Ever wonder why a family of four needs seven kinds of juice? Whirlpool brand knows different lifestyles call for different tastes. Now, playing the balancing act with groceries, leftovers and gallons of milk are a thing of the past with the new Whirlpool® Latitude™ French door refrigerator.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040202/DETU004LOGO )

Perfect for entertaining as well as busy families, the Latitude refrigerator was developed with consumers' needs in mind, offering 10 percent more space in the refrigeration compartment compared to similar size models while maintaining the same external dimensions. With 27 cu. ft. of capacity, the Latitude refrigerator is expansive, boasting the industry's most usable interior refrigeration space based on shelf and door bin surface area, including deeper door bins, extra shelf space and an easy-to-access in-door ice maker with removable bucket. The spacious Latitude refrigerator also includes an option to drop the refrigerator and/or freezer temperature to accommodate new food additions, all while garnering an ENERGY STAR® qualification.

A recent survey commissioned by Whirlpool Corporation found that 53 percent of adults believe the refrigerator is the appliance that uses the most energy in their home on a day-to-day basis. However, according to ENERGY STAR, a new ENERGY STAR-qualified refrigerator saves enough energy to light the average household for more than 4.5 months (when replacing a refrigerator bought before 1990).

"We know that consumers want more room in their refrigerators to help manage the varying tastes of their families. With that in mind, we have designed the Latitude refrigerator to not only hold several jugs of juice and milk in each door bin, but to help make consumers' daily lives just a little bit easier with smart solutions like an exterior dual pad dispenser with measured fill. It gives consumers the ability to dispense the exact amount of water needed for a recipe or morning coffee," said Carolyn Torres, Whirlpool refrigeration brand manager. "Even with the added interior space and intuitive features, such as a power outage alert, the Latitude refrigerator helps conserve energy and saves money on utility bills, without sacrificing performance."

The Latitude refrigerator brings consumers' kitchens several innovative features, including dispensing an exact amount of water, measured in cups, liters or ounces with a rotating faucet that allows consumers the ability to fill tall and odd-shaped containers with ease; a power outage alert that notifies consumers that there has been a power outage and the duration so they know whether or not food is safe to eat; and, the Fast Cool option, which immediately drops refrigerator and/or freezer temperatures to accommodate new food.

Visit http://www.whirlpool.com/ to learn more about the expansive abilities of the Latitude refrigerator which will be available later this summer in white, black, stainless steel and Satina® finish with an MSRP starting at $2,599.

Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive via its QuickQuery(SM) online omnibus service on behalf of Whirlpool Corporation between December 29 and 31, 2008, among 2,042 U.S. adults aged 18 years and older. Results were weighted as needed for region, age within gender, education, household income and race/ethnicity. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online. No estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated; a full methodology is available.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the U.S. adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to be invited to participate in the Harris Interactive online research panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

About Whirlpool Brand

Whirlpool Corporation is the world's leading manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances, with annual sales of approximately $19 billion, 70,000 employees, and 68 manufacturing and technology research centers around the world. Whirlpool brand recognizes that consumers lead busy, active lives and continues to create solutions that help consumers optimize productivity and efficiency in the home. In addition to designing appliance solutions based on consumer insight, Whirlpool brand is dedicated to creating ENERGY STAR® qualified appliances like the new Duet® washer which uses 74 percent less water and 80 percent less energy than a traditional top load washer manufactured before 2004. When used with the washer, the new Duet® Resource Saver® dryer improves dryer energy usage by 40 percent as compared to traditional top-load laundry pairs, average size load. Whirlpool is one of Habitat for Humanity's largest corporate partners, donating a refrigerator and range to every new Habitat for Humanity home built in North America. For more information on Whirlpool brand, please visit www.whirlpool.com. Additional information about the company can be found at www.whirlpoolcorp.com.

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is a global leader in custom market research. With a long and rich history in multimodal research that is powered by our science and technology, we assist clients in achieving business results. Harris Interactive serves clients globally through our North American, European and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact: angela_m_hersil@whirlpool.com

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040202/DETU004LOGO

SOURCE: Whirlpool Corporation