The History of the Edsel

• The Edsel automobile was created by the Ford Motor Company from 1958 to 1960. Although heavily marketed to the public in various ways including the creation of The Edsel Show staring Bing Crosby, the car was very unpopular with the American public. With an investment of $250 million the car nearly bankrupted the Ford Motor Company.
  
  

Available Models

• Four models were created during the history of the Edsel. They were introduced in 1958. The Citation, which came in two-door convertible, two-door hardtop coupe, and four-door hardtop Sedan, rode on a 124-inch wheelbase with a V8 engine. The Corsair, which came in a two-door and four-door hardtop, also had a 124-inch wheelbase and a V8 engine. The Ranger and the Pacer, Edsel's smaller models, both came in two-door Hardtop and two-door Sedan as well as four-door hardtop and four-door sedan on a 118 wheelbase with a V8 engine under the hood. The Ranger and the Corsair were the only models offered in 1959; by 1960, the company eliminated all but the Ranger. Each model offered innovative features including ergonomically designed controls, self-adjusting brakes and a "rolling dome" speedometer which at the time were seen as impractical.
  
  

Production of the Edsel

• No specific manufacturing plants were geared toward making Edsels. All Edsels were created in Ford or Mercury plants. Many believe that creating the Edsel on the same line where other Ford and Mercury products were being created contributed to poor quality issues. Switching back and forth between different wiring, engines, trim and more made it a challenging manufacturing environment.
  
  

The Demise of the Edsel

• Numerous factors led to the demise of the Edsel. After a lot of hype over the car before its launch, the American public didn't feel that it was worth the money once it was introduced. They simply didn't want to pay the asking price. It was also noted that the car was shoddy filled with mechanical deficiencies because the factory line workers would have to change parts to create extra Edsels once they had met their quota of making Ford and Mercury vehicles. Factories often ran out of time and would place extra parts in the trunk for dealers to put together later. Even the name was an issue. People associated Edsel with "weasel" and "dead cell" making the car hard to sell.
  
  

The History Behind the Name

• The Edsel automobile was named after Edsel B. Ford, Henry Ford's son. A car enthusiast and president of Ford Motor Company by age 25, his strength lied in designing cars. His design, the Lincoln Continental Cabriolet, was noted as "the most admired and beautiful car ever produced in America."