While today we usually just call them all Edsels, when it debuted in 1958 Edsel was actually a full vehicle lineup, sporting both “Senior” and “Junior” models, each with a variety of model names. The recently launched Lincoln Corsair (a name previously used by Edsel) got me thinking about the fates of the other Edsel model names. How many went on to have second lives, and how many (like the Edsel name itself) have faded into ignominy?
Citation
1958 Edsel Citation
When Edsel launched in 1958, the two senior models (both based on Mercurys) were the previously mentioned Corsair and the Citation. The Citation was the range-topping model of the Edsel lineup, with some extra gingerbread to distinguish it from the (slightly) lesser Corsair.
Citation, as we all know, went on to be used by General Motors in 1980 for Chevrolet’s ill-fated version of GM X-Car. I’m not exactly sure how Chevrolet ended up using this name – perhaps Ford didn’t maintain their trademarks on the Edsel models, under the assumption that no one would be foolish to reuse a tarnished Edsel model name.
In any case, this is advice that GM probably should have heeded, as the Chevy Citation would go on to become arguably one of GM’s deadliest sins, with poor quality, many recalls, and rear brakes that could famously lock up early, causing the car to lose control. As much as anything, the Chevy Citation was responsible for driving buyers by the millions into the arms of Honda, Toyota, and Nissan.
Cessna Citation
As an aside, while the Citation name may have been affixed to two of the largest automotive flops of all time, the Cessna Citation series of private jets is the world’s most successful series of business jets, with over 7,000 produced since 1972, and is still being produced today.
Pacer
I’m starting to sense a pattern here. The Pacer was one of the two junior Ford-based Edsel models introduced in the lineup in 1958.
While Edsel would drop the Pacer for 1959, the Pacer name would go on to be (in)famously reused by American Motors in 1975 for their revolutionary new-ish compact car. There were some interesting modern touches (such as the rain gutter-less, airplane style doors), an isolated front subframe suspension and one of the first uses of rack and pinion steering in an American car. The passenger door was also four inches longer than the driver’s door to ease ingress, a proto Hyundai Veloster, if you will. The diminutive engine compartment was originally intended to house a compact rotary engine being jointly developed with GM, which would have been revolutionary, had GM not killed it.
Alas, all this was not enough to save the Pacer. While the elevator pitch was noble (big compact car with small car economy), the reality was closer to the opposite: The space of a small car with the fuel economy of a large car. And let’s not forget that the styling, while daring, was way out of step with the Brougham era into which the Pacer launched.
Ranger
The Ranger was the other Ford-based junior Edsel model launched in 1958. Ranger (along with Villager) was the only Edsel name to be used on all three model years of Edsel, up to the bitter end in 1960.
Unlike the Citation and Pacer names above, Ford decided to reuse this name itself. Initially, Ranger was the name of a fancy option package for the F-100 pickup, introduced in 1965 (just a scant 5 years after Edsel closed up shop, giving it the shortest “rest” period for any Edsel name). The Ranger included such niceties as bucket seats, carpeting, and an available center console).
The rehabilitation of the Ranger name continued with the introduction of the fifth-generation F-100 in 1967, with Ranger officially becoming the top level trim line. In 1970, a Ranger XLT trim was added above the Ranger model. The Ranger brand extension continued into the 1970s, with an even higher Ranger Lariat trim being added in 1978. In 1982, the Ranger name was yanked from Ford’s full-sized truck to be used on the compact Ranger pickup (A truck that seems to have never gotten a full CC treatment). Introduced in 1982 as a 1983 model, the Ranger name was used for several iterations before being retired in 2012.
A new mid-sized pickup bearing the Ranger name was introduced by Ford in 2019, giving Ranger the longest and most successful second life of any of the Edsel model names.
Villager
Villager was the name applied to the lower trim four-door Edsel wagon. Fun fact: The Edsel Villager was originally intended to be called the Edsel Caravan, a name that obviously went on to great success with as a Dodge minivan.
The Villager name would go on to be used by Mercury’s version of the joint-venture Nissan/Ford VX54 minivan, produced in Avon Lake, Ohio from 1993 to 2002. While not an outright failure like the Citation or Pacer reincarnations, the Mercury Villager was never a strong seller, despite benefitting from a powertrain lifted from a Maxima, ads featuring Jill Wagner, and a curious naval-themed Nautica trim. The biggest knocks against the Mercury Villager was the high price relative to its smallish size, non-removable third-row seats, and for being late in implementing dual sliding doors.
Roundup
We now enter the realm of what I call the “Edsel names in waiting.” These are the Edsel model names that have not been reused and are still waiting to find their forever home.
The 1958-only Roundup was Edsel’s two-door wagon (recall that the modern four-door wagon was just starting to become a thing in the late 1950’s) and served as their entry-level wagon. With only 963 sold, the Roundup also represents the rarest Edsel model.
Given that the Roundup name is now closely associated with herbicide, I consider Roundup to be the Edsel name least likely to ever get a second life on another car.
Bermuda
Bermuda was the top-of-the-line Edsel wagon in 1958. The Bermuda and Roundup were both dropped in 1959, leaving the Villager as the sole wagon in Edsel’s lineup for 1959 and 1960.
While Willys briefly used the Bermuda name in 1955 for the hardtop version of their Aero sedan, the Bermuda name has never been applied to another vehicle since Edsel, which is a shame because it is a great name. Bermuda is rich in imagery, conjuring up pictures of tropical islands, loud plaid shorts, and plane eating triangles.
Edsel
Lastly, what about the Edsel name itself? I quick search of the USPTO website reveals that for other than a few specialized uses, most of the Edsel trademarks have lapsed. This technically means that anyone could conceivably use the Edsel name on their own vehicle in the future. However, the reality is that after 60 years, Edsel is still synonymous with “failure” even among people with even no automotive knowledge. Indeed, other than a few obscure rock bands, I was unable to find any non-automotive uses of the Edsel name, that’s how badly Ford damaged this name. We are unlikely to ever see this name affixed to another automobile.
Note: a rerun of an older post.
Ford of Great Britain used the Corsair name for a standalone model based on the Cortina for seven years, 1963-70. The Corsair was a plusher and more powerful car than the Cortina, and its “Bullet Bird” nose was particularly memorable. It was intended to bridge the gap between the smaller Cortina and larger Consul/Zephyr/Zodiac models, but the much broader Cortina Mk III range introduced in 1970 eliminated the need for the Corsair. Handsome but in the end an orphan; total production of 331,000 was respectable but nowhere near the circa 250,000 Cortinas that Ford was selling every year in the UK.
The Ford Corsair was generally known as the Ford Pubic by seventies British schoolchildren, for obvious reasons.
Mercury used the “Villager” name on some Comet and mid size wagons in the sixties, too. Ford didn’t allow those model names to lie dormant long.
GM used the Ranger name as a brand name in Europe in the late 1960s and 1970s.
In Switzerland, the Benelux countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg), and South Africa, slightly modified Opel Rekord and Opel Commodore models were offered under this name.
Image: Swiss-made Ranger GTS Coupe with German vintage car license plate.
Ford did reuse the Edsel name sort of. The next time you’re behind a Ford Edge SEL you’ll see what I mean.
I suspect the “Roundup” name came from the popularity of radio/film/television westerns of the era. Even without the debacle of the pesticide of the same name, I doubt any manufacturer would want to use that name.
The hamlet of Edsel, KY predated Ford’s use of the name by about thirty years.
And Edsel Bryant Ford, Henry’s only son and namesake of the marque, predated that by another 36 years, so they had it first.
Schwinn sold a Villager 10-speed bike during the ’80s. It was a heavy sort of beginner’s 10-speed with a freewheel on the crank that would keep the chain spinning even while you were coasting, so you could shift gears whether or not you were pedaling.
Chrysler Australia used Pacer for a high-performance version of the six-cylinder Valiant (VF, VG & VH 1969-1973) and Ranger for the fleet sales (ie stripper) version (VH, VJ & VK 1971-1976). The VH Ranger XL was the mainstream entry-level model and the Ranger name was dropped when the CL series was introduced in 1976. “Pacer” did though return in 1976 when the “Fuel Pacer” from the US parts bin was added to the option list. It was a fender-mounted “fuel economy” warning light, activated by the vacuum in the induction reaching a threshold. Attracted by the rhyme, the company even considered “Racer” as a name for the short wheelbase coupe (VH, VJ, VK & CL 1971-1978) which proved unexpectedly successful. It must have been thought too provocative because “Charger” was instead borrowed from the US.
Its hard to imagine, but there was an even more stripped down Valiant sedan meant for fleets, not badged Ranger.
Low compression 215, drum brakes, body color tail light bezels, and not much else.
Australians were a conservative bunch back then, including my Dad, who had a Ranger wagon, but at least a 245 automatic.
That is pretty much how I remember these cars back in the day, lots of base Rangers, not as many Ranger XLs which were introduced to bridge the gap between Ranger and Regal.
The XL got you carpets, front centre armrest, chrome wheelarch trim, wheel trim rings, chrome trimmed upper door frames, courtesy light switches on all 4 doors, going from memory there, may have been some other items.
The ‘Bermuda’ advert makes me wince .
I remember so many kids getting creamed when they fell in one of those Jungle Gyms .
-Nate
There was also the Mazda Roadpacer (1975-1977) which was a version of the HJ (1974-1976) & HX (1976-1977) Holden Premier fitted with a two-rotor Mazda Wankel rotary engine rather than the 202 cubic inch (3.3 litre) six or 253 (4.2) & 308 (5.0) V8s used in the home market. A commercial failure for a number of reasons, the Roadpacer is a footnote is history because it was the closest GM got to selling a rotary-engined car. Mazda would prefer we forget about the Roadpacer which it seems to regard as “our Edsel”.
Of all the Edsel nameplate re-purposing, I think Citation is the most noteworthy. The name itself is one of those that can cut both ways: in the military, a citation is usually a good thing (presidential unit citation, for instance); on the other hand, in a car a citation is usually a fancy way of saying you got a ticket. Pacer isn’t too far behind, and certainly fit the mold of being an oddity and general flop.
Going back to the Citation, it’s hardly a point of pride that my Grandpa owned two. The first was a stick shift, which I guess my Grandma didn’t like to drive, so it got traded in on the second – automatic with such niceties as AC and cruise control. I don’t remember too many breakdowns, and I suppose it was ok for them. I would definitely have been more interested if he’d had an Edsel Citation, but he was always more of a GM man, he probably couldn’t have afforded it at the time, and I don’t think he ever aspired to anything upscale.
Anyway, I’d kind of like to see the Edsel name be given a second chance at life – not that anyone’s likely to. Maybe part of it is just morbid curiosity, wondering if the cloud over that name could reach this far in the future. It could work out well if you managed to strike during a wave of 50’s nostalgia, really. It’s not like it’s a weird-sounding name, or one that’s hard to pronounce either. I suppose the big pill you’d have to swallow is that if you failed, you’d never hear the end of how you should have known better than to use that name!
I wonder what Ford could do with Roundup and Villager as special trim packages, maybe for the Bronco Sport.
Not to be that guy, but the 75 AMC Pacer was not the first US car to use rack and pinion steering.
That honor goes to the 1971 Ford Pinto, another one generation nameplate.