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Edsel

1958 Edsel Corsair

Manufacturer Edsel Division of Ford MotorCompany

Production 1958-60

Class Full-size car

Layout FR layout

Edsel

Makes History by Making Sense (1959)[1]

Former type Division

EdselFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Edsel was an automobile marque that wasplanned, developed, and manufactured by the FordMotor Company during the 1958, 1959, and 1960model years. With the Edsel, Ford had expected tomake significant inroads into the market share of bothGeneral Motors and Chrysler and close the gapbetween itself and GM in the domestic Americanautomotive market. But contrary to Ford's internalplans and projections, the Edsel never gainedpopularity with contemporary American car buyers andsold poorly. The Ford Motor Company lost millions ofdollars on the Edsel's development, manufacturing andmarketing.

Contents1 History2 End of the Edsel3 Edsel and its failures

3.1 "The aim was right, but the target moved"3.2 The wrong car at the wrong time3.3 Edsel, a difficult name to place3.4 Reliability3.5 Design controversies3.6 Company politics and the role of Robert McNamara

4 The Edsel Comet5 Today6 NASCAR7 References8 Further reading9 External links

HistoryIn the early 1950s, the Ford Motor Company became apublicly traded corporation that was no longer entirelyowned by members of the Ford family. The companywas now able to sell cars according to current markettrends following the sellers' market of the postwaryears. Ford's new management compared thecompany's roster of makes with that of GeneralMotors, and concluded that Lincoln was competing notwith Cadillac, but with Oldsmobile and Buick. SinceFord had surplus capital on hand from the success ofthe Ford Thunderbird, the Company developed a plan

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Industry Automobile

Founded 1957

Defunct 1959Production continued until 1960

Headquarters Dearborn, Michigan, U.S

Products Full-size:Citation, Corsair, Pacer, RangerStation wagon:Bermuda, Villager, Roundup

Parent Ford Motor Company

“Its elegance,its engines,its exciting newfeatures,make other carsseem ordinary ”

—Edsel advertisement, 1957[3]

to move Lincoln upmarket, with the Continentalbroken out as a separate make at the top of Ford'sproduct line, and to add a premium/intermediatevehicle to the intermediate slot vacated by Lincoln.

Marketing research and development for the newintermediate line had begun in 1955 under the codename "E car",[2] which stood for "experimental car."Ford Motor Company eventually decided on the name"Edsel", in honor of Edsel B. Ford, son of thecompany's founder, Henry Ford (despite objectionsfrom Henry Ford II[2]). The proposed vehicle marquewould represent the stand-up of a new division of thefirm 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 marketresearch work in the planning and design of the new vehicle. Particularly Ford assured its investors, andthe Detroit automotive press, that the Edsel was not only a superior product (as compared to itsOldsmobile/Buick competition), but the details of its styling and specifications were the result of asophisticated market analysis and research and development effort that would essentially guarantee itsbroad acceptance by the buying public when the car was introduced.

The Edsel was introduced amid considerable publicity on "EDay"—September 4, 1957. It was also promoted by a top-ratedtelevision special, The Edsel Show, on October 13, but thepromotional effort was not enough to counter the adverse initialpublic reaction to the car's styling and conventional build. Formonths, Ford had been telling the industry press that it "knew"(through its market research) that there would be great demand forthe vehicle. Ford also insisted that, in the Edsel, it had built exactlythe "entirely new kind of car" that Ford had been leading thebuying public to expect through its pre-introduction publicitycampaign for the car. In reality, however, the Edsel shared its engineering and bodywork with other Fordmodels, and the similarities were apparent once the vehicle was viewed in person.

The Edsel was to be sold through a newly formed division of the Ford Motor Company, as a companion tothe Ford Division, Mercury Division, Lincoln Division and (newly formed but also short-lived)Continental Division. Each division had its own retail organization and dealer network. The free-standingEdsel Division existed from November 1956 until January 1958, after which Edsel sales and marketingoperations were integrated into the Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln division (referred to as M-E-L). Initially Edselwas sold through a new network of approximately 1,187 dealers. This briefly brought the total number ofdealers of all Ford products to 10,000. Ford saw this as a way to come closer to parity with Chrysler,which had 10,000 dealers, and General Motors, which had 16,000. As soon as it became apparent that theEdsels were not selling, many of these dealers added Lincoln-Mercury, Ford of Britain, or Ford ofGermany franchises to their dealerships with the encouragement of Ford Motor Company. Some dealers,however, closed.

For the 1958 model year, Edsel produced four models:[4] The larger Mercury-based Citation and Corsair,and the smaller Ford-based Pacer and Ranger. The Citation was offered in two-door and four-door hardtopand two-door convertible versions. The Corsair was available in two-door and four-door hardtop versions.

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A 1958 Edsel Pacer 2-Door hardtop

Edsel Ranger interior, showing theTeletouch system and Rolling Domespeedometer.

The Pacer was available as a two-door or four-door hardtop, four-door sedan, or two-door convertible.The Ranger was sold in two-door and four-door hardtop or sedan versions. The four-door Bermuda andVillager wagons and the two-door Roundup wagon were based on the 116-inch wheelbase Ford stationwagon platform and shared the trim and features of the Rangerand Pacer models.

The Edsel offered several innovative features, among which wereits "rolling dome" speedometer, warning lights for such conditionsas low oil level, parking brake engaged, and engineoverheating,[5] as well as its Push-button Teletouch transmissionshifting system in the center of the steering wheel (a conventionalcolumn-shift automatic was also available at a reduced price). Other Edsel design innovations includedergonomically designed controls for the driver and self-adjusting brakes (which Edsel claimed as a first forthe industry, even though Studebaker had pioneered them earlier in the decade). The Edsel also offeredsuch advanced safety features as seat belts (which were available at extra cost as optional equipment onmany other makes) and child-proof rear door locks that could only be opened with the key.[6]

Unlike Ford and Mercury, the Edsel Division never had anydedicated manufacturing plants. All Edsels were built in Ford orMercury plants on a contract basis.

In the first year, 63,110 Edsels were sold in the United States; anadditional 4,935 units were sold in Canada. Though belowexpectations, this nevertheless represented the second-largestlaunch for any new car brand to date, exceeded only by thePlymouth introduction in 1928.

For the 1959 model year, Edsel fielded only two series, the Ford-based Ranger and Corsair. The larger Mercury-based Edsels werediscontinued. Replacing the Pacer as the top-line Ford-basedEdsel, the new Corsair was offered as a two-door and four-doorhardtop, four-door sedan, and two-door convertible. The Ranger was sold as a two-door and four-doorhardtop, two-door and four-door sedan, and the Villager station wagon. In the 1959 model year, 44,891Edsels were sold in the U.S. An additional 2,505 units were sold in Canada.

For the 1960 model year, Edsel's last, only 2,846 vehicles were produced. All but the pilot cars wereassembled at the Louisville, Kentucky, assembly plant. The marque was reduced to the Ranger series ofsedans, hardtops, and convertibles and the Villager station wagons. The Edsel shared a basic chassis, glass,and major sheet metal with the 1960 Ford Galaxie and Fairlane models that were built on the Louisvilleassembly line with it. But the Edsel had its own unique grille, hood, and four upright oblong taillights,along with its side sweep spears. The Edsel's front and rear bumpers were also unique. The 1960 Edselrode on a 120-inch wheelbase, compared to the concurrent Ford's 119-inch span, and it also used adifferent rear suspension. The cars did, however, share engines and transmissions.

The 1960 Edsel Ranger four-door hardtop model used the thin-pillar Ford Fairlane four-door sedanroofline, as opposed to the "square" roofline used on the corresponding Ford four-door hardtop, whichwas exclusive to the Galaxie line. The Galaxie four-door hardtop's rear door trim panel, however, wasfitted to the Ranger. This gave the Edsel four-door hardtop a unique body style that was never offered onany 1960 Ford.

End of the Edsel

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1960 Edsel Ranger sedan

Ford announced the end of the Edsel program on Thursday,November 19, 1959. However, production continued until late inNovember, with the final tally of 2,846 1960 models. Total Edselsales were approximately 116,000, less than half the company'sprojected break-even point. The company lost $350 million, or theequivalent of $2,756,449,772 in 2013 dollars[7], on the venture.[8]

Only 118,287 Edsels were built, including 7,440 produced inOntario, Canada. By U.S. auto industry standards, theseproduction figures were dismal, particularly when spread across arun of three model years.

On Friday, November 20, United Press International's (UPI) wire service reported that book values forused Edsels had declined by as much as $400 based on condition and age immediately following the Fordpress release. In some newspaper markets, dealers scrambled to renegotiate newspaper advertisingcontracts 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 purchased1960 models (and carryover 1959 models) prior to the announcement, valued at $300 to $400 toward thepurchase of new Ford products to offset the decreased values. The company also issued credits to dealersfor stock unsold or received following the announcement.

Edsel and its failuresHistorians have advanced several theories in an effort to explain the Edsel's failure. Popular culture oftenfaults the car’s styling. Consumer Reports has alleged that poor workmanship was the Edsel's chiefproblem. Marketing experts hold the Edsel up as a supreme example of the corporate culture’s failure tounderstand American consumers. Business analysts cite the weak internal support for the product insideFord’s executive offices. According to author and Edsel scholar Jan Deutsch, the Edsel was "the wrongcar at the wrong time."

"The aim was right, but the target moved"

The Edsel is most notorious for being a marketing disaster. Indeed, the name "Edsel" became synonymouswith the "real-life" commercial failure of the predicted "perfect" product or product idea. Similar ill-fatedproducts have often been colloquially referred to as "Edsels". Since the Edsel program was such a debacle,it gave marketers a vivid illustration of how not to market a product. The principal reason the Edsel'sfailure is so infamous is that Ford had absolutely no idea that the failure was going to happen until after thevehicles had been designed and built, the dealerships established and $400 million invested in the product'sdevelopment and launch. Incredibly, Ford had presumed to invest $400 million (well over $4.0 billion inthe 21st century) in developing a new product line without attempting to determine whether such aninvestment would be wise or prudent.

The prerelease advertising campaign promoted the car as having "more YOU ideas", and the teaseradvertisements in magazines only revealed glimpses of the car through a highly blurred lens or wrapped inpaper or under tarps. In fact, Ford had never “test marketed” the vehicle or its unique styling concepts withpotential, “real” buyers prior to either the vehicle’s initial development decision or the vehicle’s shipmentsto its new dealerships. Edsels were shipped to the dealerships undercover and remained wrapped on thedealer lots.

The public also had difficulty understanding what the Edsel was, primarily because Ford made the mistakeof pricing the Edsel within Mercury’s market price segment. Theoretically, the Edsel was conceived to fitinto Ford’s marketing plans as the brand slotted in between Ford and Mercury. However, when the car

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debuted in 1958, its least expensive model—the Ranger—was priced within $73 of the most expensiveand best-trimmed Ford sedan and $63 less than Mercury’s base Medalist model. In its mid-range pricing,Edsel's Pacer and Corsair models were more expensive than their Mercury counterparts. Edsel's top-of-the-line Citation four-door hardtop model was the only model priced to correctly compete with Mercury’s mid-range Montclair Turnpike Cruiser model, as illustrated in the chart below.

1958 Ford Motor Company Pricing (FOB) StructureFORD EDSEL MERCURY LINCOLN

Continental $4,802–$4,927

Capri $4,803–$4,951

Premiere $4,334–$4,798

Park Lane $4,280–$4,405

Citation $3,500–$3,766 Montclair $3,236–$3,597

Corsair $3,311–$3,390

Pacer $2,700–$2,993 Monterey $2,652–$3,081

Fairlane 500 $2,410–$3,138 Ranger $2,484–$2,643 Medalist $2,547–$2,617

Fairlane $2,196–$2,407

Custom 300 $1,977–$2,119

Not only was the Edsel competing against its own sister divisions, but model for model, buyers did notunderstand what the car was supposed to be—a step above the Mercury, or a step below it.

After its introduction to the public, the Edsel did not live up to its preproduction publicity, even though itdid offer many new features, such as self-adjusting rear brakes and automatic lubrication. While Ford'smarket research had indicated that these and other features would make the "E" car attractive to them ascar buyers, the Edsel's selling prices exceeded what buyers were willing to pay. Upon seeing the price fora base model, many potential buyers simply left the dealerships. Other buyers were frightened by the pricefor a fully equipped top-of-the-line model.

The wrong car at the wrong time

One of the external forces working against the Edsel was the onset of an economic recession in late1957.[2][4]

Compounding Edsel's problems was the fact that the car had to compete with well-established nameplatesfrom the Big Three, such as Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick, Dodge and DeSoto, as well as with its owninternal sister division Mercury, which itself had never been a stellar sales success. To make matters stillworse, as a new make, Edsel had established no brand loyalty with buyers, as its competing makes had.

Even if the 1957–1958 recession had not occurred, the Edsel would have been entering a shrinkingmarketplace. In the early 1950s, when the "E" car was in its earliest stages of development, FordExecutive Vice President Ernest R. Breech had successfully convinced Ford management that themedium-priced market segment offered great untapped opportunity. At the time, Breech's assessment wasbasically correct; in 1955, Pontiac, Buick and Dodge had sold a combined two million units.[9] But by thefall of 1957, when the Edsel was introduced, the market had changed drastically. Independentmanufacturers in the medium-priced field were drifting toward insolvency. Hoping to reverse its losses,Packard acquired Studebaker, which was also in financial difficulty. The board decided to stop production

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under the venerable Packard badge after 1958. The 1957-58 Packards were little more than Studebakersbadged as Packards. 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. Chrysler saw sales of its DeSoto marque drop dramaticallyfrom its 1957 high by over 50% in 1958. When DeSoto sales failed to rebound during the 1959 modelyear, plans were made in Highland Park to discontinue the nameplate during its 1961 model year run.

Indeed, sales for most car manufacturers, even those not introducing new models, were down. Amongdomestic makes, only Rambler and Lincoln produced more cars in 1958 than in 1957. Consumers startedbuying more fuel-efficient automobiles, particularly Volkswagen Beetles, which were selling at ratesexceeding 50,000 a year[10] in the U.S. from 1957 onward. Edsels were equipped with powerful enginesand offered brisk acceleration, but they also required premium fuel, and their fuel economy, especially incity 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 tofill the gap between Ford and Mercury. By 1958, consumers had become fascinated with economy cars,and a large car like the Edsel was seen as too expensive to buy and own. When Ford introduced theFalcon in 1960, it sold over 400,000 units in its first year. In a little-noted irony, Ford's investment inexpanded plant capacity and additional tooling for the Edsel helped make the company's subsequentsuccess with the Falcon possible.[11]

By 1965, the market for medium-priced cars had recovered, and this time, Ford had the right car: TheGalaxie 500 LTD. The LTD's success led Chevrolet to introduce the Caprice as a mid-1965 upscale trimoption on its top-of-the-line Impala 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 thevehicle after Edsel Ford was proposed early in its development. However, the Ford family stronglyopposed its use. Henry Ford II declared that he did not want his father's good name spinning around onthousands of hubcaps. Ford also ran internal studies to decide on a name, and even dispatched employeesto stand outside movie theaters to poll audiences as to what their feelings were on several ideas. Theyreached no conclusions.

Ford retained the advertising firm Foote, Cone & Belding to come up with a name. When the agencyissued its report, citing over 6,000 possibilities, Ford's Ernest Breech commented that they had been hiredto develop a name, not 6,000. Early favorites for the name brand included Citation, Corsair, Pacer, andRanger, which were ultimately chosen for the vehicle's series names.

David Wallace, manager of marketing research, and coworker Bob Young unofficially invited freethinkerpoet Marianne Moore for input and suggestions. Moore's unorthodox contributions (among them "UtopianTurtletop", "Pastelogram", "Turcotinga" and "Mongoose Civique") were meant to stir creative thoughtand were not officially authorized or contractual in nature.[9]

At the behest of Ernest Breech, who was chairing a board meeting in the absence of Henry Ford II, the carwas finally called "Edsel" in honor of Edsel Ford, former company president and son of Henry Ford.

Reliability

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The distinctive center grilleof the 1958 Edsel

Even though the Edsel shared its basic technology with other Ford products, a number of issues causedreliability problems, mostly with the 1958 models. Reports of mechanical flaws with the cars surfaced, dueprimarily to lack of quality control and confusion of parts with other Ford models. Ford never dedicated astand-alone factory solely to Edsel model production. The first-year (1958) Edsels were assembled in bothMercury and Ford factories. The longer-wheelbase models, Citation and Corsair, were produced alongsidethe Mercury products, while the shorter-wheelbase models, Pacer and Ranger, were produced alongsidethe Ford products. Workers assembling Fords and Mercurys often found the task of assembling theoccasional Edsel that moved down the line burdensome, since it required them to change tools and partsbins, then switch back to resume assembling Fords or Mercurys after completing assembly on the Edsel.The workers were also expected to accommodate Edsel assembly with no adjustment in their hourly quotaof Ford and Mercury production. Consequently, the desired quality control of the different Edsel modelsproved difficult to achieve, even when the Fords and Mercurys were satisfactorily assembled on the samelines. Many Edsels actually left the assembly lines unfinished. Uninstalled parts were placed in the trunksalong with installation instructions for dealership mechanics, some of whom never installed the additionalparts at all. Some dealers did not even receive all the parts.[2]

In the May 1958 issue of Popular Mechanics, 16% of Edsel owners reported poor workmanship, withcomplaints ranging from faulty welding to power steering failure. In its test car, Popular Mechanics testedfor these problems and noted others, such as the trunk leaking badly in a storm and the odometer showingfewer than actual miles traveled.[12]

Design controversies

The Edsel's most memorable design feature was its trademark"horsecollar" or toilet seat grille, which was quite distinct from other carsof the period. According to a popular joke at the time, the Edsel"resembled an Oldsmobile sucking a lemon".[13] Some have speculatedthat the car failed to sell because its grille resembled a vulva.[14] A crudejest that referenced the genital resemblance of the Edsel front grill was 'Ifyou put some hair around it, you'd have an Ethel'.

The Edsel's front-end ensemble as it eventually appeared bore littleresemblance, if any, to the original concept. Roy Brown, the original chiefdesigner on the Edsel project, had envisioned a slender, almost delicateopening in the center. Engineers, fearing engine cooling problems, vetoedthe intended design, which led to the now-infamous "horsecollar."

The vertical grille theme, while improved for the 1959 models, wasdiscontinued for the 1960 models, which were similar to Ford models ofthe same year, although coincidentally, the new front-end design was verysimilar to that of the 1959 Pontiac.

The Teletouch pushbutton automatic transmission selector was anextremely complex feature. It proved problematic in part because thesteering wheel hub, where the pushbuttons were located, was thetraditional location of the horn button. Some drivers inadvertently shiftedgears when they intended to sound the horn. While the Edsel was fast, the location of the transmissionpushbuttons was not conducive to street racing. There were also jokes among stoplight drag racers aboutthe buttons: D for Drag, L for Leap, and R for Race (instead of Drive, Low and Reverse). The controlwires for Teletouch were also routed too close to the exhaust manifold, which often caused unpredictablemovement of the selector mechanism.

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Complaints also surfaced about the taillights on 1958-model Edsel station wagons. The lenses wereboomerang-shaped and placed in a reverse fashion. At a distance, they appeared as arrows pointed in theopposite 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 aunique appearance from the rear, because corporate management had insisted that no sheetmetal could bechanged. Only the taillights and trim could be touched. There was room for separate turn signals inaddition to the boomerangs, but the U.S. industry had never supplied them up to that point, and they wereprobably never seriously considered.

Mechanics of the time were wary of the 410-cubic-inch Edsel "E-475" engine because its perfectly-flatcylinder heads lacked distinct combustion chambers. The heads were set at an angle, with "roof" pistonsforming both a squish zone on one side and a combustion chamber on the other. Combustion thus tookplace 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 havehelped minimize carbon buildup, it was also unfamiliar to many mechanics.

Company politics and the role of Robert McNamara

An intriguing aspect of the Edsel story is that it provides a case study in how company politics can kill anidea. While the car and Ford’s planning of the car are the most often cited reasons for its failure, internalFord Motor Company memoranda indicate that the Edsel may actually have been a victim of dissensionwithin Ford's management ranks.

Following World War II, Henry Ford II retained Robert McNamara as one of the "Whiz Kids" to help turnFord 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 wascommitted to Ford to the almost total exclusion of the company's other products. Thus, McNamara hadlittle 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 Edselcars, and moved to consolidate Lincoln, Mercury, and Edsel into the M-E-L division. McNamara saw to itthat 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 bodiesused in 1958. Instead, the Edsel would share the Ford platform and use Ford’s inner body structure for1959. In 1960, the Edsel emerged as little more than a Ford with different trim. McNamara also moved toreduce Edsel’s advertising budget for 1959, and for 1960, he virtually eliminated it. The final blow came inthe fall of 1959, when McNamara convinced Henry Ford II and the rest of Ford's management structurethat the Edsel was doomed and that it was time to end production before the Edsel bled the company dry.McNamara also attempted to discontinue the Lincoln nameplate, but that effort ended with Elwood Engel'snow classic redesign of 1961. McNamara left Ford when he was named Secretary of Defense by PresidentJohn F. Kennedy.

During the 1964 presidential election, Republican nominee Barry Goldwater blamed McNamara, thenSecretary of Defense, for the Edsel's failure. Eventually, Ford's former executive vice president Ernest R.Breech, who was a financial contributor to Goldwater, wrote 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, thecharge 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 wheneverthe accusation was made.[15]

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The Edsel CometThe scheduled 1960 Edsel Comet compact car was hastily rebranded as the Comet and assigned toLincoln-Mercury dealerships as a stand-alone product. Based on the new-for-1960 Ford Falcon, the Cometwas an instant success, selling more cars in its first year than all models of Edsel produced during thatmarque's entire three-year run. Styling touches seen in the Comets sold to the public that allude to beingpart of the Edsel family of models included the instrument cluster, rear tailfins (though canted diagonally),and the taillight shape (the lens is visually similar to that used on the 1960 Edsel, and even retained theembossed "E" code). The Comet's keys were even shaped like Edsel keys, with the center bar removedfrom the "E" to form a "C."

For 1962, Ford officially assigned the Comet to the Mercury brand. The Mercury name does not appearanywhere on the 1960 and 1961 models.

TodayMore than half a century after its spectacular failure, the Edsel has become a highly collectible item amongvintage car hobbyists. Fewer than 10,000 Edsels survive and are considered valuable collectors’ items. Amint 1958-1960 convertible may sell for over $100,000.[16]

While the design was considered "weird' or "too different" fifty years ago, many other car manufacturers(such as Pontiac, Jaguar, BMW, Subaru, Lancia and Alfa Romeo) have employed similar vertical grillessuccessfully in their car designs. Many of the Edsel's features, such as self-adjusting brakes, gear selectionby steering wheel buttons, etc., which were considered "too impractical" in the late 1950s, are nowstandard features of sports cars.

Even if the Edsel had survived beyond the early 1960s, it is far from certain that the brand would havelasted into the modern day. Chrysler discontinued the DeSoto brand at almost exactly the same time,Chrysler's announcement of the DeSoto's discontinuation coming only nine days after Ford'sannouncement of the Edsel's discontinuation. While the market for medium-priced cars would recover fora time, they would eventually be squeezed out due to Ford and Chevrolet having vehicles moving up intothe medium-priced segment. Meanwhile, Dodge would move down into the low-priced field, which hadtraditionally been occupied by Plymouth. Although Oldsmobile was discontinued in 2004 in an unrelatedmove, the final death knell for the traditional domestic medium-priced brands was the Automotive industrycrisis of 2008–2010. As a result of this crisis, General Motors and Chrysler filed for chapter 11bankruptcy. This development saw the end of the Pontiac and Saturn brands by GM, while Ford's ownMercury division was discontinued in early 2011 despite Ford being in a healthy financial position.Mercury had been consistently rumored to be in danger from the early 1980s and in 1999 then-Ford CEOJacques Nasser wanted to cut the brand, seeing it as an unnecessary expenditure upon discovering that itsbuyer demographic was nearly identical to that of the Ford brand. This would be the explanation for thebrand's demise given by Ford upon its 2011 discontinuation. By the 2012 model year, Dodge and Buickwere the only traditionally mid-priced divisions still in production, with Dodge having taken Plymouth'sold spot within Chrysler and Buick arguably surviving only due to the brand's success in China.[17]

Plastic scale models of all three Edsel years were produced by AMT, in its familiar 1/25 scale. Bothpromotional and kit versions were sold. These command premium prices today, especially the rare 1959and 1960 models. The 1958 Pacer hardtop was re-issued as a totally new and much more detailed kit byAMT 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, 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

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also produced a detailed 1/43 scale diecast of the Citation convertible in several color combinations. TheFranklin Mint produced highly detailed 1/24 scale and 1/43 scale diecast models of the 1958 Citationconvertible. The Danbury Mint produced a 1/24 scale diecast replica of the 1958 Bermuda station wagon,complete with accurately detailed wood trim.

NASCARDespite the Edsel's lack of sales success, several of the cars were nevertheless raced in NASCAR's GrandNational series in the 1950s.

References

1. ^ "1959 Edsel Ads" (http://www.edsel.net/ads59.html). edsel.net. Retrieved 7 July 2012.2. ^ a b c d Warnock, C Gayle (1980). The Edsel Affair. Pro West.3. ^ "This is the Edsel (advertisement)" (http://books.google.com/books?

id=tVYEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA156&pg=PA90#v=onepage&f=true). Life. 1957-11-11. pp. 90–91. RetrievedFebruary 22, 2013.

4. ^ a b Flory, Jr., J. "Kelly" (2008). American Cars, 1946-1959 Every Model Every Year. McFarland &Company, Inc., Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7864-3229-5.

5. ^ "Directory Index: Edsel/1958_Edsel/1958_Edsel_Foldout"(http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Edsel/1958_Edsel/1958_Edsel_Foldout/1958%20Edsel%20Foldout-03.html). Oldcarbrochures.com. Retrieved 2011-11-08.

6. ^ "Directory Index: Edsel/1958_Edsel/1958_Edsel_Sell-O-Graph"(http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Edsel/1958_Edsel/1958_Edsel_Sell-O-Graph/1958%20Edsel%20Sell-O-Graph-04a.html). Oldcarbrochures.com. Retrieved 2011-11-08.

7. ^ Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–2013(http://www.minneapolisfed.org/community_education/teacher/calc/hist1800.cfm). Federal Reserve Bank ofMinneapolis. Retrieved March 31, 2013.

8. ^ Collier, Peter; Horowitz, David (1987). The Fords: An American Epic. Summit Books. p. 263.ISBN 9780671540937.

9. ^ a b The Auto Editors of Consumer Guide (2006). Encyclopedia of American Cars: A Comprehensive Historyof the American Automakers From 1930 to Today. Publications International. p. 374.

10. ^ "HowStuffWorks "1955–1959 Volkswagen Beetle"" (http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1945-1959-volkswagen-beetle4.htm). Auto.howstuffworks.com. Retrieved 2009-05-17.

11. ^ The Auto Editors of Consumer Guide (2006). Encyclopedia of American Cars: A Comprehensive History ofthe American Automakers From 1930 to Today. Publications International, Ltd. p. 375.

12. ^ "Edsel Power, Handling, Are Tops, Say Owners" (http://books.google.com/books?id=5t0DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA90&dq=Popular+Mechanics+Edsel+Power,+Handling+Are+Tops,+Say+Owners). Popular Mechanics 109 (3): 90–95. March 1958. Retrieved 7 July 2012.

13. ^ "Autos: The $250 Million Flop" (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,826017,00.html). Time.30 November 1959. Retrieved 2011-01-30.

14. ^ Neil, Dan (2007-09-07). "The 50 Worst Cars of All Time – 1958 Ford Edsel"(http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1658545_1657867_1657781,00.html). time.com.Retrieved 7 July 2012.

15. ^ McNamara, Robert (1995). In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam. Random House. p. 150.ISBN 9780679767497.

16. ^ View all comments that have been posted about this article. "The Flop Heard Round the World"(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/03/AR2007090301419_pf.html).Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2009-05-17.

17. ^ "Buick's New Baby: Due For U.S. In Late 2011 – With A New Name | Car News Blog at Motor Trend"(http://blogs.motortrend.com/6670698/asia/buicks-new-baby-due-for-us-in-late-2011-with-a-new-name/index.html#comments). Blogs.motortrend.com. 2010-04-23. Retrieved 2010-09-13.

8/20/13 Edsel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edsel 11/11

Further readingDeutsch, Jan (1976). The Edsel and Corporate Responsibility. Yale University Press.Dicke, Tom. "The Edsel: Forty Years as a Symbol of Failure," Journal of Popular Culture, June2010, Vol. 43 Issue 3, pp 486–502Wallace, David (Second Quarter 1975). "Naming the Edsel". Automotive Quarterly Magazine XIII(2): 182–191.Barron, James (2007-08-01). "To Ford, a Disaster. To Edsel Owners, Love.". The New York Times.The Auto Editors of Consumer Guide (2006). Encyclopedia of American Cars: A ComprehensiveHistory of the American Automakers From 1930 to Today. Publications International, Ltd.Lacey, Robert (1988). FORD The Men and the Machine. Little Brown and Company.

External linksEdsel.com (http://www.edsel.com) History, specifications, resources for owners.Smith Motor Company (http://www.edsel.net) Virtual Edsel DealerThe International Edsel Club (http://www.internationaledsel.com/)

Famous Ford Flops (http://www.thearticlewriter.com/famous-ford-flops.htm)Edsels in the Media (http://www.edsel.com/pages/edslfilm.htm) Listing of Edsel references inpopular culture.Edsel Promo Time (http://www.edsel.com/promo/menu.htm) A Web site devoted to plastic dealerpromotional models of Edsels.Washington Post article about the Edsel (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/03/AR2007090301419_pf.html)The Edsel Tinsmith (http://edsel.net/tin/) A catalog of tin toy Edsels that were manufactured in Japan"All About Ford's Luxury Loaded Edsel." (http://books.google.com/books?id=Ci0DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA98&dq=popular+science+1930&hl=en&sa=X&ei=dWYBT7Rch9aBB-bn6asC&ved=0CEcQ6AEwBThu#v=onepage&q=popular%20science%201930&f=true)Popular Science, September 1957, pp. 98–103/282-283.

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