A Masterpiece of Failure

            It was supposed to be a grand new step for the Ford Motor Corporation but instead its name became a symbol of utter failure, not only in the automotive industry but also in other fields of endeavor. It was the Edsel.

            Begun in the mid-1950s as a new mid-range line of cars when Ford decided to step the Lincoln (and Continental) up the luxury scale, what was originally known as the “E Car” or experimental car inside the company, was later named for founder Henry Ford’s only son Edsel. Edsel had served as president of Ford from 1919 until his death in 1943.

            When Ford announced the coming of the Edsel division, they did so with huge fanfare that included a star studded television special with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, The Edsel Show, which premiered in Oct, 1957, just as the new “stand alone” car line was rolling out its initial line of 1958 models. Originally sold through a network of just under 1200 dealers nationwide, the Edsel had some unique styling and a few innovative gizmos. Still, while the public was being told that this was a wholly new and state-of-the-art automobile, the truth was that many of its pieces came from other cars already rolling off Ford lines.

            Despite the huge marketing push the car buying public didn’t want to have much to do with these cars. While the car had some unique features for the time such as various warning lights for such things as low oil, engine overheating and to alert the driver that the parking break was on, some of its other grand options didn’t turn out as well.

            Perhaps the biggest early failure, other than the styling, was the Push-button Teletouch transmission shifting system. This was literally a push button automatic transmission that, unlike some other push button transmissions at the time and later which had the buttons on the dash board, the Edsel’s buttons were smack dab in the middle of the steering wheel. The Teletouch transmission system proved to be so problematic that it was pulled from production after the 1958 models, replaced with a more traditional steering column style.

            By Nov. 1959 the writing was on the wall and Ford announced that they were closing the Edsel brand after selling a grand total of 118,217 cars. Ford lost roughly $350 million on this little experiment, a figure that would equal nearly $3 billion in today’s economy.

            Today you still find some Edsels riding around and at car shows. It’s estimated that fewer than 10,000 Edsels survive with some mint condition models fetching over $100,000. I found this 1959 Corsair at a car show this past season. This is a perfect example of a mint condition Edsel. The Corsair in 1959 was their top of the line model that cost a little under $3400 new.  While I didn’t get a chance to talk with the owners they did have a sign printed up and displayed that outlined some interesting things about the car. There’s no doubt that this surviving Edsel is a beautiful car. Well, maybe not by conventional automotive standards but without a doubt it is a masterpiece in failure.