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Brandon
Classics
1990 Defoor Ave N.W.
Atlanta, GA
30318-2976, US
Phone - (404) 350-0558
Toll Free - (866) 297-2331
Fax - (561) 471-9778
sales@brandonclassics.com
A Short History of the Edsel
Introduced in the fall of '57 for the '58 season, the Edsel came into the
world with a big fanfare and lots of hoopla. 2.5 million people rushed to
showrooms to see it.
Trouble was, few of them bought.
The car, named after Edsel Ford, the only son of the company's founder, Henry
Ford, was different. Not everybody liked it.
Priced at $2300 for a 2 door Ranger Sedan to $3489 for a Citation Convertible,
the design of Roy A. Brown, Jr. debuted in an economic recession. Car sales were
down.
After three model years and just 110,847 Edsels later, Ford Motor Company threw
in the towel, and went about trying to forget about the whole ordeal.
Today less than 6000 Edsels survive, and each one is a cherished classic. The
1958 Edsel advertising said it best - "Once you've seen it, you'll never forget
it. Once you've owned it, you'll never want to change."
A Car Is Born
On September 4, 1957 the Edsel made its debut in showrooms across the country. The launch came on the heels of an extensive, expensive and exceptionally successful marketing campaign that had everybody talking about this mysterious new automobile. Months earlier ads began running that simply pictured the hood ornament, underscored with "The Edsel is Coming." Another ad depicted a covered car carrier with the same tag line. Meanwhile, the company went to great lengths to keep the car’s features and appearance a secret. Dealers were required to store the vehicles undercover, and could be fined or lose their franchise if they showed the cars before the release date. With all the hype it’s no surprise that consumers were eager to see what the fuss was about.
When September 4th rolled around consumers flocked to the dealerships in record numbers. For a day or so Edsel executives were thrilled—until they realized that people weren’t buying, they were only coming to look. "The company expected to sell a daily minimum of 400 Edsels through 1,200 dealers," says Gayle Warnock, director of public relations for the Edsel launch and author of The Edsel Affair. "That was the pencil pushers’ requirement for a successful launch. We never made it," he laments.
"The public thought there was something radically new coming out," reminds Bob Ellsworth, owner and operator of edsel.com. "But it was really just another 1958 [model] car. It had more gizmos and gadgets on it but it wasn’t anything that lived up to the hype." In retrospect, Warnock realizes that Edsel executives didn’t take the most sensible approach to marketing the car. "I learned that a company should never allow its spokespersons to build up enthusiasm for an unseen, unproven product," he says.
"There were cases where cars that weren’t exactly complete showed up at dealerships. They would have a list on the steering wheel saying which parts were missing."
With early sales unexpectedly sluggish, Edsel executives began to worry. Even generally positive reviews from the media weren’t enough to soothe them. "The looks and styling were lauded by the press when the car first came out," says Phil Skinner, a respected Edsel historian. "The front end design was the most prominent feature. If you consider other cars from the mid-1950s, they all looked somewhat alike. Basically it was two headlights and a horizontal grille. By having the big impact ring in the middle—what we now call a horse collar—it really set the Edsel apart," he continues.
According to Mike Brogan, president of the International Edsel Club, creating a unique appearance was one of the goals of the Edsel’s chief designer, Roy Brown Jr. "He set out to create a car that was instantly recognizable from a block in any direction," says Brogan.
Inevitably, not all the reviewers applauded the unique new look. Some reviews were downright nasty. "One member of the media called it ‘an Oldsmobile sucking a lemon’ and another called it ‘a Pontiac pushing a toilet seat’," recalls Ellsworth. Even some of the positive reviews took a wait-and-see attitude, openly wondering about the public’s reaction to a huge, gas-guzzling vehicle with such distinctive styling.
Does Size Really Matter?
The origins of the Edsel can be traced back to 1948 when Ford decided it needed another line to compete against General Motors (GM). After all, GM had Chevrolet, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Buick and Cadillac—a family of cars where one could start out with an economical Chevy and progress up the line to a Cadillac. Similarly, Chrysler had Plymouth, Dodge, DeSoto, Chrysler and Imperial. Ford, however, was limited to Ford, Mercury and Lincoln, and was distressed that consumers were stepping outside the family between Ford and Mercury.
As you’d expect, the Edsel was designed to meet the needs of a particular target audience. "When the Edsel was first developed it looked like big was the way to go," says Ellsworth, "but by 1958 people were thinking more along the lines of smaller economy cars. The public’s interest in huge, big fin cars with glitzy chrome was just about over," he notes.
To make matters worse, the company based its sales expectations on 1954-56 figures, a time when the auto market was going straight up. "They assumed that trend was going to continue," says Brogan. "They believed that by the 1958 model year they wouldn’t be able to build them fast enough."
It’s the Economy, Stupid
The high sales expectations became an issue when the economy slumped. "The projection was that 200,000 units would be produced the first year," says Skinner. "That would have represented about five percent of the total market, which was not too outrageous. However, 1958 was a horrible year for the automobile industry," he continues. "Only two cars—the Ford Thunderbird and a compact called the Rambler American—saw an increase over their 1957 production."
Two more subtle economic issues also weakened the Edsel’s early sales. At the time, new models typically came out in November for the following model year. However, the September launch meant that the cars reflected 1958 pricing, but were being sold against everyone else’s 1957 models. With dealers discounting their 1957’s (trying to clear them off the lots in anticipation of next year’s models), the Edsel looked expensive by comparison.
Compounding this problem was the fact that Edsel pushed its biggest, most luxurious and expensive model first—a tough sell against end-of-year specials in a recession year. Recalls Skinner: "Edsel would have done well to bring out the Pacer and Ranger series and promoted them as ‘You can buy this for just a few dollars more than a Ford, Plymouth or Chevrolet. You’re buying next year’s model today.’ And then brought in, ‘If you’re looking for the tops in luxury, here’s our Citation and Corsair.’" Towards the end of the 1958 model year the company began promoting how inexpensive it was to own a bottom-line ’58 Edsel, but the damage was already done.
Without an established customer base it’s no surprise Edsel sold only 64,000 units in its first year. And by that time, the company’s warts had really started to show.
Email: sales@brandonclassics.com
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