From another thread (much thanks to Launderess!) I never knew these existed, but I want to know- how did the performa name get on a Maytag Dependable care? Was it part of some marketing pitch or bait and switch?   

I really like seeing this. In a perfect world Maytag would have put their names Neptune, Performa, Amana, Magic Chef, Caloric, Jenn-Air, Atlantis, Crossly, Hoover, ect on their Dependable Care line and would not have bothered with other mechanical designs. This might have saved Maytag and given them an increase in sales. 

I liked the Atlantis and Neptune concepts, it would have been so nice seeing them on a Dependable Care.

Always liked Performa's

Launderess, thank you for those links! As always they are a treasure chest of information and rich detail. I'm going to have some great reading days ahead.

Personally I think that Maytag should never have built a single Norge, Herein, or Performa platform. Just stick those names on the Maytag Dependable care line. Do a slant front lid, various stainless steal and porcelain tubs, BOL and TOL, various control panel styles, dual action agis, ect but never ruin your reputation with cheap, leaky products.

With a spray rinse system like shown below (the 1:30 second warm spray rinses are for you Sean!), Maytag could have kept the Dependable Care line into production until the late 2010s.

Of note, the actual fill duration isn't 6 minutes, the fascia marks are about 2 minutes in, making the fill period about 4 minutes before the start of agitation. The long periods are to take slight decal errors into account and to make sure all the correct contacts are fully advanced forward into a closed state. All cycles have ~1 minute lead in buffer and ~ 1 minute lead out buffer assuring timer contact 02 is always the first to close and the last to drop open. A 1 minute soak period between agitate and spin assures timer contact 12 is fully dropped open before contact 14 is allowed to rise into close. OFF increments are 2 minutes long in the 120 minute timer and 7 minutes long in the 135 minute timer.

Launderess, I agree with what you're saying. However, the way I see it Maytag was better off not competing with Whirlpool and GE. Maytag had established a small yet loyal fan-base. The limitations of the DC lineup pale into comparison with the reputation Maytag received after their top load washers began leaking, burning up pulleys and just being cheesy all around. The failures of the fake Maytag investment piled on debt and drove away potential customers. 

I think if Maytag had stuck with their DC lineup, they would have won more customers over as traditional top-loaders began to decline in reliability.    

Those are great links Launderess! Thank you again!

I still say those troubles were set in motion in the mid 80s to early 90s when Maytag decided to release designs beyond the DC and Jet-clean. Whether Maytag could've survived until 2025 on just the DC and their own Tall Tubs is up for debate. I still feel like they could have gone another 10 years just with a much smaller market footprint. 

Ultimately it boils down to consumer ignorance. Consumers at the time didn't think 'oh, this DC will last me 30 years based on its past history and all metal design', rather, they lunged at larger capacities and sleek looking designs which Whirlpool and fake Maytags offered.   

Truly a tragedy. How I wish DC sales spiked to the point Maytag would be building new factories with modern tooling. If everyone were like me Maytag DCs would have been so popular they would have overtaken the Kenmore lineup in an even split with two belt Raytheons.