The Edsel Pacer is an

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 ...

that was produced and sold by

Edsel Edsel is a discontinued division and brand of automobiles that was marketed by the Ford Motor Company from the 1958 to the 1960 model years. Deriving its name from Edsel Ford, son of company founder Henry Ford, Edsels were developed in an effor ...

in 1958. The Pacer was based on the shorter narrower Edsel platform, shared with Ford and the

Ranger A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...

. Pacer is one of two Edsel model names reused by manufacturers other than Ford, as was

Citation A citation is a reference to a source. More precisely, a citation is an abbreviated alphanumeric expression embedded in the body of an intellectual work that denotes an entry in the bibliographic references section of the work for the purpose of ...

. The Corsair, a 1958-only Edsel model, used a name previously applied to the Henry J by the Kaiser-Frazer Corporation. The Pacer represented a step up from the basic Ranger model. In addition to the Ranger's base trim appoints, the Pacer received contoured seat backs, nylon upholstery cloth, color-keyed rubber floor mats, and extra

stainless steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...

exterior and interior trim pieces and window moldings. A basic heater (as a US$92 option) and radio (at $95) were available, and air conditioning was optional, as well (at $417).Ford Motor Company, p.F8. A tachometer was optional. All Pacers rode on Ford's 118 in (2997 mm) wheelbase and shared the Ranger’s engine choices, with a 303 hp (226 kW) FE V8 (with four-barrel

carburetor A carburetor (also spelled carburettor) is a device used by an internal combustion engine to control and mix air and fuel entering the engine. The primary method of adding fuel to the intake air is through the venturi tube in the main meteri ...

)Ford Motor Company, Edsel Data, 1958 Official Reference Manual for Edsel Salesmen, p.F-8 as standard. (The 345 hp (257 kW)

MEL Mel, Mels or MEL may refer to: Biology * Mouse erythroleukemia cell line (MEL) * National Herbarium of Victoria, a herbarium with the Index Herbariorum code MEL People * Mel (given name), the abbreviated version of several given names (including ...

V8, standard in the Corsair and Citation, was not available.) A three-speed

manual transmission A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed motor vehicle transmission (mechanics), transmission ...

was also standard. Buyers also could upgrade to a three-speed

automatic transmission An automatic transmission (sometimes abbreviated to auto or AT) is a multi-speed transmission used in internal combustion engine-based motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gears under normal driving c ...

with a standard column-mounted gear selector, or choose Edsel’s highly promoted but trouble-prone

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 ...

automatic, which placed its drive-selection buttons in the steering wheel hub, as a US$231 option. While their roll-out was highly publicized in the fall of 1957, Edsels were a marketing disaster for Ford and for Ford's corporate strategy for meeting General Motors product line for product line. Total Pacer output in U.S. and Canada for the model stood at 20,988 units, of which 1,876 were U.S.-built

convertible A convertible or cabriolet () is a passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary among eras and manufacturers. A convertible car's design allows an open-air driving expe ...

s, 7,141 four-door sedans (6,083 U.S./1,058 Canada), 6,717 hardtop coupes (6,139 U.S./578 Canada), and 5,254 four-door hardtops (4,959 U.S./295 Canada). Prices for the Pacer ranged from $2,700 to $2,993. Despite being among the best-selling 1958 Edsel models, the Pacer was discontinued at the end of the 1958 model year. The premium

model was also dropped, as was the trouble-prone Teletouch system.

Production figures

Gallery

File:Edsel 1958 grille.jpg, 1958 "horse collar" grille File:58 Edsel Pacer (7457833434).jpg, 1958 Edsel Pacer 4-door sedan File:Edsel Pacer 2-door Hardtop 1958 wing.jpg, 1958 Edsel Pacer rear quarter File:Edsel Pacer 2-door Hardtop 1958 rear.jpg, 1958 Edsel Pacer rear File:Edsel Pacer Convertible.jpg, 1958 Edsel Pacer / Ford Fairlane retractable (This is an Edsel Pacer that was custom-modified with a retractable Ford top.) File:Edsel Pacer 1958 (4922383186).jpg, 1958 Edsel Pacer 2-door Hardtop

Different platforms

The model year of Edsel's introduction was a post-WW II high point of sorts for the Ford Motor Company. Three full-size platforms of distinctly different interior widths were in use each by Lincoln, Mercury, and Ford, a situation that lasted until Ford received a much wider platform in 1960. Edsel shared both Mercury's and Ford's platform in 1958, so offers an insight into their differing interior dimensions.

References

* * * * * Flory, J. "Kelly", Jr. ''American Cars 1946-1959''. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Coy, 2008. * ;Notes

External links

Edsel.com
History, specifications, resources for owners.
Smith Motor Company
Virtual Edsel Dealer
The International Edsel ClubEdsel.US
Restorer's discussion group {{Edsel Timeline Pacer Coupés Sedans Rear-wheel-drive vehicles Motor vehicles manufactured in the United States Cars introduced in 1958