To the question: “How’d you like your Edsel?,” most people in 1958 answered “I’m good, thanks,” and picked something else entirely – or nothing at all, given the economic funk the US was going through that year. Would I have picked the trendy new E-car? Not sure. I think the toxic amounts of advertising would have put me off. But I’m glad someone decided to go for a Ranger in Royal over Powder blue, because this is kind of the best American CC I think I’ve caught in this country.
Not that it was sold here new, I don’t think – very few Edsels were exported. This was one automotive experiment that Ford wanted to keep for a domestic audience. For better or, as it turned out, for worse.
I’m not sure we need to go into the whole E-car backstory. Eric703 did a masterful write-up on that very subject already – go and read it once you’re done with this post, it’s well worth your while. Because after all, the Edsel saga is fascinating just like that of the Titanic or Chernobyl (albeit without the whole loss-of-life aspect): hubris and disaster make for compelling narratives.
The first problem with the Edsel was probably that Ford went a little too big on the PR campaign and ended up drinking their own Kool-Aid. It became a case study in how not to launch a new product line, though some never seem to be able to learn from others’ mistakes. I’m thinking Saturn, Eunos/Autozam/ɛ̃fini, DS Automobiles… None of these were as brutal a rake-in-the-face experience as Edsel, to be fair.
There were plenty of compounding issues beyond PR and executives whiffing their own brainfarts, of course. The quirky styling was always claimed to be a major faux-pas, but look at the rest of the field in 1958 – was the Edsel the worst offender? I’m thinking Buicks, Lincolns, most AMCs, the Packard Hawk… It’s all a matter of taste, of course, but in the Edsel’s case, taste was kind of the whole deal.
That infamous grille was the centre, the focus, the birthplace of the Edsel’s styling controversy. In polite conversation, it was referred to as a horsecollar shape. Those who disliked it said it looked like “an Oldsmobile sucking a lemon” when in mixed company; in other instances, references to female genitalia were apparently fairly common. So much for the strait-laced mores of the Eisenhower administration.
All that noise about the front end would almost make us forget about the rear, which is also rather unique – if a little less crudely so. At a time when tailfins were almost universally adopted by American carmakers (Ford included), Edsel designers, headed by Roy A. Brown, went for a flat deck.
Well, it looks flat compared to the pointy ends of its rivals and contemporaries, but there are actually few lines on the Edsel that can be called straight.
The overall profile is rather handsome, to be honest. The front end is slightly tortured, but again, this was 1958. Tortured was in. And the rear half, with that huge scallop and taut but un-finned lines, certainly gives the Edsel its own visual identity. Mission accomplished: the E-car stuck out of the crowd.
The problem ended up being that a lot of people did not find that Edsel visual identity all that alluring. Besides the esthetics, Ford’s overactive PR machine touted it as being all-new, advanced and a chock full of innovation. But when the buying public took a closer look, many saw it for what it was: a half-Ford, half-Mercury hodgepodge with extra helpings of weird styling and a few quirky features, but not something all that exciting.
Those rather plain wheelcovers are definitely not one of said quirky features. But then, this is a near base-spec car. Speaking of which, let’s take a gander at the wider Edsel family.
The 1958 range wasn’t too complex, really. There were three main kinds of Edsel: the smaller 118’’-wheelbase Ford-based Ranger and Pacer, the larger 124’’-wheelbase Mercury-based Corsair and Citation, and the 116’’-wheelbase (Ford-based) wagons.
Our CC is the modest Ranger, though at least it’s a hardtop, not the two-door sedan. In 1957-58, a Ranger two-door hardtop would have cost a minimum of US$2,579 (without optional extras), i.e. Chevrolet Bel Air, Studebaker Commander or Plymouth Belvedere territory.
A couple hundred dollars extra were required for the fancier Pacer. From an esthetic perspective, I don’t find the additional chrome trim on the front fender of the Pacer, seen here in literal showroom condition, to be strictly necessary.
But then, what is necessary about a sun visor on a rear view mirror? The Edsel was chock full of little weird details like this. Some of them may have be interesting to behold or even clever, but most of the time, they were gratuitously strange.
Like those E-branded backup lights, for instance. They were optional (but popular) on the Rangers and Pacers, but it’s not easy to find pictures of cars that don’t have them. What’s even more difficult is to find a Citation with the odd “reverse light delete trim.” Why anyone would have ticked that particular box on the options sheet is beyond me.
There were only two engines slated for duty, both Edsel exclusives. Citations and Corsairs got the “E 475” big block MEL (Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln) V8, limited in the Edsel’s case to 410ci (6.7 litre) and good for 345hp (gross). Wagons, Pacers and Rangers got the smaller but brand-new-for-’58 FE (Ford-Edsel) engine. Still a hefty 361ci (5.9 litre) motor delivering just over 300hp (gross), it was known as the E 400, as it provided 400 lb/ft of torque. Unlike the E 475, it was carried over to MY 1959. And yes, the expansion tank in this particular one is indeed a Jack Daniel’s bottle.
Our Pacer here did get a few ticks on its options list, most notably the much-ballyhooed Teletouch electro-mechanical push-button automatic on the steering wheel hub. It was apparently heavily promoted by Edsel and quite a popular extra on lower-spec cars, but wasn’t exactly reliable in daily operation. This was apparently due to the transmission’s relays and servos being located too close to the exhaust pipes in the engine bay, leading to repeated shorts. Apparently, some workarounds have been developed by Edsel owners over the years, improving the system’s reliability.
This was just another failure point to add to the list of the Edsel’s many woes, though. The Teletouch was a key “innovation” that really was more of a gadget than anything else, and one that didn’t work too well, at that. Like the bigger Edsel-only V8, the Teletouch was a one-year-only experiment. Ford were really setting piles of money on fire with this E-car… Still, that dash would have been really something to behold, when it was new. Our CC is pretty ripe, and it’s especially noticeable in this shot…
The seats seem to have been re-upholstered (in a very tasteful way) and a set of modern speakers have found their way on the parcel shelf, but the rest of the car looks about at original as it could be.
And given the average condition of a typical classic car in Japan, i.e. restored to near perfection and obsessively washed and detailed on a regular basis, it is refreshing to see anything with patina. Even more so when it’s a big, late ‘50s Detroiter. Extra points for the original engine and transmission, double extra points for stock wheels and triple for it being an Edsel. One of the best CCs in the country, in my view.
Ford famously figured they could shift 200,000 Edsels in their debut model year, starting from September 1957. Twelve months later, the disaster was evident: just over 63k units were sold in the United States, plus about 5000 Canadian-made cars. Out of a total of 68k units, the Ranger was the most popular model (21,000 sales), beating the similar Pacer model by a hair. The Mercury-based senior models were much more expensive and thus far less common.
The final nail in the E-car’s coffin was probably its name. Giving it Henry Ford II’s dad’s first name was perhaps seen within the company as a belated homage for a man who went before his time, but as far as the general public was concerned, it was decidedly weird. The number of newborns named Edsel certainly fell off a cliff after 1958, so it sounds a little less strange in the present day. But just imagine if they came out with a new marque and called it Michael or George…
Which circles us back to the infamous grille and its (private) part in the whole debacle. From an outsider’s perspective, being of a different generation and region of the world, it’s hard for me to ascertain how much this specific feature was mocked back in the late ’50s / early ’60s. I would be grateful for those of you with first-hand knowledge to voice your opinion about this in the comments section. It’s one of the more intriguing facets of the Edsel story, and oft-reported, but it’s also the hardest to probe with circumspection. So to speak.
The ’58 Edsel has a space in my personal fantasy garage, for sure. I’m agnostic on the specific model – the wagons, with their wild boomerang-shaped taillights, do have a slight advantage, but a plain Ranger hardtop like this one would also be acceptable. Or a big Citation sedan, really. With fewer than 6000 survivors worldwide, it’s a matter of managing to find one and grab it by the horsecollar.
Related posts:
Car Show Classic: 1958 Edsel Corsair – Failure Is A Five-Letter World, by Brendan Saur
eBay Find: 1958 Edsel Bermuda – Only in Portland, by Geraldo Solis
CC Comparison: 1958 Edsel and 1960 Comet – Edsel and Son of Edsel, by Stephen Pellegrino
Vintage Review: 1958 Edsel – Let’s Give Thanks For This Turkey, by GN
CC Outtake: 1958 Edsel Bermuda – Lost in the Triangle, by Imperialist
Cohort Sighting: 1958 Edsel Skyliner – It Should Have Been An Edsel All Along, by PN
Cohort Pic(k) of the Day: 1958 Edsel Motorhome – With Teletouch, by PN
Cohort Pic(k) of the Day: 1958 Edsel Pacer, by PN
Vintage Snapshots: 1958 Edsel Dealers, by Rich Baron
1959 Edsel Corsair And A History Of Edsel Dealers – A Different Perspective, by Eric703
I think the Edsel’s worst enemy may have been Ford’s own PR.
Imagine believing all the stuff about it being all new and so on – then you go to the dealer to find an alt-Ford and an alt-Mercury with a wacky front and an uninspiring rear. How disappointing!
BTW, as well as the front fender/door trim, the Pacer also has a wider chrome band around the edges of the roof – just like the Fairlane 500. Probably the same part number, too.
I just can’t get over how small and narrow the tires are.
Jonathan, I looked at this Edsel and wondered why it sat so low–then I noticed the tires…..almost NO sidewall to them at all, hence the stance. I guess access to Coker tires of the proper size are real plentiful in Japan.
Not sure what you’re suggesting; the sidewall is very much normal size for these tires, which These look to be the original size (800 x 14) which converts to a 205 14 in an 80 metric series modern tire. As in, quite small, but that was the reality back then.
It’s hard to see but the 11th pic of the tire closeup looks like the sidewall reads 5.60 x 14 which I think is like a 185/75-14 today? That would be 138mm of sidewall (185mm x.75) or almost 5.5 inches which as far as sidewall goes isn’t anywhere near low profile and plenty. I can’t speak to the 185 or so section width though relative to old cars…
I obviously did not notice that. That’s a size used back in the early ’50s and definitely narrower and smaller than is specified for this car. In fact, it’s intended for rims no more than 4″ wide; the Edsel’s are 5″ wide.
But yes, the sidewall is still fairly tall, as these are something like a 90 series tire. Archaic.
It is novel to see a classic car in Japan with patina. As awful a design and as awful a marketing plan, it’s no wonder that product fell flat on its face.
The Edsel introduction was done on TV in October 1957, hosted by Bing Crosby:
This was the first time an entertainment show was taped during its live performance and replayed for the pacific time zone.
I love seeing these old TV shows – the commercials, the live performances.
This is truly a one in a million, survivor. Wonder if it’s got p/s?
The first new car that I dimly remember seeing was a ’56 red/black Packard Clipper. I was then 6y/o. But the first I distinctly remember was the tail end of a ’59 Chev, so I basically just missed the ’58 Edsel intro. Still, my first automotive heartthrob was a ’58 Edsel Pacer convertible. I could have had it for $145 – it only needed a windshield and mufflers. But my father vetoed it when he saw that big V8. Still, I’ve loved them ever since. The ’59s not so much. For ugly, may i direct your attention to ’57/62 Dodges, ’58 Mercurys and others.
But with engine combos, back in the early ’70s I distinctly remember a bare-bones ’58 Ranger 2dr sedan, stick 6-cyl. I can’t imagine that this was was a retrofit.
No 6-cyl. Edsels before 1959, as I understand it. The Ranger was available with the E400 V8 and 3-on-the-tree as standard.
TATRA87: To answer your question, the Edsel was severely mocked when new as I remember when I was a preteen fascinated with all things car related. The name did not seem as odd as the horse collar. And clearly this was a Formerc or Mercord mishmash depending on which brand you wanted to insult more. Only saw a few on the road when they were new and only for a year or two, and I was a car obsessed kid that wanted to identify every make and mode I saw. They are rarely seen at car shows.
Thanks for the testimony, Scott. Sounds like the rumours were accurate, then.
I’ll second that. I was 8 years old when the Edsel debuted and I distinctly recall that the jokes came early, fast, and furious. I remember it being called a Mercury (not Olds) sucking a lemon, among other pejoratives. The overblown publicity for the car was a major cause of the reaction, along with the weird name and styling, and the declining interest in this market segment (the mighty De Soto, an automotive star in the mid-50’s was gone by 61). The quick rise, decline, and fall of the Edsel was stunning. As Paul notes, this time period was breathtaking in how quickly things were changing in the automotive marketplace. For a little guy car nut, it was really an exciting time.
Besides the things mentioned, the Edsel grille reminded many of a toilet seat.
Other than that grille, the rest looks like generic 1958 American car to me. Likewise inside, except the weird speedometer and Teletouch transmission control. The ’59 Edsels were even more generic, with a toned-down grille and taillamps, no more Mercury-based models, and a regular speedometer and column shift. I do like the ’60s though which looked better than the Fords they were based on. Problem was, the pre-release hype had many expecting a revolutionary new car that made everything else seem obsolete, not a Ford with some weird styling and gimmicks.
If the Edsel had arrived at a time of economic growth and optimism and Americans hadn’t fallen out of love with ever-bigger and flashier cars, the Edsel would likely have been a success and its distinctive front end would not have become the focus of such mockery and disdain. It was no more “out there” than other ’58 cars.
But given that none of those conditions were a reality, and Americans had suddenly turned against bigger and flashier cars, the Edsel instantly became the poster boy of what was wrong with them all, and its gaudiness was now transparent: lots of sizzle, and not much steak. The vibe shift that started in 1957 was absolutely huge. I’ve said it before: the 1957-1961 period was the most influential in the modern history of the American car industry, more so than the two energy crisis. It brought an explosion of import sales, Rambler sales soared, and the Big 3 rushed their compacts out. And that was just the beginning, as the 1960-1961 compacts led directly to the Mustang and the proliferation of mid-size cars.
Due to this 1957-1961 crisis, the American car industry was almost totally remade, with a wide range of sizes and types for a wide variety of consumer tastes and desires. And the full size car would never again be the utterly dominant format that it had once been.
The Edsel was the ultimate case of the wrong car at the wrong time. And failure leads to mockery and disdain. As a kid Edsels became a very early example of a group-think scapegoat or symbol of failure. Its distinctive front end became the symbol of failure.
Pretty sure it was Jack Pear who said it looked like an Oldsmobile sucking a lemon (a Johnny Carson predecessor for those of you too young to know. iirc Steve Allen was in there at some point as well), while some other wags compared it to a toilet seat. None of these comparisons did it any good, as nobody wants to buy a car that everyone is making fun of!
Every time I saw a Subaru Tribeca, I thought “have they never heard about the Edsel?”. I guess enough other people had because it was resyled two years later and there was never a second generation.
“The first problem with the Edsel ” was not the issue described by the author. No the first problem wit the entire Edsel project was that Robert MacNamera did all in his power to kill the Edsel as he grasped and fought for total power at the Ford Motor Company. Just a prelude to what his power madness later demonstrated at a little thing called The Vietnam War.
I remember these as nearly new cars that were derided, yes the “toilet seat” and so on but when I asked I was told ‘they’re poorly built unreliable cars’, my experience with this vintage of Fords was pretty good if slow and ponderous .
I like how they look now .
-Nate
Yesterday, I saw a similar hued 1955 Oldsmobile Super 88 four-door hardtop (Holiday). I followed it until the owner drover into his garage. So unable to take a picture. If vehicles must be a prominent fixture in our society, why do nearly all of them have to be black, gray or white? Cars used to be mobile displays of art. Now all we have is industrial ugliness.
One of the Youtube car guys has pointed out an oddity. The ’58 Edsel wagons used the Ford wagon with only bolt-on modifications to the taillights. That much was typical. The odd part is that the Edsels were based on 1957 Ford wagons, not 1958. Normally you’d expect parallel supply chains, not using up LAST YEAR’S body parts.
Roy A Brown, the lead designer, salvaged his career after this by being posted to Ford’s English operations and coming up with the Cortina Mk1, which became a money-spinner for Ford.
He had an Edsel Convertible until his passing.