[Excaliber]

Whirlpool doesn't really exist anymore. It's a good example of a "name brand" that carries some weight in marketing, but that's about all it is now, a "name brand".

You pay a royalty for using it, like a Shelby product for instance, but the product itself may or may not be "all that" anymore.

While I stated earlier that Johnson Controls makes the Sears Die Hard, that is subject to change everytime the contract is up for renewal. Next year it could be somebody else. The name remains the same, the specifications and actualy maker of the product could be different, good or bad. Thats one problem with a "Brand Name", but generally speaking it's still a decent way to make a decision on a product. You have few other alternatives when it comes right down to it, which is why the "Whirlpool" name still carries weight (even though the company no longer exists).