It is often
tells success and fortunes of America but rarely failures.
Industry
pioneer, Henri Ford founds the Ford Motor Company in 1903, his son Edsel borns
in 1893 and will be president of the company in 1919, he dies in 1943. Edsel
first name will come back in the Ford world some years later...
The three
giants to get their slice of the pie are General Motors with brands Chevrolet,
Cadillac, Buick, Pontiac and Oldsmobile then Chrysler group with Chrysler,
Dodge, Imperial, Plymouth, Jeep and others, and of course Ford Motor Company
with Lincoln, Mercury and the eponymous brand.
For answer to
the competition and especially to Buick’s segment, Ford needs to create a new
brand and the E-Car project is approved in 1955. There is still much to do and
Ford invests a lot, it is necessary to find a name, to draw, to build, to
promove, to sell etc...
At the end of 56 the name Edsel is chosen and 200 000 sales are planned for 1958 and the building will be done on 5 factories. Prototypes are build in spring 57, in july an advertising is published in Life magazine and at the same time production starts.
On september 4th the official presentation is done after a long waiting. Ford has made big investments in marketing, advertising, consumers survey and development.
At the end of 56 the name Edsel is chosen and 200 000 sales are planned for 1958 and the building will be done on 5 factories. Prototypes are build in spring 57, in july an advertising is published in Life magazine and at the same time production starts.
On september 4th the official presentation is done after a long waiting. Ford has made big investments in marketing, advertising, consumers survey and development.
1958 Edsel
Sadly the
reception is bad ! The front, this radiator grill is nicknamed the toilet
seat or horsecollar, “seagull” tail lights are also criticized. Sales are low,
63107 instead of 200 000 to which add to series problems, Edsel are on the same
assembly lines that others Ford models, Teletouch Drive system, gears selection
on steering wheel, is complex, causing problems
The next year
there’s a new design and Ford saves, Teletouch Drive system and others
equipements are banned or optionnal but the harm has been done with 44 891
sales. The spiral is unfortunately launched, sales are low, dealers give back
their franchises and for those who stay, consumers have lost confidence. 1960
will see the last model with only 2848 sales.
Ford decides to stop, the last Edsel leaves the assembly line on october 15th 1959 and the brand is officially down on november 19th. The adventure has cost 350 millions of dollars of that time.
Ford decides to stop, the last Edsel leaves the assembly line on october 15th 1959 and the brand is officially down on november 19th. The adventure has cost 350 millions of dollars of that time.
The
fiasco has many reasons, design, recession : for all brands the year 1958 has
been very hard, reliability and completions : Edsel were on the same assembly
lines wedge between Ford and Mercury, workers get all mixed up with this brand
new car and sometimes they arrived in dealership with missing parts !
Brand’s place within the group: a little bit more
expensive than Ford and less than a Mercury, all this with a $100 difference.
Today it remains 6000 to 10000 Edsel in the world
and this name is often used as a failure synonym. But like Henri Ford said: "Failure is simply the
opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently".
a '58 Edsel in Bordeaux !
