What made the Edsel fail ?

[Greg Myers]

Was it the "Horse Collar" Grill or something else ?

The last one is from Canada

[OneTrickPony]

Imho, the styling was part of it but another part was timing. It is hard to bring out a new, more expensive model when the economy is taking a downturn. Ford just blew it all around.

[webestang]

 

Love those cars. My Mom and Pop got married the same year the Edsel came out. I asked him if he liked them and he said "Nope, I thought the Mercury was a better looking car for less money". Side note my Pop is and always has been a Ford guy.

[Ace-Garageguy]

1) Weird styling by "committee". Granted they look cool now, but back then, the styling was a joke.

2) Excessive reliance on "focus group" input, rather than relying on professional car-guy input.

Other examples of the genre:  

3) Lotsa quality control issues

4) Pricing competed with Ford's own models, potential buyers didn't know exactly WHAT it was supposed to be

Edited February 11, 2018 by Ace-Garageguy

[slusher]

I read an article that said a 58 Edsel was never reported stolen in the U.S.

 

[unclescott58]

26 minutes ago, slusher said:

I read an article that said a 58 Edsel was never reported stolen in the U.S.

 

I really doubt that's true.

As far as why Edsel failed. It's a long complicating story. There is not one central reason. There are many books on the subject. But, here are a few. The down turn in the economy as the car was being introduced. Styling. People dissatisfied with the direction American cars were going in general, leading to a big rise in import sales. Ford promising more than they delivered. They promised something radically new. And it was basically just another big mid-range car. Plus Bob McNamara, the president of Ford, disliked the car. And arranged things to make sure the car would not succeed. 

And I'm just giving you the shortest, briefest explanation of what happened. Like I said above, there are several good books on the subject. 

Edited February 11, 2018 by unclescott58

[Fat Brian]

From what I've heard it wasn't so much the styling as it was that it competed with other Ford and Mercury models so know one knew exactly what the car was supposed to be. Add to that an economic downturn and an unestablished model failed.

[slusher]

I have read many things but I have no idea what is true and what is not. Transmission problems,styling and the car being a lemon. I think the 58 looked great but the rest not so much.

[Pete J.]

In a nutshell, it was ugly even for the time.  It was expensive.  It competed in the Ford line up with Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln, slotted somewhere between Mercury and Lincoln not to mention competing with the real competition of GM and Chrysler.  People at the time were very brand loyal even within manufactures.  My Dad was a Olds man and my uncle was a Chevy man and they would never consider buying the others car. Try adding a entirely new brand to that mix!  Just didn't work. 

[Richard Bartrop]

 Hard to say. 1958 wasn't a great year for styling for for or GM or Ford.  Hide the grille, and it doesn't look all that different from the Chevy of the same year.  Others tried that mock grille idea before and after, with arguably better results, but to me, anyhow, it's not that bad.  In any case, they'd gotten rid of it for the 1960 model year.

Design by committee was certainly not unique to Edsel, and the more enthusiast driven designs; the Continental Mk II and the two seater T-Bird, didn't last any longer than the Edsel.  American Motors survived by going small and cheap.

Was it quality? None of the Big Three were any great shakes for quality in 1958.

I'm inclined to to think the Eisenhower Recession was the biggest factor.   Edsel failed, but so did the Continental division, and Lincoln was nearly shut down.  Desoto, Studebaker, Packard, Hudson and Nash were also lost to it.

Edited February 11, 2018 by Richard Bartrop

[slusher]

The Baby Birds out sold Corvette but the T-bird is gone and the Corvette is still around.

[1972coronet]

10 minutes ago, Richard Bartrop said:

 I'm inclined to to think the Eisenhower Recession was the biggest factor.   Edsel failed, but so did the Continental division, and Lincoln was nearly shut down.  Desoto, Studebaker, Packard, Hudson and Nash were also lost to it.

That seems to be the most realistic explanation : the carlines you mentioned were "merely" victims of the economic times .

[Snake45]

I sometimes see Edsels in crossword puzzles with the clue having some reference to "lemon." That's probably unfair. "Sales flop" would be a better clue for them. 

[Richard Bartrop]

3 hours ago, 1972coronet said:

That seems to be the most realistic explanation : the carlines you mentioned were "merely" victims of the economic times .

To be fair, they all had other problems, but if they didn't have the recession on top of everything else, maybe some of those problems may have been able to have been sorted.

[Eshaver]

5 hours ago, unclescott58 said:

I really doubt that's true.

As far as why Edsel failed. It's a long complicating story. There is not one central reason. There are many books on the subject. But, here are a few. The down turn in the economy as the car was being introduced. Styling. People dissatisfied with the direction American cars were going in general, leading to a big rise in import sales. Ford promising more than they delivered. They promised something radically new. And it was basically just another big mid-range car. Plus Bob McNamara, the president of Ford, disliked the car. And arranged things to make sure the car would not succeed. 

And I'm just giving you the shortest, briefest explanation of what happened. Like I said above, there are several good books on the subject. 

Excellent POST !!  You can see hints backing this in Lee Iaccoca's Autobiography , Iaccoca .

[Earl Marischal]

Bill,

The Juke may be one of the ugliest vehicles ever foisted on the car-buying public but in the U.K. it certainly isn't a sales flop. The wretched things are everywhere!

steve

[slusher]

Has anyone here on the forum ever drive an Edsel? I always wondered how they drove...

[Ace-Garageguy]

44 minutes ago, slusher said:

Has anyone here on the forum ever drive an Edsel? I always wondered how they drove...

Pretty much just like a late '50s Ford or Mercury.

[Mercuryman54]

2 hours ago, slusher said:

Has anyone here on the forum ever drive an Edsel? I always wondered how they drove...

I have, my Dad has owned a 1960 Edsel Ranger 2 door sedan since the mid 80's.  It's basically a Ford. All 60 Edsel's were based on the Ford platform. In 1958/59 the upper class Edsel's were built on the Mercury platform. The lower class Edsel's on the Ford platform.  By the time the 1960 Edsel debuted it was already discontinued. I believe production ceased in November 1959. I have driven both 1958 and 60 Edsel's but not the 59. They have the same feel as any comparable late 50's car.

I also believe the picture of the 2nd car above is the prototype grille and trim, not a Canadian version. I will try to post a picture of Dads 60.

Dennis

 

[Ace-Garageguy]

3 hours ago, slusher said:

Has anyone here on the forum ever drive an Edsel? I always wondered how they drove...

 

14 minutes ago, Mercuryman54 said:

...  It's basically a Ford. All 60 Edsel's were based on the Ford platform. In 1958/59 the upper class Edsel's were built on the Mercury platform. The lower class Edsel's on the Ford platform... They have the same feel as any comparable late 50's car.

Which comes down to this: soft, comfortable ride, but the front end plows and the car leans significantly with anything remotely resembling vigorous cornering; lotsa tire squeal on the bias-plies if you push it in a turn at all; vague, over-boosted steering, reminiscent of driving a motorboat with ropes and pulleys connecting the wheel and rudder; brakes that will put you through the windshield the first time you touch them, perfectly adequate for normal stopping, but that fade to uselessness when used hard.

[ranma]

Anyone else see a 62 FORD in this ?

[Aaronw]

My dad had one as a used car long before I was around. He says it wasn't a bad car, but if felt kind of confused and cheap, like they couldn't decide if it was an affordable car or a luxury car. One example of the cheapness, his had an optional gauge which wasn't installed in his car. It was just blanked out with a piece of cardboard... On the plus side it was a large gauge so he could pop the cardboard out and hide his lunch behind it. 

[oldcarfan]

I don't think the Edsel and Ford styling was any better or worse than what GM was putting out at the time. One thing that seems to have hurt Ford was quality control. GMs quality was much better then and Ford's wasn't. It was better than Chrysler perhaps, but GM was the best at the time. I read an interview in Hemmings a few years ago with some retired autoworkers. In their efforts to overtake GM, Ford executives and  managers churned out product without worrying about quality. Ford and Edsel dealers reported having, in some cases to almost rebuild cars before they could go on the showroom floor.

[Mercuryman54]

3 hours ago, Aaronw said:

My dad had one as a used car long before I was around. He says it wasn't a bad car, but if felt kind of confused and cheap, like they couldn't decide if it was an affordable car or a luxury car. One example of the cheapness, his had an optional gauge which wasn't installed in his car. It was just blanked out with a piece of cardboard... On the plus side it was a large gauge so he could pop the cardboard out and hide his lunch behind it. 

Dads 1960 Edsel was designed to have backup lights. They were part of the design, but an option to be hooked up!!  The ones on Dads car were never hooked up, they still have the factory tape over the light socket holes. What would it have cost for the backup lights to be hooked up from the factory maybe $10.00 for the switch/wiring and 2 bulbs!! I mean the Bezel and lenses were already there!!

Edited February 12, 2018 by Mercuryman54

[unclescott58]

5 hours ago, Mercuryman54 said:

I have, my Dad has owned a 1960 Edsel Ranger 2 door sedan since the mid 80's.  It's basically a Ford. All 60 Edsel's were based on the Ford platform. In 1958/59 the upper class Edsel's were built on the Mercury platform. The lower class Edsel's on the Ford platform.  By the time the 1960 Edsel debuted it was already discontinued. I believe production ceased in November 1959. I have driven both 1958 and 60 Edsel's but not the 59. They have the same feel as any comparable late 50's car.

I also believe the picture of the 2nd car above is the prototype grille and trim, not a Canadian version. I will try to post a picture of Dads 60.

Dennis

 

In '59, the so called upper class Edsel's were not built on the Mercury platform. All Edsel in 1959 and '60 are basically Fords. The '58 Edsel Rangers, Pacers, and wagon were on the Ford platform. '58 Edsel Corsairs and Citations on the Mercury platform. The Pacers and Citations were discontinued for '59. And the Corsair moved to the shared Ford platform with the Rangers and wagons. For '60, there were only Ford based Rangers and wagons. 

Your right about the second photo. That is a modified '60 Ranger, set up to look like the the prototype with original front end designed for the '60. The side trim is what the '60 Corsair would have had if it were built.