The Nostalgia of Forgotten Gods: Edsel, USA, 1957-1960
09 March 2024 3 min read 5 images
Photo credit: Ford, Wheelsage
Until the early 1950s, the Ford Motor Company concentrated on low-cost models with Mercury for the middle segment and Lincoln as a high-end luxury brand. Forecasts for the automobile sector in the decade 1950-1960 indicated an increase in demand of more than 50 percent, thanks to improvements in the average earnings per capita and the lifestyle of the American people. The spectre of the Great Depression had finally disappeared. Ford therefore decided to reinforce its positioning by establishing a brand that would offer high-end features to a segment that was, in reality, medium to medium-high. It was not an easy gamble: The mid-range target group is naturally not very innovative and relying on a new brand without traditions requires courage.
The work started in 1954 with the code name E-Car (Experimental Car). The designers first initiated the development with the help of the marketing department, which carried out numerous surveys in order to understand and determine the desires of the average American. Very little use was actually made of this data. Finally, it was used as the basis for the advertising campaign, relying on the presumption that they knew what features would be needed for success. In fact, the new model was designed along the same lines as all previous models. Even the choice of name was approached scientifically with the involvement of top marketing firms, psychologists, sociologists, analysts and even a Pulitzer Prize winner: The poet Marianne Moore. In the end, despite a lot of hard work, the choice fell on the name Edsel in honour of Edsel Ford, son of Henry Ford and president of the Ford Motor Company between 1919 and 1943. It would not have required many scholars to realise that, if a new brand was to be created that had no close ties to Ford, naming it after Henry's son's first name would have been a mistake.
The production of the Edsel began in the summer of 1957 with the creation of a comprehensive advertising campaign that culminated in the car's presentation event being broadcast live on CBS television, hosted by Bing Crosby featuring guests of the calibre of Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong. Despite the attempt to introduce technological innovations, such as the transmission system operated by buttons in the centre of the steering wheel, warning lights, a rotating speedometer and safety solutions such as seat belts and door locks for children, the media reacted coldly. Doubts about the design also extended to the huge vertical grille on the radiator.
Sales estimates indicated a worst-case scenario of 300,000 units per year, numbers that were disregarded due to the image problem of the Ford brand, which was seen by Americans as synonymous with cheap cars. In fact, all studies had overlooked the need to keep the new Edsel brand away from Ford. Despite their efforts, sales never took off. At the beginning of 1960, after just over two years on the market, the Edsel brand was cancelled with just over 110,000 cars produced. A disastrous outcome for a car that deserved so much more. Desperate to counter the first negative reactions, the Edsel brand was not even given an identity. Offering several variants of the car, four-door saloon, coupé, cabriolet and station wagon, did not help to give the car the right look.
Today, the Edsel attracts collectors because of its relative rarity and a price tag of around $40,000 for models in good condition and much less for others.
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