Fords experiment with edsel - Just another Journalhome blog- JournalHome.com

Just another Journalhome blog

10/24/2014 - Fords experiment with edsel

Posted in Unspecified

In the mid-1950s, Ford management closely watched the success of GMs Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Buick Divisions, and it came to the conclusion that a gap in the medium-priced segment existed between its Ford lineup and its Mercury offerings, which were looked upon as junior Lincolns.

Originally, the Edsel rode on its own 124-inch wheelbase and was offered with a choice of two V-8s: a 5.9-liter unit in the entry-level Pacer and Ranger, and a 6.7-liter V-8 in the upscale Citation and Corsair.

The four model names were at one time each considered as a name for the division, but Ford president Ernie Breech insisted on calling the car Edsel in honor of Henry Ford's son, who had died in 1943.

Styling on the 1958 Edselwas controversial. It sported a horse-collar upright grille at a time when virtually all grilles were horizontal, and rear slit taillamps, along with a heavy dose of chrome accents all around the body. Launched during an economic downturn, the Edsel was also beset with quality problems.

Sales of the car, which had prices ranging from $2,519 for a 2-door Ranger to $3,801 for the Citation convertible, were disappointing at 60,000, given that the company expected to sell 200,000 per year. By January 1958, as a result of the poor launch, Ford abandoned the idea of a separate division for the car and merged operations with Lincoln-Mercury.

In 1959 only 44,000 Edsel's were sold. The next year only the Ranger model was offered and that was essentially a Ford with a different grille and badges. The death of the Edsel was symptomatic of the times.

The recession had deeply hurt the middle class, causing consumers to question the need for bigger, larger, flashier new cars every year.

Perhaps Detroit had gone too far, they reasoned, closing their pocketbooks to Sloan's ideal of a car for every purse and purpose.

Imports were gaining in popularity; the Volkswagen Beetle had begun to make its presence felt. The retirement of Harley Earl, the passing of Packard, and Ford's monumental failure with theEdselwere signs that the times were changing.

Share |