Vintage 1950s Cars

The Edsel

              It was an automobile brand that was planned, developed, and manufactured by the Ford Motor Company from 1958–1960. Ford had expected to make significant inroads into the market share of both General Motors and Chrysler and close the gap between itself and GM in the domestic American automotive market. Ford invested heavily in a year-long teaser campaign leading consumers to believe that the Edsel was the car of the future – an expectation it failed to meet. After it was unveiled to the public, it was considered to be unattractive, overpriced, and overhyped. The Edsel never gained popularity with contemporary American car buyers and sold poorly.

          Ford announced the end of the Edsel program on November 19, 1959. Production continued into 1960.

          There were several reasons for the failure:

The aim was right, but the target moved It was considered a marketing disaster.

The wrong car at the wrong time. One of the external forces working against the Edsel was the onset of an economic recession in late 1957.

Reliability Even though the Edsel shared its basic technology with other Ford products, a number of issues caused reliability problems, mostly with the 1958 models. 

Design controversies The Edsel's most memorable design feature was its trademark "horsecollar" or "toilet seat" grille, which was quite distinct from other cars of the period.

          Despite the Edsel's lack of sales success, several of the cars were nevertheless raced in NASCAR's Grand National series in the late 1950s.