I'd suspect the F&P system is more expensive to produce. Maybe they pay a fee to F&P for each machine?

The belt-drive design is not exactly new, it's based on their existing World Washer design with a belt-driven "splutch" (a portmanteau for spring-clutch, I believe).

There's no reason to be concerned about the machine's drive system. Pick a model with the feature-set that fits your needs.

I doubt Whirlpool has a clue who are you ... so highly unlikely they're specifically targeting to create this decision problem for you. :-)