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"  On showroom floors next month, you&amp;#039;ll be seeing new models with chrome accents, hydraulic hinges, and doors that close with a firm, solid thump. No, we&amp;#039;re not talking car showrooms, but rather appliance showrooms. Whirlpool&amp;#039;s new Vantage washer and dryer pair (left) have performance and design features that take their cues from the hi-tech electronics and automotive industries. What you&amp;#039;ll notice right away are the soft, curved lines and chrome trim. The top-loading, high-efficiency washer has a lid that operates with barely a nudge. Simply raise or lower it just a bit and it opens or closes the rest of the way on its own, so there&amp;#039;s no more struggling when your arms   are loaded with laundry. Close the dryer door and it sounds like a car door slamming shut. The control panels (below) are full-color LCD touch screens and operate like an ATM. You can create your own custom cycles for any items you want washed and dried a particular way, and specialty cycles handle everything from stuffed animals to swimwear to shoes. Built-in USB ports will enable you to download cycle and programming upgrades when they become available and the on/off button looks like it could have come right from your computer. And since it&amp;#039;s still laundry we&amp;#039;re talking about, both the washer and dryer boast features to save water and energy. While all this innovation doesn&amp;#039;t come cheap (the washer and dryer are each $1999), I have to say they are beautiful to look at and quite entertaining to use. At last month&amp;#039;s press launch, I had the chance to play with them a bit and they are definitely very cool. I can&amp;#039;t wait to test a pair in our Good Housekeeping Research Institute Home Appliances lab.  Need something sooner? Check out our online review of steam washers and dryers and if you aren&amp;#039;t sure quite how to shop for new laundry appliances, our online buyer&amp;#039;s guides for washers and dryers will tell you all you need to know. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/institute/a22963/whirlpool-vantage-washer-review/>