I had a Panasonic-built GE top-loading VCR in 1984. I'd probably still have it today if the heads had not worn out after six years. Today, 26 years and several VCRs of various makes later, I have another Panny VCR, model PV-4022, which hasn't given me five minutes' worth of trouble and still works amazingly well for its age (eight years), except that it makes a loud screeching noise in rewind or fast forward -- but not in forward or reverse search mode.
I also had a Panny VCR with VCR Plus (my current VCR's predecessor), but I had to trash that one when it ate a cassette. I nearly had to wreck the VCR to get the tape out.
BTW, speaking of VCR Plus, whatever happened to it? I think that was one of the best things to happen to VCRs since the machines first came on the market.
I think as well that this feature would be useful with today's DVRs, as it would allow viewers to set the machines for recording simply by entering a three- to five-digit code, as VCR Plus for VHS worked. Some local newspapers, such as the Cleveland Plain Dealer, had VCR Plus codes in their TV listings as late as the 1990s.