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Edsel was a short-lived, famously unsuccessful mid-tier automobile brand operated by Ford Motor Company between the late 1950s, named after Edsel Ford, the only son of company founder Henry Ford. It was developed to fill a perceived gap in Ford's product lineup between the mass-market Ford vehicle line and the more premium Mercury brand.
Key moments
1956Ford formally creates the dedicated Edsel Division to lead development, marketing and distribution of the upcoming new mid-premium vehicle brand
September 1957Edsel makes its official public debut across more than 1300 participating US Ford-affiliated dealers, backed by large-scale nationwide broadcast marketing campaigns
1958First full model year sales land well below internal projections, reaching less than a third of Ford's original 200,000 unit annual sales target
1959Ford rolls out a drastically restructured, simplified Edsel model range, removing polarizing signature design features and cutting available trims to reduce costs
November 1959Ford announces full immediate discontinuation of the Edsel brand, writing off hundreds of millions of dollars in cumulative development and marketing losses
Edsel launched into an oversaturated 1950s American mid-price automotive segment that was already fully controlled by long-established competing nameplates from General Motors (Pontiac, Oldsmobile) and Chrysler (Dodge, DeSoto), which had decades of accumulated consumer loyalty and mature, well-resourced dealer networks. The brand was also damaged by severe internal misalignment: its final pricing and positioning overlapped heavily with Ford's existing Mercury line, creating direct intra-company competition that confused consumers and cannibalized potential sales. The 1958 US economic recession further shrank the entire mid-premium vehicle market right at Edsel's launch, cutting away a large share of the brand's projected target customer base. This confluence of factors turned a heavily hyped new product launch into one of the most widely cited major commercial failures in automotive history.
The mid-price segment Edsel entered already hosted more than a dozen well-known competing models with established customer bases before the brand launched
Unclear internal positioning made Edsel directly compete against Ford's own existing Mercury product line for the same pool of buyers
Polarizing, highly distinctive exterior and interior design features that were intended to set Edsel apart were widely rejected by contemporary mainstream consumers
Total cumulative Edsel sales across all of its production years never topped 120,000 units, making it impossible for the brand to recoup its massive upfront investment
Edsel stands as one of the most famous and widely studied case studies in global automotive brand mispositioning, launched in the late 1950s by Ford Motor Company with high public hype to fill a perceived product gap between the mass-market Ford line and premium Mercury nameplate. While the brand was an unambiguous commercial failure during its short operational run, it carries unique residual cultural equity that far outstrips its tiny share of 1950s auto sales, remaining a staple reference point in business, marketing, and product development curricula worldwide more than six decades after its discontinuation.
Unlike most defunct automotive brands that fade from public memory within a generation of production ending, Edsel’s infamy as a legendary corporate misstep has anchored it in popular culture, vintage automotive communities, and mainstream business discourse, creating unusual sustained recognition that does not rely on active new vehicle sales or ongoing marketing investment. It has also become a core benchmark for industry analysts evaluating gaps in pre-launch market research, internal brand portfolio alignment, and macroeconomic timing risks for new automotive nameplates.
For classic car collectors, the Edsel name carries niche but dedicated cachet, with small active global owner communities that organize restoration events, showcase preserved vintage models, and share historical resources for the limited number of vehicles produced across its three model years. This layered, cross-context recognition gives the defunct brand an unusual brand strength profile that diverges sharply from standard metrics applied to actively operating automotive brands.
Brand leadership
Score: 22/100
During its short time on the market, Edsel never captured meaningful competitive leadership in the crowded mid-price 1950s American auto segment, falling far behind established nameplates from General Motors and Chrysler, and failing to hit even 20% of the 5% national market share Ford had projected for the brand at its high-profile public launch.
Consumer interaction & loyalty
Score: 38/100
While active mainstream consumer interest in the brand plummeted shortly after launch in the late 1950s, a small but passionate base of dedicated Edsel collectors and enthusiasts maintains ongoing community engagement, with global owner clubs, online restoration forums, and dedicated classic car show segments focused on preserving the brand's unique historical legacy.
Brand momentum
Score: 5/100
Edsel never generated positive sales momentum at any point during its production run, with monthly delivery volumes coming in at less than half of internal corporate forecasts within its first full quarter of availability, and declining steadily until Ford formally terminated the brand in late 1959 after fewer than 3 years of sales.
Brand operational stability
Score: 11/100
Edsel is one of the shortest-lived major nameplates ever released by a Big Three American automaker, with no long-term product roadmap, consistent dealer support network, or stable customer base, created on a rushed development timeline that left it highly vulnerable to shifting market conditions and internal corporate competition.
Brand heritage & timeline
Score: 47/100
Though the brand only operated for three model years, it carries more than 65 years of accumulated cultural and industrial heritage, dating back to its formal 1957 launch as a tribute to Edsel Ford, the only son of Ford founder Henry Ford, giving it unique historical weight far beyond its brief production window.
Automotive industry profile & recognition
Score: 81/100
Within the global automotive industry and broader business education ecosystem, Edsel is universally recognized as the most high-profile 20th century example of a misaligned major new product launch, earning regular feature in industry retrospectives, business school case studies, and public documentaries about the history of the North American auto sector.
Global brand reach
Score: 24/100
Edsel sold nearly all of its vehicles exclusively in the domestic United States market during its production run, with no formal international distribution network or localized overseas marketing campaigns, so its global recognition is largely limited to niche automotive enthusiast and business education audiences outside of North America.
This AI-powered analysis of Edsel's brand value provides illustrative, context-rich framing of the defunct nameplate's unique residual cultural and industry equity, with all qualitative assessments presented for reference and educational purposes only. No non-audited monetary valuation figures shared in this entry represent official verified brand value metrics, as the brand has not engaged in active commercial automotive production for more than 60 years. For fully formal, audited brand value assessments tailored to official commercial or research use cases, please contact the World Brand Lab directly for dedicated, authoritative evaluation services.
Richard E. Krafve (General Manager)‡R1R‡
products
Automobiles
parent
Ford Motor Company
Edsel is a defunct brand of automobiles that was produced by the Ford Motor Company from the 1958 to 1960 model years.The namesake of Edsel Ford, the Edsel line was developed in an effort to give Ford a fourth brand to gain additional market share from Chrysler and General Motors. Established as an expansion of the Lincoln–Mercury Division (re-christened as the Mercury–Edsel–Lincoln Division), Edsel shared a price range with Mercury and its bodies with both Mercury and Ford.
Competing against Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Dodge, and DeSoto, Edsel was the first new brand introduced by an American automaker since the 1939 launch of Mercury and the 1956 launch of Continental; the latter was retired and merged into Lincoln during the 1957 model year.
In the year leading up to its release, Ford invested in an advertising campaign, marketing Edsels as the cars of the future. While 1958 Edsels introduced multiple advanced features for the price segment, the launch of the model line became symbolic of commercial failure.[2] Introduced in a recession that catastrophically affected sales of all medium-priced cars, Edsels were considered overhyped, low quality, and unattractive; a central part of their design featured a vertical grille (and its resemblance to a horse collar).[3]
Following a loss of over $250 million (equivalent to $ in dollars) on development, manufacturing, and marketing on the model line, Ford quietly discontinued the Edsel brand in November 1959, shortly after the 1960 model line was introduced.[4]
Background (1956–1957)
Ford Motor Company became a publicly traded corporation on January 17, 1956,[5] and thus was no longer entirely owned by members of the Ford family.The company was now able to sell cars according to current market trends following the seller's market of the postwar years.[6] Ford's new management compared the company's roster of makes with that of General Motors and Chrysler,[6] and concluded that Lincoln was competing not with Cadillac, but with Oldsmobile, Buick, and DeSoto.[6] Ford developed a plan to move Lincoln upmarket, with the
History
Edsels were introduced amid considerable publicity on "E Day"—September 4, 1957. They were promoted by a top-rated television special, The Edsel Show, on October 13, but the promotional effort was not enough to counter the adverse initial public reaction to the Edsel's styling and unconventional build.
After the launch date, Edsel was described as a "reborn LaSalle", a General Motors brand that had disappeared in 1940.[11] 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 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, Edsels shared their engineering and bodywork with other Ford models, and the similarities were apparent once the vehicles were viewed firsthand.
1958
For its inaugural model year, Edsel introduced a seven-model product line, including four sedans and three station wagons.[12][13]
Models
Edsel sedans
For its 1958 introduction, Edsel was created with a "two-tier" model range of four sedan lines. The lower-trim Edsel Ranger and Edsel Pacer shared bodies with Ford Fairlane sedans (118 in wheelbase) while the higher-trim Edsel Corsair and Edsel Citation shared bodies with the Mercury Monterey and Mercury Montclair sedans (124 in wheelbase).[12] The Ranger was offered as either a two-door or four-door sedan or hardtop while the Pacer was offered as a two-door convertible and two-door and four-door hardtop (and sedan). The Corsair was offered solely as a two-door and four-door hardtop, and the Citation was offered as a two-door and four-door hardtop and a two-door convertible.
For 1959, Edsel dropped the Pacer and Citation and moved the Corsair to a Ford-based chassis. The Corsair lineup added a convertible and four-door sedan (essentially the same as the discontinued Pacer), becoming the flagship model line.
For 1960, Edsel dropped the Corsair, leaving only the Ranger. For its final year, the Ranger remained offered in a full range of body styles, including pillared sedans, hardtops, and a two-door convertible.
Edsel station wagons
Edsel's failure
Historians have advanced several theories in an effort to explain Edsel's failure. Popular culture often faults vehicle styling. Consumer Reports 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, 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, equivalent to 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.
Epilogue
Edsels as Mercurys
Comet
While Edsel cost Ford over $250 million in 1958 dollars, the project saw longer-term benefits for the company, as Ford invested over $100 million to build compact cars over the 1960s.[32]
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.[32][33] Running prototypes of sedans and station wagons were developed into November 1959, only days before the closure of Edsel.[32] The design was approved for production, with the Comet sold by Lincoln–Mercury under no divisional branding.
Further reading
Brooks, John. "The Fate of the Edsel" in Business Adventures. New York: Open Road, 2014 edition, ISBN 9781497644892.
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.
Ford explained in 1958 that "The Edsel is new but it's actually the germination of an idea conceived by Edsel Ford who thought years ago that the company should have greater representation in the medium-price range. This idea was furthered by his son, Henry Ford II, in 1948 when another car was proposed to keep abreast of things in the automotive market."[7]
Marketing research and development for the new intermediate line had begun in 1955 under the code name "E car",[6] which stood for "experimental car."Ford Motor Company eventually decided on the name "Edsel", in honor of Edsel Ford, son of the company's founder, Henry Ford despite objections from Edsel's son Henry Ford II.[6] The proposed vehicle marque represented the start-up of a new division of the firm, alongside that of Ford itself and the Lincoln–Mercury 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 among its three divisions, bringing it closer in line with Chrysler, with 10,000 dealers across five brands, and General Motors, with 16,000 across six brands.
Edsel name etymology
Edsel takes its name from Edsel Ford, son of Henry Ford and Ford company president from 1919 until his 1943 death. Once the "E car" began development, "Edsel" came under proposal, but was strongly opposed by the Ford family. Ford president/CEO Henry Ford II declared that he "did not want his father's good name spinning around on thousands of hubcaps". To come up with a name that would win the approval of company leadership, internal studies were started to decide on a name; Ford also began to seek the opinion of the public, standing outside movie theaters to poll audiences on their thoughts of several proposals. No conclusive ideas were reached.
Subsequently, Ford retained the advertising firm Foote, Cone & Belding to come up with a name; the agency issued a report citing over 6,000 possibilities.Ford chairman Ernest Breech responded negatively, commenting that they had been hired to develop one name, not 6,000. Early favorites for the name brand included Citation, Corsair, Pacer, and Ranger; all four were ultimately chosen for the Edsel sedan lines, and each saw further use elsewhere in the American auto industry. David Wallace, Ford manager of marketing research, and coworker Bob Young unofficially invited freethinker poet Marianne Moore 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.[9]
By the instruction of Ernest Breech (who was chairing a board meeting in the absence of Henry Ford II), Edsel was selected for the brand name of the "E car". Dissatisfied in its other methods to develop a name, Ford management (bypassing Henry Ford II) ultimately selected a brand name with strong ties to its company founder. In line with parent company Ford and several of its competitors, Edsel followed Buick (David Dunbar Buick), Oldsmobile (Ransom E. Olds), Dodge (John and Horace Dodge), and Chrysler (Walter Chrysler).
The lower-trim sedans included the
Edsel Ranger
and
Edsel Pacer
(Ford Fairlane-based) and the higher-trim
Edsel Corsair
and
Edsel Citation
(sharing bodies with the
Mercury Monterey
).
Derived from Ford station wagons, Edsel introduced the two-door Edsel Roundup and the four-door Edsel Villager and Edsel Bermuda.
The Edsel model line had multiple design features that were considered innovative (for 1958).[14] In place of a horizontal strip or a round dial, Edsel used a rotating dome for a speedometer.In line with aircraft design, the dashboard adopted warning lights for conditions such as low oil level, parking brake engaged, and engine overheating.[14] While not equipped with cruise control, Edsel introduced a speed visual warning on the speedometer if the driver exceeded a preset speed limit.[15] While a standard column-mounted transmission shifter was offered, as a delete option, Edsel marked the introduction of the Teletouch push-button shifting system (mounted in the steering wheel hub).[16]
Edsel vehicles integrated many elements of the Ford Lifeguard safety package into their design.Along with optional seatbelts, a deep-dish steering wheel, double-latched doors, and childproof rear door locks were also included.[14][17] The model line was among the first to introduce remote-operated trunk opening and self-adjusting brakes.[17]
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.One four-door Citation model was purchased and delivered in October 1957 to the United Kingdom for Ian Russell, 13th Duke of Bedford. 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 and Ford of Germany franchises.
1959
For the 1959 model year, Ford revised the market position of Edsel. Ford's general sales manager announced the "repositioning of Edsel in the lower price field[18] and Ford's promotional literature noted that "Edsel is now priced down with many models of Chevrolet, Plymouth, and Ford."[19] To reflect the marketing change, M-E-L made several changes to Edsel, withdrawing Mercury-based Edsel models. The Citation and the Pacer were both discontinued, with the Corsair taking the place of the latter (now sharing bodies with the Ranger). The Edsel Villager became the sole Edsel station wagon, dropping the two-door Roundup and the wood-trimmed Bermuda. Though Edsel sedans all used a Ford body, they moved to a 120-inch wheelbase for 1959 (2 inches longer than Ford).
During mid-1959, Ford introduced the Ford Galaxie as a higher-trim version of the Fairlane 500; no Edsel equivalent of the Galaxie was introduced, further eroding its appeal as a medium-price automobile.
1959 changes
In response to the widely negative market reception to the 1958 Edsel exterior design, the 1959 Edsels underwent a revision to tone down their appearance. While the vertical center grille ultimately made its return (de-emphasized with flush-mounted grille trim), a redesign of the hood (flattening it) repositioned the headlamps into a full-width grille, along with a larger front bumper (fitting much closer to the grille). In the rear, a similar revision enlarged and lowered the taillamp housings (in contrast to the Ford Fairlane, Edsel sedans did not have tailfins).
To increase its commonality with Ford, Edsel dropped several interior features for 1959, though it retained the use of distinct interior trim.[20] Alongside the rotating-dome speedometer, the Teletouch steering-wheel transmission controls were discontinued (the latter, due to reliability); the optional climate control and fully padded dashboard returned.[20] In contrast to Ford, the Edsel Corsair was fitted with a 70/30 split-bench seatback.[20] While the seat base was full-width, the design was a forerunner of the 50/50 "Twin Comfort Lounge Seats" introduced in the 1967 Ford LTD; in various forms, the design was used through until the 2012 Ford Crown Victoria.
In 1959, Edsel sold 44,891 vehicles in the United States. 2,505 vehicles were sold in Canada.
1959 changes
In response to the widely negative market reception to the 1958 Edsel exterior design, the 1959 Edsels underwent a revision to tone down their appearance. While the vertical center grille ultimately made its return (de-emphasized with flush-mounted grille trim), a redesign of the hood (flattening it) repositioned the headlamps into a full-width grille, along with a larger front bumper (fitting much closer to the grille). In the rear, a similar revision enlarged and lowered the taillamp housings (in contrast to the Ford Fairlane, Edsel sedans did not have tailfins).
To increase its commonality with Ford, Edsel dropped several interior features for 1959, though it retained the use of distinct interior trim.[20] Alongside the rotating-dome speedometer, the Teletouch steering-wheel transmission controls were discontinued (the latter, due to reliability); the optional climate control and fully padded dashboard returned.[20] In contrast to Ford, the Edsel Corsair was fitted with a 70/30 split-bench seatback.[20] While the seat base was full-width, the design was a forerunner of the 50/50 "Twin Comfort Lounge Seats" introduced in the 1967 Ford LTD; in various forms, the design was used through until the 2012 Ford Crown Victoria.
In 1959, Edsel sold 44,891 vehicles in the United States. 2,505 vehicles were sold in Canada.
1960
On the verge of cancellation (see below), Edsel saw its 1960 model line reduced solely to the Ranger and Villager. While largely orphaned in its market position, Edsel was again derived from Ford, sharing in its 1960 redesign.Sharing nearly its entire body with the redesigned Ford Galaxie, the 1960 Edsel shed its symbolic vertical grille in favor of a split eggcrate grille (closely resembling the 1959 Pontiac); for the first time, a full-width front bumper was used.[21] As part of the redesign, the Ranger gained tailfins for the first time (previously only used on Edsel wagons), with Edsels being distinguished from Fords by four oblong vertical taillamps.[21]
Distinguished primarily by their grille and taillamps, the 1960 Edsels were 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. The two-door hardtop shared its body with the Ford Galaxie Starliner, minus the star emblems on the "C" pillar. 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.[22]
The 1960 Edsels were produced between October 15 and November 19, 1959. In total, 2,846 vehicles were produced at the Louisville Assembly, except for the pilot prototypes.
Discontinuation
Ford announced the end of the Edsel program on November 19, 1959. Production continued until late in November, with 2,846 model year 1960 cars produced.
Total Edsel sales from September 1957 to November 1959 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.[23] 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'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 issued credits to dealers for stock unsold or received, following the announcement.
Discontinuation
Ford announced the end of the Edsel program on November 19, 1959. Production continued until late in November, with 2,846 model year 1960 cars produced.
Total Edsel sales from September 1957 to November 1959 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.[23] 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'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 issued credits to dealers for stock unsold or received, following the announcement.
In line with Ford and Mercury, Edsel created a distinct model range of station wagon lines, with all three model lines derived from a Ford chassis; Edsel station wagons were distinguished by standard two-tone exterior paintwork on all models.
Sharing its body and 116 in wheelbase with Ford station wagons, the Edsel wagon line included the two-door Edsel Roundup and the four-door Edsel Villager and Edsel Bermuda.
Sharing much of its body with the Ford Ranch Wagon, the two-door Edsel Roundup was offered only as a six-passenger vehicle with sliding rear side windows.The four-door Edsel Villager (derived from the Ford Country Sedan) was the station wagon counterpart of the Ranger and was offered with either six or nine-passenger interiors.The Edsel Bermuda (derived from both the Ford Country Sedan and Country Squire) was the station wagon counterpart of the Pacer and offered with either six or nine-passenger interiors; its exterior wood paneling lent it a "three-tone" exterior appearance.
For 1959, the Roundup and Bermuda were dropped, leaving the Villager (which outsold the other two combined by a large margin) as the sole station wagon line. For 1960, the Villager was redesigned alongside the Ranger, again derived from the Ford Country Sedan.
The pre-release advertising campaign promoted the cars as having "more YOU ideas".
The teaser advertisements in magazines revealed only glimpses of the cars through a highly blurred lens or wrapped in paper or under tarps.
Ford 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 late 1957.[6][12]
Compounding Edsel's problems was that the car had to compete with well-established nameplates from the Big Three such as Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick, Dodge, and DeSoto, as well as with its sister division Mercury, which had never been a stellar sales success.To make matters worse, as a new make, Edsel had no established brand loyalty 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 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 sold a combined two million units.[24] However, 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 acquired Studebaker, 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 shifted its focus to its compact Rambler models and discontinued its pre-merger brands, Nash and Hudson, 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.
Despite the presence and influence of the "whiz kids" in the Ford hierarchy and upon this car, the project epitomized the hazards of 'design by committee.'[25]
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 automobiles, particularly Volkswagen Beetles, which were selling at rates exceeding 50,000 a year[26] 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 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.[27]
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 to introduce the Caprice as a mid-1965 upscale trim option on its top-of-the-line Impala four-door hardtop.
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 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 products.The shorter-wheelbase models, Pacer and Ranger, were produced alongside Ford products.[6]
Workers assembling Fords and Mercurys often found the task of assembling the occasional Edsel that moved down the production 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.[6]
In the March 1958 issue of Popular Mechanics, 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.[28]
Design controversies
Body design
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".[29]
According to Thomas E. Bonsall's 2002 book, Disaster in Dearborn, 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".[30]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.
Complaints also surfaced about the taillights on 1958 Edsel station wagons. The lenses were boomerang-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 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.
Body design
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".[29]
According to Thomas E. Bonsall's 2002 book, Disaster in Dearborn, 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".[30]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.
Complaints also surfaced about the taillights on 1958 Edsel station wagons. The lenses were boomerang-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 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 as one of the 10 Ford "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, Mercury, 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 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's now classic redesign of 1961.McNamara left Ford when he was named Secretary of Defense by President John F. Kennedy.
During the 1964 presidential election, Republican nominee Barry Goldwater 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, McNamara instructed his public affairs officer to distribute copies of Breech's letter to the press whenever the accusation was made.[31]
The Ho Chi Minh Museum in Hanoi features an Edsel crashing through a wall, intended to symbolically represent US military failure in the Vietnam War. McNamara became the US Secretary of Defense after his career at Ford, and oversaw the escalation of the US military presence in Vietnam.
Though sharing chassis underpinnings and many body stampings with the Falcon, the Comet was stretched to a 114 in 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".[32]
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.[34] 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 as its entry-level full-size sedan, slotted below the Mercury Monterey. Beginning life as a design for the 1961 Edsel Ranger, the base trim of the Meteor was designed with oblong taillamps, switching to a 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 to 1963.
Comet
While Edsel cost Ford over $250 million in 1958 dollars, the project saw longer-term benefits for the company, as Ford invested over $100 million to build compact cars over the 1960s.[32]
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.[32][33] Running prototypes of sedans and station wagons were developed into November 1959, only days before the closure of Edsel.[32] The design was approved for production, with the Comet sold by Lincoln–Mercury under no divisional branding.[32] Though sharing chassis underpinnings and many body stampings with the Falcon, the Comet was stretched to a 114 in 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".[32]
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.[34] 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 as its entry-level full-size sedan, slotted below the Mercury Monterey. Beginning life as a design for the 1961 Edsel Ranger, the base trim of the Meteor was designed with oblong taillamps, switching to a 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 to 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) 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.
9.The Auto Editors of Consumer Guide. Encyclopedia of American Cars: A Comprehensive History of the American Automakers From 1930 to Today Publications International, 2006^
10.David Wallace, "Naming the Edsel", Automobile Quarterly, vol. 13, no. 2, p. 189 (1975)^
24.The Auto Editors of Consumer Guide. Encyclopedia of American Cars: A Comprehensive History of the American Automakers From 1930 to Today Publications International, 2006^
27.The Auto Editors of Consumer Guide. Encyclopedia of American Cars: A Comprehensive History of the American Automakers From 1930 to Today Publications International, Ltd., 2006^
