Had our 15-year old washing machine repaired a year or two ago. Repairman said, "if you ever want to get something newer, please call me because I have a list of people looking for these." He basically went on to say that some of the newer machines don't wash the clothes as well, are difficult to repair, and typically reach a point where they are unrepairable much sooner than the machines like ours.
The energy-saver thing seems to be a double-edged sword at best. In some cases, the manufacturers achieve the energy savings by providing a less robust operating mechanism, which then wears out faster. It has long been my observation that conservation is the greenest (and most economic) approach - build it to last.