....Is: While GE did service the replacement market for 40-inch ranges all through the '70s and '80s, the average consumer was completely unaware of that fact. I have always had an interest in appliances, and during the second half of the '70s, the only 40-inch availability I was aware of was Kenmore. For a while, it was quite common to see a 30-inch range shoved into the space formerly occupied by a 40-inch range that had come with the house. Homeowners shoved whatever they could into the remaining space, like a trash can, or came up with homemade solutions like shelves. It seems to me that GE could have benefited enormously from just one ad showing a 40-incher, with a tag line like, "You know that big, beautiful range that came with your house? We still make them, only better." And then a little bit of copy making sure people understood that direct slide-in replacement was the most cost-effective option, with no cabinetry expense; 40-inchers always did seem spendy next to 30s - until you figured up the additional cost of making the size switch look good. Is a puzzlement!

Post# 736493 , Reply# 4 2/20/2014 at 06:35 (3,716 days old) by vintagekitchen ()
Checkrate/Likes *I blame price.* My grandmother preferred a 40 inch range, since it gave her 2 ovens to cook for all of us out on the farm, but when time came to replace it in the late 80s she couldn't justify to herself the added expense of another 40 inch range, by that time they were looked at as a niche market, and priced accordingly, which is to say, ridiculously more than a 30 inch range. it's similar to the huge price jump from a standard range to a drop in. My first mother in law had a drop in when the house was built. When time came to replace it, she refused to pay the increased amount for another drop in, and instead had the cabinets cut to accommodate a standard range.

Post# 736509 , Reply# 5 2/20/2014 at 09:44 (3,716 days old) by DaveAmKrayoGuy (Oak Park, MI)
Checkrate/Likes Only ONE good thing 'bout the newer WCI-built junk: It's much LIGHTER!!!!!! -- Dave

Post# 736796 , Reply# 6 2/21/2014 at 12:46 (3,715 days old) by CircleW (NE Cincinnati OH area)
Checkrate/Likes GM Frigidaire was still making 40" ranges well into the 70's. The hardware store I worked at in Summer of '77 sold several during the time I worked there (I know, I helped with delivery!). In fact, I'd say they sold about as many 40" models as the 30". This particular store was popular with farm people, and the 40" ranges seemed to appeal to them. I doubt they were common at all in the suburbs. While there, I also helped deliver several Maytag wringer washers.