Join The Save The Edsel Challenge

[Kodiak Island Modeler]

Here's the concept;

Save the Edsel Challenge

Imagine that it's mid 1959 and you're a well known car designer. You've been called into the corporate offices at Ford Motor Company, and are just about to have a monumental task offered to you.

The conversation might go something like this;

"Ford Motor Company introduced the Edsel late in 1957 as a 1958 model. Extreme research and development went into the car. It should have been a success, but at introduction time, the market dynamics had all changed. What should have been a Lion has already turned into a Turkey. There are some issues with quality, but the other companies are also experiencing quality problems. When introduced there was a recession in progress and many were concerned about the size and economy of the car, and others were confused about the myriad of models which mirrored those of other Ford products. Why should somebody buy from an unknown company when they can purchase what is essentially the same car in one of our other makes? Of course, there remains the issue of the love it/hate it style. The variables affecting the the future of the Edsel are many.

No company wants to have one of its product go through history as an example of failure. Since the car has only sold in limited quantity, FMC has chosen to market it in the future as a limited production vehicle. You're skills are known and respected throughout the industry and we're asking you to help save the Edsel and its reputation. You'll have a clean slate for design and engineering, and you can chose what genre such as sports car, personal luxury, etc, that you want to follow. You're vehicle must be realistic and fit the times. We don't want some strange futuristic dream car. We want something that the public will appreciate and respect. What we're asking for is a limited production 1961 Edsel.

Do you have what it takes to save the Edsel and will you accept the challenge?"

You may choose your own concepts. I could see some going back to challenge the Corvette, while others might take a full out luxury aimed at the Imperial, still others might want to beat out the Riviera for personal luxury, or even get a 3 year jump on Ford's own Mustang, and there's always the compact approach. The only limitations would be to stay in the themes of the era and keep Edsel styling, resulting in a vehicle that might have been seen in a new car showroom.

I thought about getting more input into this, but why get caught up into a bunch of details and rules, and I was going to wait until Fall to start this, but I'm going to go ahead and start it now with a year to build it in. You may enter more than once. Completion date is 15 April 2015 (ish). Go forth and have fun and let us see what you think the 1961 Edsel should have looked like.

Edited April 17, 2014 by Kodiak Island Modeler