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Thread Number: 92401
/ Tag: Vintage Automatic Washers
Did most Maytag generations look older than they were? If so, what years/decades did they fit more? |
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| Post# 1170154 1/23/2023 at 10:11 (459 days old) by WoodJack99 (Massachusetts/Virginia, USA) | ||
I have noticed a lot of variation in exactly how old people online seem to think old 'Tags are before they look up the serial #. For example, even though the "New Generation" center dial models were made mostly in the 70s, most people's first guess seems to be 60s (they were introduced in 66). I'd say the gold-trimmed silver dial ones match the 70s well, but I guess the 60s styling carried over a bit too long. Now the previous generation center-dials (56-65) I would say definitely kept the 50s look well into the 60s. I own 2 Tags: a 75 A107 and an 85 A506. People first seem to guess that they're from the 60s and 70s respectively, rather than the 70s and 80s.
Maybe the reason they kept these looks until they may have looked somewhat dated for their time was because of their iconic styling and synonymity with quality. What years would you guess each generation Tags were produced if you hadn't known?
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| Post# 1170156 , Reply# 1 1/23/2023 at 10:26 (459 days old) by qsd-dan (West) | ||
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Post# 1170164 , Reply# 2 1/23/2023 at 15:35 (459 days old) by Tomturbomatic  (Beltsville, MD) |
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While the 1980-1995 models were said to have been designed to look like their dishwasher, to me they looked like a Montgomery Wards machine, which ironically, later had a closer relation than just looks. Maytag moved slowly and like many slow movers in the world, eventually was killed by faster movers. | ||
| Post# 1170358 , Reply# 3 1/25/2023 at 21:18 (457 days old) by Elginkid (Cincinnati, OH) | ||
The 1966 Maytag design should’ve debuted for the 1958 model year, only with the gold glass design, and wider chrome banding. The 58-65 would’ve been great for the 1956-57 models. The ‘66 design (as issued) should’ve hit around 1963/64, the gold should’ve replaced the blue in ‘67/68, and the 1980 designs probably around 1975.
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| Post# 1170384 , Reply# 4 1/26/2023 at 09:01 (456 days old) by qsd-dan (West) | ||
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Post# 1170391 , Reply# 5 1/26/2023 at 11:02 (456 days old) by kenwashesmonday (Carlstadt, NJ) |
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I find the Maytag center dial styling to be timeless, and it certainly holds up better today than many other designs, for example, machines with vinyl fake wood grain treatments. Also note that chrome has made a comeback on new cars. | ||
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Post# 1170628 , Reply# 6 1/29/2023 at 10:39 (453 days old) by bajaespuma (Connecticut) |
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 Jack, I very much appreciate your observation because I've felt the same way ever since I saw my first Maytag. The pre-'66 Tags had many rounded edges and looked like they came from an earlier aesthetic--I think I learned from Tom Turbomatic that porcelain enamel technology required round edges on appliances up until the mid-'50s. Although I came to appreciate Maytag's design as I learned to appreciate their engineering and quality they always made me think of homely little old maids (please excuse the sexism in this thread, but for me, it's there). Even the A-906's were disturbingly demure.
Frigidaires and GE machines seemed to push the design curve and embraced "atomic" design ahead of schedule, Frigidaire especially. I lost interest in the 'Tags when they abandoned the center dials; at that point those control panels just seemed so ordinary. One reason I still covet the original Maytag dishwasher, the WP-600, (besides the fact that it is still one of the best dishwashers ever made{yes, it was noisy and has a Plasticene tub; go pour yourselves a drink})is that I always thought that the Maytag designers did a bang-up job of designing the outer package to evoke the familiar and well-respected Maytag washing machine. | ||
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Post# 1170759 , Reply# 7 1/30/2023 at 20:21 (452 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD) |
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Great pictures!Thanks. | ||
| Post# 1170794 , Reply# 8 1/31/2023 at 15:19 (451 days old) by WoodJack99 (Massachusetts/Virginia, USA) | ||
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@Turbomatic
I definitely agree about the pre-66 Tags. When I first saw my grandparents' old A107 (was identical to mine, same year and everything) I assumed it was from the 70s, but when many people thought 60s I then thought "I could see that." Some people even think it looks 50s, but I'd say that's a bit of a stretch. The pre-66 ones definitely looked 50s though. You mentioned homely: I think that was kind of the appeal of the old Tags. Simple yet elegant and stately at the same time. You could still see the quality, even in all of its simplicity. The 1980 change was definitely a pretty radical modernization. I like my A506 (85), but it's definitely somewhat less "striking" than the 107 (75). | ||
| Post# 1170800 , Reply# 9 1/31/2023 at 17:15 (451 days old) by Maytag85 (Sean A806) | ||
Maytag very rarely updated their machines in the 50’s to about 1980 (though there were updates after 1980, weren’t all that exciting). Maytag’s first automatic was the 1949 AMP which was made to about 1953, around 1954 they updated the console which was made up until 1955. In 1956 the updated the console again and kept that until 1965 though options and features changed during those 9 years but the console itself was pretty much unchanged. In 1966, they updated the console which they kept until 1980. In 1981, they went to a more simple and basic console which was used all the way until 1996. In 1997, Maytag’s washers got one last update before they closed up shop in 2006. In all those years, Maytag only made a total of 6 updates to the console on their machines.
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| Post# 1170853 , Reply# 10 2/1/2023 at 08:41 (450 days old) by drummerboy928 (Illinois) | ||
And then after that, Whirlpool came along and bought Maytag, and it seems they like to update the designs just about every year or so.
on a side note to that, the center dials definitely seemed ageless in a way. Just looking at my two, most people would probably not guess they were made almost 10 years apart. | ||
| Post# 1170906 , Reply# 11 2/1/2023 at 20:07 (450 days old) by bpetersxx (laf in on the banks of the Wabash River) | ||
Is that washer in pic 1 a suds saver
It has to be as it has 5 push-buttons on the left hand side like my a606s My a806s avocado has 5 on the left 5 in the middle and 4 on the right a a806s with PP has 1 more button | ||
| Post# 1170919 , Reply# 12 2/1/2023 at 23:07 (449 days old) by drummerboy928 (Illinois) | ||
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Reply #11
Yes, The machine in picture one is my 1978 Maytag A408S. I picked it up about a year ago and it has worked flawlessly since I got it. The second machine is my new to me 1969 Maytag A106 that I picked up about two months ago. As I said, most people would not guess that they were made almost a decade apart just from their looks.
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Post# 1170988 , Reply# 13 2/2/2023 at 13:39 (449 days old) by JustJunque (Western MA) |
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I love center dial Maytags. I've never owned or even used one, but I love the look.
I know it's apples to oranges, but; the same could be said of Maytag's wringer washers. I have two J2Ls sitting in the laundry room. One is a 1966, and the other is a 1947. And, aside from the logo design, and the color of the plastics, they appear to be identical. Barry | ||
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Post# 1170995 , Reply# 14 2/2/2023 at 15:37 (449 days old) by bajaespuma (Connecticut) |
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There was elegance in the Center dial design.Seemed to me that all Maytag Automatics were students of the "Circle in the Square" concept.
Not only an aesthetic choice, but with CD Maytags, the ON/OFF function of the control dial, the lid safety switch, the power cord connection and the unbalance switch were all positioned along the center line of the machine. Even though I defeated most of the lid safety switches on my 'Tags, I notice that if I flip the lid open on these machines during a cycle they smack the control dial to the "OFF" position. That had to have been designed that way on purpose.
The other side of that coin is that many users (like me) like to futz with the wash during the fill period and Maytag made that very difficult.
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| Post# 1172744 , Reply# 15 2/20/2023 at 11:42 (431 days old) by WoodJack99 (Massachusetts/Virginia, USA) | ||
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@drummerboy928
You're so right. However old they are or look, they definitely look timeless even if some people thought they looked dated before their time. I would have to agree that I wouldn't guess your 2 were made nearly a decade apart, a testament to the timelessness.
I have to say, one other thing about the center dial look is it looks classic/vintage, but to me somehow futuristic at the same time, even decades later. | ||
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