Edsel is a discontinued
division
Division or divider may refer to:
Mathematics
*Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication
*Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division
Military
*Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...
and
brand
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
of
automobile
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...
s that was marketed by the
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...
from the 1958 to the 1960 model years. Deriving its name from
Edsel Ford
Edsel Bryant Ford (November 6, 1893 – May 26, 1943) was an American business executive and philanthropist who was the son of pioneering industrialist Henry Ford and his wife, Clara Jane Bryant Ford. He was the president of Ford Motor Company f ...
, son of company founder
Henry Ford
Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that mi ...
, Edsels were developed in an effort to give Ford a fourth brand to gain additional market share from
Chrysler
Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...
and
General Motors
The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
. Established as an expansion of the Lincoln-Mercury Division to three brands (re-christened the Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln Division), Edsel shared a price range with
Mercury
Mercury commonly refers to:
* Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun
* Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg
* Mercury (mythology), a Roman god
Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to:
Companies
* Merc ...
; the division shared its bodies with both Mercury and Ford.
![1959 edsel (11641679176)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/1959_edsel_%2811641679176%29.jpg)
Competing against
Buick
Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...
,
Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produ ...
,
Pontiac Pontiac may refer to:
*Pontiac (automobile), a car brand
*Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief
Places and jurisdictions Canada
*Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality
** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...
,
Dodge
Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...
, and
DeSoto, Edsel was the first new brand introduced by an American automaker since the 1939 launch of Mercury and 1956 launch of Continental, which ended and merged into Lincoln after 1957. In the year leading to its release, Ford invested in an advertising campaign, marketing Edsels as the cars of the future. While 1958 Edsels would introduce multiple advanced features for its price segment, the launch of the model line would become symbolic of commercial failure. Introduced in a
recession
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction when there is a general decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be triggered by various ...
that catastrophically affected sales of medium-priced cars, Edsels were considered overhyped, unattractive (distinguished by a vertical grille), and low quality.
Following a loss of over $250 million ($ in dollars) on development, manufacturing, and marketing on the model line, Ford quietly discontinued the Edsel brand before 1960.
History
Background (1956–1957)
Ford Motor Company became a
publicly traded corporation on January 17, 1956, and thus was no longer entirely owned by members of the
Ford family
The family of Henry Ford is an American family from the U.S. state of Michigan, best known for their control of the Ford Motor Company automobile manufacturer, which was founded by Henry Ford in the early-twentieth century. Henry's grandson Willi ...
. The company was now able to sell cars according to current market trends following the sellers' market of the postwar years.
Ford's new management compared the company's roster of makes with that of
General Motors
The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
and
Chrysler
Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...
,
and concluded that
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincol ...
was competing not with
Cadillac
The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed i ...
, but with
Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produ ...
,
Buick
Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...
, and
DeSoto.
Ford developed a plan to move Lincoln upmarket, with the
Continental
Continental may refer to:
Places
* Continent, the major landmasses of Earth
* Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US
* Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US
Arts and entertainment
* ''Continental'' ( ...
broken out as a separate make at the top of Ford's product line, and to add premium/intermediate vehicles to the intermediate slot vacated by Lincoln.
Marketing research and development for the new intermediate line had begun in 1955 under the
code name
A code name, call sign or cryptonym is a code word or name used, sometimes clandestinely, to refer to another name, word, project, or person. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage. They may also be used in industrial c ...
"E car",
which stood for "experimental car." Ford Motor Company eventually decided on the name "Edsel", in honor of
Edsel Ford
Edsel Bryant Ford (November 6, 1893 – May 26, 1943) was an American business executive and philanthropist who was the son of pioneering industrialist Henry Ford and his wife, Clara Jane Bryant Ford. He was the president of Ford Motor Company f ...
, son of the company's founder,
Henry Ford
Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that mi ...
despite objections from Edsel's son
Henry Ford II
Henry Ford II (September 4, 1917 – September 29, 1987), sometimes known as "Hank the Deuce", was an American businessman in the automotive industry. He was the oldest son of Edsel Ford I and oldest grandson of Henry Ford I. He was president ...
.
The proposed vehicle marque would represent the start-up of a new division of the firm alongside that of Ford itself and the
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincol ...
-
Mercury
Mercury commonly refers to:
* Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun
* Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg
* Mercury (mythology), a Roman god
Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to:
Companies
* Merc ...
division, whose cars at the time shared the same bodies.
Ford later claimed to have performed more than adequate, if not superior, product development and market research work in the planning and design of the new vehicle. Ford assured its investors, and the Detroit automotive press, that Edsels were not only superior products (as compared to their Oldsmobile/Buick/DeSoto competition), but the details of their styling and specifications were the result of a sophisticated market analysis and research and development effort that would essentially guarantee their broad acceptance by the buying public when the cars were introduced.
In November 1956, the Edsel Division of Ford Motor Company was formed to establish a retail organization and dealer network, alongside Ford and Lincoln-Mercury (the Continental Division had ceased to exist several months earlier). With a network of 1,187 Edsel dealers, Ford Motor Company now had approximately 10,000 dealerships between its three divisions, bringing it closer in line with Chrysler (10,000 dealers across five brands) and General Motors (16,000 across six brands).
E Day introduction
Edsels were introduced amid considerable publicity on "E Day"—September 4, 1957. They were also promoted by a top-rated television special, ''
The Edsel Show
''The Edsel Show'' is an hour-long television special broadcast live on CBS in the United States on October 13, 1957, intended to promote Ford Motor Company's new Edsel cars. It was a milestone in the long career of entertainer Bing Crosby and is n ...
'', on October 13, but the promotional effort was not enough to counter the adverse initial public reaction to Edsel styling and unconventional build.
After the launch date, Edsel was described as a "reborn
LaSalle," a General Motors brand that had disappeared in 1940. For months, Ford had been telling the industry press that it "knew" (through its market research) that there would be great demand for the vehicles. Ford also insisted that, in the Edsels, it had built exactly the "entirely new kind of car" that Ford had been leading the buying public to expect through its pre-introduction publicity campaign for the cars. In reality, however, Edsels shared their engineering and bodywork with other Ford models, and the similarities were apparent once the vehicles were viewed firsthand.
Models
1958
For its inaugural model year, Edsel introduced a seven-model product line, including four sedans and three station wagons.
The lower-trim
Edsel Ranger
The Edsel Ranger is an automobile that was produced and sold by the newly formed Edsel Division of Ford for the 1958–1960 model years. It was built on the shorter, narrower Edsel platform, shared with Ford and Edsel Pacer models.
The Ranger ...
and
Edsel Pacer
The Edsel Pacer is an automobile that was produced and sold by Edsel in 1958. The Pacer was based on the shorter narrower Edsel platform, shared with Ford and the Ranger.
Pacer is one of two Edsel model names reused by manufacturers other than F ...
shared bodies with
Ford Fairlane sedans ( wheelbase) while the higher-trim
Edsel Corsair
The Edsel Corsair is an automobile that was produced and sold by Edsel in 1958 and 1959. For 1958, the Corsair was built on the longer, wider Edsel platform shared with Mercury. For 1959, the Corsair shared the shorter, narrower Ranger platform ...
and
Edsel Citation
The Edsel Citation is an automobile that was produced by the Edsel division of Ford for the 1958 model year. The flagship Edsel model line, the Citation was offered as a two-door convertible; all Citation sedans were produced as hardtops. Slotted ...
shared bodies with the
Mercury Monterey
The Mercury Monterey is a series of full-size cars that were manufactured and marketed by the Mercury division of Ford from 1952 to 1974. Deriving its name from Monterey Bay, the Mercury Monterey served as the upscale version of the Mercury Cus ...
and
Mercury Montclair
The Mercury Montclair is a series of full-size sedans that were manufactured and marketed by the Mercury division of Ford. The nameplate was used by the division twice, from the 1955 to the 1960 model years and from the 1964 to the 1968 model yea ...
sedans ( wheelbase).
Sharing its body and wheelbase with Ford station wagons, Edsel offered the two-door
Edsel Roundup
The Edsel Roundup is a station wagon that was produced and sold by Edsel in 1958. Like the Edsel Villager, Villager and Edsel Bermuda, Bermuda station wagons, the Roundup was built on a wheelbase shared with Ford Motor Company, Ford's station wag ...
and the four-door
Edsel Villager
The Edsel Villager is a station wagon that was produced and sold by Edsel from 1958 to 1960. Like the two-door Roundup and premium Bermuda station wagons, the Villager was initially built on a 116 in wheelbase shared with Ford's station wagons, a ...
and
Edsel Bermuda
The Edsel Bermuda is a station wagon that was produced and sold by Edsel in 1958. Like the Edsel Villager and Edsel Roundup station wagons, the Bermuda was built on a wheelbase shared with Ford's station wagons, as well as core body stampings.
...
.
The Edsel model line offered multiple design features that were considered innovative for the time.
In place of a horizontal strip or a round dial, the
speedometer
A speedometer or speed meter is a gauge that measures and displays the instantaneous speed of a vehicle. Now universally fitted to motor vehicles, they started to be available as options in the early 20th century, and as standard equipment f ...
was a rotating dome; in line with aircraft design, the dashboard adopted warning lights for conditions as low oil level, parking brake engaged, and engine overheating.
While not equipped with
cruise control
Cruise control (also known as speed control, cruise command, autocruise, or tempomat) is a system that automatically controls the speed of a motor vehicle. The system is a servomechanism that takes over the throttle of the car to maintain a ste ...
, Edsel introduced a speed warning on the speedometer if the driver exceeded a preset speed limit. While a standard column-mounted transmission shifter was offered (as a delete option), Edsel marked the introduction of the
Teletouch
Teletouch is the trade name for the transmission controls found on many Edsel brand automobiles manufactured by the Edsel and Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln (M-E-L) Divisions of the Ford Motor Company. The significance of the Teletouch systems lies in its ...
push-button shifting system (mounted in the steering wheel hub).
Edsels also integrated many elements of the
Ford Lifeguard safety package into its design. Along with optional seatbelts, Edsels featured a deep-dish steering wheel, double-latched doors, and childproof rear door locks;
the model line was among the first to introduce remote-operated trunk opening and self-adjusting brakes.
In the first year, 63,110 Edsels were sold in the United States, and 4,935 were sold in Canada. Though below expectations, this nevertheless represented the second-largest launch for any new car brand to date, exceeded only by the
DeSoto introduction in 1929. There was one four-door Citation model purchased and delivered in October 1957 to the United Kingdom for
Ian Russell, 13th Duke of Bedford
John Ian Robert Russell, 13th Duke of Bedford (24 May 1917 – 25 October 2002), styled Lord Howland until 1940, and styled Marquess of Tavistock from 1940 until 1953, was a writer and a British peer. As a businessman, the Duke and J. Chipperf ...
. Its current whereabouts is unknown. In January 1958, the free-standing Edsel division was added to Lincoln-Mercury, with the re-christened Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln Division (M-E-L) adopting Edsel sales and marketing operations. As the model year progressed and sales fell under expectations, multiple Edsel-only dealers closed or expanded their brand offerings with the encouragement of Ford Motor Company, including Lincoln-Mercury or imported
Ford of Britain
Ford of Britain (officially Ford Motor Company Limited)The Ford 'companies' or corporate entities referred to in this article are:
* Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Michigan, USA, incorporated 16 June 1903
* Ford Motor Company Limited, incorporat ...
and
Ford of Germany
Ford-Werke GmbH is a German car manufacturer headquartered in Niehl (Köln), Niehl, Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is a subsidiary of Ford Motor Company, which operates two large manufacturing facilities in Germany, a ...
franchises.
1959
![59 Edsel Villager (9129538161)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/59_Edsel_Villager_%289129538161%29.jpg)
For the 1959 model year, Ford revised the market position of Edsel, slotting it between Ford and Mercury. To reflect the marketing change, the Mercury-based Citation was withdrawn and the Corsair became a higher-trim version of the Ranger (the Pacer was also discontinued); the station wagon line was pared down to the Villager wagon (dropping the two-door Roundup and wood-trim Bermuda). While all Edsel sedans used a Ford body, their wheelbase was (2 inches longer).
In response to the widely negative response to 1958 Edsel exteriors, the exterior of 1959 Edsels underwent a restyling to tone down its appearance. While the vertical center grille made its return (following heavy revision), a redesign of the hoodline integrated the headlamps into a full-width outer grille (visually lowering the hoodline). A similar revision of the rear fascia repositioned the taillamps. Being based on the 1959 Ford, Edsels received the same roof design as the Fairlanes. Although Fords got a new luxury series of cars midyear, the Galaxie, Edsel never got an equivalent series, further eroding its appeal as a medium price automobile.
The 1959 Edsel interior dropped several features to increase its commonality with Ford. The push-button
Teletouch
Teletouch is the trade name for the transmission controls found on many Edsel brand automobiles manufactured by the Edsel and Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln (M-E-L) Divisions of the Ford Motor Company. The significance of the Teletouch systems lies in its ...
transmission controls were withdrawn, alongside the rotating-dome speedometer, as Edsel introduced a slightly restyled version of the Ford Fairlane 500 dashboard (the optional climate control and fully padded dashboard returned
). Alongside the use of distinct interior trim from Ford, Edsel offered a 70/30 split-bench seatback for Corsairs;
in 1967, Ford would return the split-bench seatback on the
Ford LTD (continuing it into the 2010s on its full-size cars).
For 1959, Edsel sold 44,891 vehicles in the United States; 2,505 vehicles were sold in Canada.
1960
For the 1960 model year, Edsel saw its model line reduced further, offering only the Ranger sedans, hardtop, and convertible alongside the Villager station wagon. Redesigned alongside
1960 Ford
Leading into the 1950s, Ford, along with many other top of the market car manufacturers were capitalizing on the post war boom. Many new advancements in technology and products were being developed during this time that allowed for cars going int ...
s, 1960 Edsels were released with far more muted styling than their 1958 namesake.
Sharing nearly its entire body with Ford, Edsel abandoned its trademark vertical grille in favor of a split grille (similar to the 1959 Pontiac); for the first time, a full-width front bumper was used.
While sharing their tailfins with Ford, the rear fascia of Edsels were distinguished by four oblong vertical taillamps.
Distinguished primarily by their grille and taillamps, the 1960 Edsels were also fitted with model-specific hoods, bumpers, and body-side trim. The four-door Ranger hardtop had no direct Ford equivalent, as it combined the roofline of the Fairlane with the doors of the Galaxie.
In a design advance, the muffler was relocated from below the passenger compartment to the rear of the car, intended for better muffler protection and less heat and noise intrusion to the passenger compartment.
1960 Edsels were produced between October 15 and November 19, 1959. In total, 2,846 vehicles were produced at Louisville Assembly (except for pilot prototypes).
Discontinuation
![Edsel Ranger 4-door sedan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Edsel_Ranger_4-door_sedan.jpg)
Ford announced the end of the Edsel program on November 19, 1959. However, production continued until late in November, with the final tally of 2,846 model year 1960 cars. Total Edsel sales were approximately 116,000, less than half the company's projected break-even point. The company lost $350 million (the equivalent of $ in dollars) on the venture. Only 118,287 Edsels were built, including 7,440 produced in
Oakville, Ontario Canada. By U.S. auto industry standards, these production figures were dismal, particularly when spread across a run of three model years.
On November 20, 1959,
United Press International
United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...
's (UPI) wire service reported that book values for used Edsels had declined by as much as $400 based on condition and age immediately following the Ford press release. In some newspaper markets, dealers scrambled to renegotiate newspaper advertising contracts involving the 1960 Edsel models, while others dropped the name from their dealerships' advertising entirely. Ford issued a statement that it would distribute coupons to customers who purchased 1960 models (and carryover 1959 models) prior to the announcement, valued at $300 to $400 toward the purchase of new Ford products to offset the decreased values. The company also issued credits to dealers for stock unsold or received following the announcement.
Edsel's failure
Historians have advanced several theories in an effort to explain Edsel's failure. Popular culture often faults vehicle styling. ''
Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports (CR), formerly Consumers Union (CU), is an American nonprofit consumer organization dedicated to independent product testing, investigative journalism, consumer-oriented research, public education, and consumer advocacy.
Founded ...
'' has alleged that poor workmanship was Edsel's chief problem. Marketing experts hold Edsels up as a supreme example of the corporate culture's failure to understand American consumers. Business analysts cite the weak internal support for the product inside Ford's executive offices. According to author and Edsel scholar
Jan Deutsch
Jan Ginter Deutsch (May 25, 1935 – May 19, 2016) was a Polish-born American philosopher and legal scholar best known for his work on the philosophy of corporate law, jurisprudence, and the cultural underpinnings of capitalist democracy. Deut ...
, an Edsel was "the wrong car at the wrong time."
"The aim was right, but the target moved"
Edsels are most notorious for being a marketing disaster. The name "Edsel" became synonymous with the real-life commercial failure of the predicted "perfect" product or product idea. Similar ill-fated products have often been colloquially referred to as "Edsels". Ford's own
Sierra model, which launched almost 25 years later, is often compared to Edsels owing to initial buyer antipathy to their perceived radical styling, even though, unlike Edsels, it ultimately became a sales success. Since the Edsel program was such a debacle, it gave marketers a vivid illustration of how ''not'' to market a product. The principal reason Edsel's failure is so infamous is that Ford did not consider that failure was a possibility until after the cars had been designed and built, the dealerships established, and $400 million invested in the product's development, advertising and launch. Incredibly, Ford had presumed to invest $400 million (well over $4 billion in 21st century dollars) in developing the new product line without any prior study to determine whether such an investment would be prudent or profitable.
The prerelease advertising campaign promoted the cars as having "more YOU ideas", and the teaser advertisements in magazines revealed only glimpses of the cars through a highly blurred lens or wrapped in paper or under tarps. In fact, Ford had never test marketed the vehicles or their radical styling concepts with potential buyers prior to either the vehicles' initial development decision or vehicle shipments to their new dealerships. Edsels were shipped to the dealerships under wraps and remained so on the dealer lots.
The public also had difficulty understanding exactly what Edsels were, primarily because Ford made the mistake of pricing Edsels within Mercury's market price segment. Theoretically, Edsels were conceived to fit into Ford's marketing structure as a mid-price model, with the brand slotted in between Ford and Mercury. However, when the cars debuted in September 1957, the least expensive Ranger model was priced within $74 of the most expensive and best-trimmed Ford sedan and $63 less than Mercury's base Medalist model. In their mid-range pricing, Edsel's Pacer and Corsair models were ''more'' expensive than their ostensibly more costly Mercury counterparts. Edsel's top-of-the-line Citation hardtop sedan was the only model priced to correctly compete with Mercury's mid-range Montclair
Turnpike Cruiser model, as illustrated in the chart below. Edsel products were priced from $2,484 () to $3,766 ().
Not only was Edsel competing against its own sister divisions, but model for model, buyers did not understand what the cars were supposed to be—a step above the Mercury, or a step below it.
After introduction to the public, Edsels did not live up to their preproduction publicity, even though many new features were offered, such as self-adjusting rear brakes and automatic lubrication. While Ford's market research had indicated that these and other features would make Edsels attractive to them as car buyers, their selling prices exceeded what buyers were willing to pay. Upon seeing the price for a base model, many potential buyers simply left the dealerships. Other customers were frightened by the price for a fully equipped top-of-the-line model.
“The wrong car at the wrong time”
One of the external forces working against the Edsel brand was the onset of an economic
recession
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction when there is a general decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be triggered by various ...
in late 1957.
Compounding Edsel's problems was the fact that the car had to compete with well-established nameplates from the Big Three, such as
Pontiac Pontiac may refer to:
*Pontiac (automobile), a car brand
*Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief
Places and jurisdictions Canada
*Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality
** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...
,
Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produ ...
,
Buick
Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...
,
Dodge
Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...
and
DeSoto, as well as with its sister division
Mercury
Mercury commonly refers to:
* Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun
* Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg
* Mercury (mythology), a Roman god
Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to:
Companies
* Merc ...
, which had never been a stellar sales success. To make matters still worse, as a new make, Edsel had no established
brand loyalty
In marketing, brand loyalty describes a consumer's positive feelings towards a brand, and their dedication to purchasing the brand's products and/or services repeatedly, regardless of deficiencies, a competitor's actions, or changes in the envir ...
with buyers, as its competing makes had.
Even if the 1957–1958 recession had not occurred, Edsel would have been entering a shrinking marketplace. In the early 1950s, when the "E" car was in its earliest stages of development, Ford Executive Vice President
Ernest R. Breech
Ernest Robert Breech (1897–1978) was an American corporate executive. Although he is best remembered for his work in revitalizing Ford Motor Company in the years following World War II, he served similar roles at Trans World Airlines and other co ...
had convinced Ford management that the medium-priced market segment offered great untapped opportunity. At the time, Breech's assessment was basically correct; in 1955, Pontiac, Buick and Dodge had sold a combined two million units.
But by the fall of 1957, when Edsels were introduced, the market had changed drastically. Independent manufacturers in the medium-priced field were drifting to insolvency. Hoping to reverse its losses,
Packard
Packard or Packard Motor Car Company was an American luxury automobile company located in Detroit, Michigan. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last Packards were built in South Bend, Indiana in 1958.
One of the "Thr ...
acquired
Studebaker
Studebaker was an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana, with a building at 1600 Broadway, Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers M ...
, which was also in financial difficulty. The board decided to stop production under the venerable Packard badge after 1958. The 1957–58 Packards were Studebaker bodied cars using much Packard Styling (also known as "Packardbakers"). Attempting to capitalize on the emerging consumer interest in economy cars,
American Motors
American Motors Corporation (AMC; commonly referred to as American Motors) was an American automobile manufacturing company formed by the merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company on May 1, 1954. At the time, it was the ...
shifted its focus to its compact
Rambler
Rambler or Ramble may refer to:
Places
* Rambler, Wyoming
* Rambler Channel (藍巴勒海峽), separates Tsing Yi Island and the mainland New Territories in Hong Kong
* The Ramble and Lake, Central Park, an area within New York City's Centr ...
models and discontinued its pre-merger brands,
Nash and
Hudson
Hudson may refer to:
People
* Hudson (given name)
* Hudson (surname)
* Henry Hudson, English explorer
* Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back
* Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudso ...
, after the 1957 model year. Sales of Chrysler's
DeSoto marque dropped dramatically from its 1957 high by over 50% in 1958. When DeSoto sales failed to rebound during the 1959 model year, plans were made in Highland Park to discontinue the nameplate by 1961.
Sales for most car manufacturers, even those not introducing new models, were down. Among domestic makes, only Rambler and Lincoln produced more cars in 1958 than in 1957. Customers started buying more
fuel-efficient
Fuel efficiency is a form of thermal efficiency, meaning the ratio of effort to result of a process that converts chemical potential energy contained in a carrier ( fuel) into kinetic energy or work. Overall fuel efficiency may vary per device, ...
automobiles, particularly
Volkswagen Beetle
The Volkswagen Beetle—officially the Volkswagen Type 1, informally in German (meaning "beetle"), in parts of the English-speaking world the Bug, and known by many other nicknames in other languages—is a two-door, rear-engine economy car, ...
s, which were selling at rates exceeding 50,000 a year in the U.S. from 1957 onward. Edsels were equipped with powerful engines and offered brisk acceleration, but they also required premium fuel, and their fuel economy, especially in city driving, was poor even by late-1950s standards.
Ford Motor Company had conducted the right marketing study, but it came up with the wrong product to fill the gap between Ford and Mercury. By 1958, buyers had become fascinated with economy cars, and a large car like an Edsel was seen as too expensive to buy and own. When Ford introduced the
Falcon
Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene.
Adult falcons ...
in 1959, it sold over 400,000 units in its first year. Ford's investment in expanded plant capacity and additional tooling for Edsels helped make the company's subsequent success with the Falcon possible.
By 1965, the market for medium-priced cars had recovered, and this time, Ford had the right car; the
Galaxie 500 LTD. The LTD's success led
Chevrolet
Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...
to introduce the
Caprice
Caprice, from the Italian ''capriccio'', may refer to:
Art and entertainment
* ''Caprice'' (1913 film), a film starring Mary Pickford
* ''Caprices'' (film), a 1942 French comedy film
* ''Caprice'' (1967 film), a film starring Richard Harris ...
as a mid-1965 upscale
trim option on its top-of-the-line
Impala
The impala or rooibok (''Aepyceros melampus'') is a medium-sized antelope found in eastern and southern Africa. The only extant member of the genus '' Aepyceros'' and tribe Aepycerotini, it was first described to European audiences by Germa ...
four-door hardtop.
"Edsel, a difficult name to place"
The name of the car, Edsel, is also often cited as a further reason for its lack of popularity. Naming the vehicle after
Edsel Ford
Edsel Bryant Ford (November 6, 1893 – May 26, 1943) was an American business executive and philanthropist who was the son of pioneering industrialist Henry Ford and his wife, Clara Jane Bryant Ford. He was the president of Ford Motor Company f ...
was proposed early in its development. However, the Ford family strongly opposed its use.
Henry Ford II
Henry Ford II (September 4, 1917 – September 29, 1987), sometimes known as "Hank the Deuce", was an American businessman in the automotive industry. He was the oldest son of Edsel Ford I and oldest grandson of Henry Ford I. He was president ...
declared that he did not want his father's good name spinning around on thousands of hubcaps. Ford also ran internal studies to decide on a name, and even dispatched employees to stand outside movie theaters to poll audiences as to what their feelings were on several ideas. They reached no conclusions.
Ford retained the advertising firm
Foote, Cone & Belding
Foote, Cone & Belding (FCB), is one of the largest global advertising agency networks. It is owned by Interpublic Group and was merged in 2006 with Draft Worldwide, adopting the name Draftfcb. In 2014 the company rebranded itself as FCB.
Parent ...
to come up with a name. When the agency issued its report, citing over 6,000 possibilities, Ford's
Ernest Breech
Ernest Robert Breech (1897–1978) was an American corporate executive. Although he is best remembered for his work in revitalizing Ford Motor Company in the years following World War II, he served similar roles at Trans World Airlines and other c ...
commented that they had been hired to develop ''one'' name, not 6,000. Early favorites for the name brand included Citation, Corsair, Pacer, and Ranger, which were ultimately chosen for the vehicle's series names.
David Wallace, manager of marketing research, and coworker Bob Young unofficially invited freethinker poet
Marianne Moore
Marianne Craig Moore (November 15, 1887 – February 5, 1972) was an American modernist poet, critic, translator, and editor. Her poetry is noted for formal innovation, precise diction, irony, and wit.
Early life
Moore was born in Kirkwood ...
for input and suggestions. Moore's unorthodox contributions (among them "Utopian Turtletop," "Pastelogram," "Turcotinga," "Resilient Bullet," "Andante con Moto" and "Mongoose Civique") were meant to stir creative thought and were not officially authorized or contractual in nature.
By the instruction of Ernest Breech, who was chairing a board meeting in the absence of Henry Ford II, the car was finally called "Edsel" in honor of
Edsel Ford
Edsel Bryant Ford (November 6, 1893 – May 26, 1943) was an American business executive and philanthropist who was the son of pioneering industrialist Henry Ford and his wife, Clara Jane Bryant Ford. He was the president of Ford Motor Company f ...
, former company president and son of
Henry Ford
Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that mi ...
.
Reliability
Even though Edsels shared basic technology with other Ford cars of the era, a number of issues caused reliability problems, mostly with the 1958 models. Reports of mechanical flaws with the cars surfaced, due primarily to lack of
quality control
Quality control (QC) is a process by which entities review the quality of all factors involved in production. ISO 9000 defines quality control as "a part of quality management focused on fulfilling quality requirements".
This approach places ...
and confusion of parts with other Ford models. Ford never dedicated a stand-alone factory solely to Edsel model production. The 1958 Edsels were assembled in both Mercury and Ford factories. The longer-wheelbase models, Citation and Corsair, were produced alongside the
Mercury
Mercury commonly refers to:
* Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun
* Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg
* Mercury (mythology), a Roman god
Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to:
Companies
* Merc ...
products, while the shorter-wheelbase models, Pacer and Ranger, were produced alongside Ford products. Workers assembling Fords and Mercurys often found the task of assembling the occasional Edsel that moved down the line burdensome, because it required them to change tools and parts bins, then switch back to resume assembling Fords or Mercurys after completing assembly on Edsels. The workers were also expected to accommodate Edsel assembly with no adjustment in their hourly quota of Ford and Mercury production. Consequently, the desired quality control of the different Edsel models proved difficult to achieve, even when the Fords and Mercurys were satisfactorily assembled on the same lines. Many Edsels actually left the assembly lines unfinished. Uninstalled parts were placed in the trunks along with installation instructions for dealership mechanics, some of whom never installed the additional parts at all. Some dealers did not even receive all the parts.
In the March 1958 issue of ''
Popular Mechanics
''Popular Mechanics'' (sometimes PM or PopMech) is a magazine of popular science and technology, featuring automotive, home, outdoor, electronics, science, do-it-yourself, and technology topics. Military topics, aviation and transportation o ...
'', 16% of Edsel owners reported poor workmanship, with complaints ranging from faulty welding to power steering failure. In its test car, ''Popular Mechanics'' tested for these problems and discovered others, notably a badly leaking trunk during rain, and the odometer showing fewer than actual miles traveled.
Design controversies
Body design
![Edsel 1958 grille](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Edsel_1958_grille.jpg)
Edsel's most memorable design feature was its trademark "
horsecollar" grille, which was distinct from that of other cars of the period. According to a popular joke at the time, Edsels "resembled an Oldsmobile sucking a lemon"..
According to Thomas E. Bonsall's book, ''Disaster in Dearborn'' (2002), it was assistant stylist Bob "Robin" Jones, who suggested a vertical motif for the front end of the "E-car".
Edsel's front end bore little resemblance, if any, to the original concept.
Roy Brown, the original chief designer on the Edsel project, had envisioned a slender, almost delicate opening in the center. Engineers, fearing engine cooling problems, vetoed the intended design, so a ring design was suggested. Ernest Breech then demanded that the grille be taller and wider, which led to the "horsecollar".
The vertical grille, after being improved for the 1959 models, was discontinued for the 1960 models, which were similar to Ford models of the same year, although coincidentally, the new front end was very similar to that of the 1959
Pontiac Pontiac may refer to:
*Pontiac (automobile), a car brand
*Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief
Places and jurisdictions Canada
*Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality
** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...
.
![1958_Edsel_Villager](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/1958_Edsel_Villager.jpg)
Complaints also surfaced about the taillights on 1958 Edsel station wagons. The lenses were
boomerang
A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning b ...
-shaped and placed in a reverse fashion. At a distance, they appeared as arrows pointed in the opposite direction of the turn being made. When the left turn signal flashed, its arrow shape pointed right, and vice versa. However, there was little that could be done to give the Ford-based station wagons a unique appearance from the rear, because corporate management had insisted that no sheetmetal could be changed. Only the taillights and trim could be touched. There was room for separate turn signals in addition to the boomerangs, but the U.S. industry had never supplied them up to that point, and they were probably never seriously considered.
Powertrain features
The Teletouch pushbutton automatic transmission selector was an extremely complex feature. It proved problematic in part because the steering wheel hub, where the pushbuttons were located, was the traditional location of the horn button. Some drivers inadvertently shifted gears when they intended to sound the horn. While Edsels were fast, the location of the transmission pushbuttons was not conducive to street racing. There were also jokes among stoplight drag racers about the buttons: D for Drag, L for Leap, and R for Race (instead of Drive, Low and Reverse). The control wires for Teletouch were also routed too close to the exhaust manifold, which often caused unpredictable movement of the selector mechanism and, in some cases, complete failure. The electrical design required drivers to shift from Park to Reverse to Neutral to Drive, in that order, to avoid overloading the Teletouch motor. The motor was also not powerful enough to bring the car out of Park while on a hill, so dealerships would instruct drivers to set the parking brake before pushing the Park button.
Mechanics of the time were wary of the
410-cubic-inch Edsel "E-475" engine because its perfectly flat cylinder heads lacked distinct combustion chambers. The heads were set at an angle, with "roof" pistons forming both a
squish zone on one side and a
combustion chamber
A combustion chamber is part of an internal combustion engine in which the fuel/air mix is burned. For steam engines, the term has also been used for an extension of the firebox which is used to allow a more complete combustion process.
Interna ...
on the other. Combustion thus took place entirely within the cylinder bore. This design was similar to
Chevrolet's 348-cubic-inch "W" engine, which was also introduced in 1958. While the design reduced the cost of manufacture and may also have helped minimize carbon buildup, it was also unfamiliar to many mechanics.
Company politics and the role of Robert McNamara
Following World War II, Henry Ford II retained
Robert McNamara
Robert Strange McNamara (; June 9, 1916 – July 6, 2009) was an American business executive and the eighth United States Secretary of Defense, serving from 1961 to 1968 under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. He remains the Lis ...
as one of the "
Whiz Kids" to help turn Ford around. McNamara's cost-cutting and cost-containment skills helped Ford emerge from its near-collapse after the war. As a result, McNamara eventually amassed a considerable amount of power at Ford. McNamara was very much a throwback to Henry Ford in that, like the elder Ford, McNamara was committed to the Ford marque to the almost total exclusion of the company's other products. Thus, McNamara had little use for the Continental, Lincoln, Mercury and Edsel brand cars made by the company.
McNamara opposed the formation of the separate divisions for Continental, Lincoln, Mercury, and Edsel cars, and moved to consolidate
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincol ...
,
Mercury
Mercury commonly refers to:
* Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun
* Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg
* Mercury (mythology), a Roman god
Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to:
Companies
* Merc ...
, and Edsel into the M-E-L division. McNamara saw to it that the Continental program was canceled and that the model was merged into the Lincoln range for 1958. He next set his sights on Edsel by maneuvering for elimination of the dual wheelbases and separate bodies used for 1958. Instead, Edsels would share the Ford platform and use Ford's inner body structure for 1959. By 1960, Edsels emerged as little more than a Ford with different trim. McNamara also moved to reduce Edsel's advertising budget for 1959, and for 1960, he virtually eliminated it. The final blow came in the fall of 1959, when McNamara convinced Henry Ford II and the rest of Ford's management that Edsel was doomed and that it was time to end production before Edsel bled the company dry. McNamara also attempted to discontinue the Lincoln nameplate, but that effort ended with
Elwood Engel
Elwood Paul Engel (February 10, 1917 – June 24, 1986) was Chrysler Corporation's design chief from 1961 until 1974.
Early days
Engel first joined General Motors as a student under Harley Earl's watchful eye at GM's school of design. In 1939 ...
's now classic redesign of 1961. McNamara left Ford when he was named
Secretary of Defense by President
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
.
During the
1964 presidential election, Republican nominee
Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and United States Air Force officer who was a five-term U.S. Senator from Arizona (1953–1965, 1969–1987) and the Republican Party nominee for presiden ...
blamed McNamara, then Secretary of Defense, for Edsel's failure. Eventually, Ford's former executive vice president Ernest R. Breech, who was a financial contributor to Goldwater, wrote to the Senator's campaign, explaining that "Mr. McNamara ... had nothing to do with the plans for the Edsel car or any part of the program." However, the charge continued to be leveled against McNamara for years. During his time as head of the
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
, McNamara instructed his public affairs officer to distribute copies of Breech's letter to the press whenever the accusation was made.
The
Ho Chi Minh Museum
The Ho Chi Minh Museum is located in Hanoi, Vietnam. Constructed in the 1990s, it is dedicated to the late Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh
(: ; born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), commonly known as (' Uncle Hồ'), also known ...
in
Hanoi
Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...
features an Edsel crashing through a wall, intended to symbolically represent US military failure in the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
. McNamara became the US Secretary of Defense after his career at Ford, and oversaw the escalation of the US military presence in Vietnam.
Vehicles produced
Epilogue
Edsels as Mercurys
Comet
![60 Mercury Comet (9127334593)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/60_Mercury_Comet_%289127334593%29.jpg)
While Edsel would cost Ford over $250 million (in 1958 dollars), the project would see longer-term benefits for the company, as Ford invested over $100 million to build compact cars over the 1960s.
Prior to the closure of the Edsel division, the brand was intending to release the Edsel Comet compact for the 1960 model year, sharing a body with the
Ford Falcon
Ford Falcon is an automobile nameplate applied to several vehicles worldwide.
* Ford Falcon (North America), an automobile produced by Ford from 1960 to 1970.
* Ford Falcon (Argentina), a car built by Ford Argentina from 1962 until 1991.
* Fo ...
.
Running prototypes of sedans and station wagons were developed into November 1959 (only days before the closure of Edsel
). The design was approved for production, with the Comet sold by Lincoln-Mercury under no divisional branding.
Though sharing chassis underpinnings and many body stampings with the Falcon, the Comet was stretched to a wheelbase (longer than the GM Y-body "senior compacts"). The Comet adopted multiple design features from the full-size Edsel line, including its oblong taillamp lenses (though canted diagonally, creating its rear tailfins) along with the instrument cluster. Comet keys were styled like Edsel keys (restyling the "E" emblem as a "C"
).
While sold without divisional branding, the Comet proved successful; Lincoln-Mercury sold more 1960 Comets than the entire Edsel model line sold through its 1958-1960 existence.
For 1962, the Comet was branded as a Mercury; the model line was produced through 1977.
Meteor
For 1961, Lincoln-Mercury introduced the
Mercury Meteor
The Mercury Meteor is an automobile that was produced by Mercury (automobile), Mercury from the 1961 to 1963 model years. Adopting its nameplate from the Meteor (automobile), namesake Ford of Canada brand, the Meteor was introduced as the base- ...
as its entry-level full-size sedan, slotted below the
Mercury Monterey
The Mercury Monterey is a series of full-size cars that were manufactured and marketed by the Mercury division of Ford from 1952 to 1974. Deriving its name from Monterey Bay, the Mercury Monterey served as the upscale version of the Mercury Cus ...
. Beginning life as a design for the 1961 Edsel Ranger, the base trim of the Meteor was designed with oblong taillamps (switching to horizontal layout), derived from the 1960 Ranger and Comet (designed as an Edsel). For 1962, the full-size Meteor was discontinued, with Mercury shifting the nameplate to its newly-introduced intermediate car line (becoming a counterpart of the
Ford Fairlane through 1963).
Design influence
While the Edsel trademark vertical grille saw a nearly universal negative response by contemporary buyers and critics, multiple subsequent automobile manufacturers have employed narrow vertically-oriented grilles with greater success in the marketplace, including Pontiac, Jaguar, Subaru, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, and Saab; the
BMW 4 Series (G22)
The second generation of the BMW 4 Series consists of the BMW G22 (coupé version) along with the BMW G23 (convertible version) and BMW G26 (saloon version, marketed as the Gran Coupé) compact executive cars. The G22 4 Series was launched in Ju ...
is a contemporary model line with a vertical grille generating a negative critical response similar to the Edsel.
Through technological advances, multiple features introduced by Edsel cars, including self-adjusting brakes, automatic climate control, steering wheel-mounted transmission controls, and childproof rear door locks are no longer impractical ideas, but included in many current production features as options or standard equipment.
Collectors
More than half a century after its spectacular failure, Edsels have become highly collectible items among vintage car hobbyists. Fewer than 10,000 Edsels survive and they are considered valuable collectors' items. A mint-condition Edsel convertible from any of its three model years may sell for over $100,000.
[ The rarest Edsel (by body style) is the 1960 Ranger convertible: only 76 were built. Approximately 25 survive today. The rarest Edsel by model is the 1960 Ranger deluxe interior 4-door hardtop, model 57B. Originally intended to be released as the 1960 Corsair, only 31 units were produced.
Plastic scale models of all three Edsel years were produced by ]Aluminum Metal Toys
Aluminum Model Toys (AMT) is a toy manufacturing brand founded in Troy, Michigan in 1948 by West Gallogly Sr. AMT became known for manufacturing 1/25 scale plastic automobile dealer promotional model cars and friction motor models, and pioneer ...
(AMT), in its familiar 1/25 scale. Both promotional and kit versions were sold. These command premium prices today, especially the rare 1959 and 1960 models. The 1958 Pacer hardtop was re-issued as a totally new and much more detailed kit by AMT in the 1990s. The 1960 hardtop is also available as a resin kit from several resin model producers, but is typically priced close to the cost of an original kit. Yat Ming Yat Ming (formerly called Yatming) is a die-cast car model maker, much like Matchbox. The company is based in Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ...
, a producer of diecast model cars, offered a nicely detailed 1958 Citation in 1/18 scale in both hardtop and convertible body styles. Yat Ming also produced a detailed 1/43 scale diecast of the Citation convertible in several color combinations. The Franklin Mint
The Franklin Mint is a private mint founded by Joseph Segel in 1964 in Wawa, Pennsylvania. The building is in Middletown Township.
The brand name was previously owned by Sequential Brands Group headquartered in New York City, New York. It is ...
produced highly detailed 1/24 scale and 1/43 scale diecast models of the 1958 Citation convertible. The Danbury Mint
The Danbury Mint is a division of MBI, Inc. that markets a variety of collectibles. Danbury Mint historically marketed high quality medals and ingots produced by others exclusively for them. The company also sold numerous other collectible offerin ...
produced a 1/24 scale diecast replica of the 1958 Bermuda station wagon, complete with accurately detailed wood trim.
NASCAR
Despite lack of sales success, several Edsels were nevertheless raced in NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
's Grand National series in the late 1950s.
References
Further reading
*
*
* Brooks, John. "The Fate of the Edsel" in ''Business Adventures''. New York: Open Road, 2014 edition, .
*
*
* Dicke, Tom. "The Edsel: Forty Years as a Symbol of Failure," ''Journal of Popular Culture,'' June 2010, Vol. 43 Issue 3, pp 486–502
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Edsel.com
History, specifications, resources for owners.
Smith Motor Company
Virtual Edsel Dealer
The International Edsel Club
Listing of Edsel references in popular culture.
A Web site devoted to plastic dealer promotional models of Edsels.
The Edsel Tinsmith
A catalog of tin toy Edsels that were manufactured in Japan
"All About Ford's Luxury Loaded Edsel."
''Popular Science'', September 1957, pp. 98–103/282-283.
{{Authority control
Ford Motor Company
Car manufacturers of the United States
1960s cars
Companies based in Detroit
1958 establishments in Michigan
Cars introduced in 1958
1959 disestablishments in the United States
American brands
Defunct brands
Ford Motor Company Marques
Business failures
1950s cars
Products and services discontinued in 1959