Commercial Failures: The Edsel, Was It Really That Bad?

1958 Edsel Pacer 2-door hardtop. Photo from www.wikiwand.com.

Lemon, commercial failure, marketing disaster, or just plain weird. The Edsel automobiles have been called all of these things and more. Yet, despite the notorious reputation, Edsels have become highly collectable among car enthusiasts, which prompts us to ask: Was the Edsel really that bad?

Yes. There’s no reason to beat around the bush with this answer. The Edsel over-promised and under-delivered. What makes them valuable today is simply the notoriety and supply vs. demand. The same things that make misprinted postage stamps and Po, the cursing teletubby doll, collectable and worth money.

1958 Edsel Pacer 2-door hardtop. Photo from wikipedia.org.

Ford decided to close the gap in sales with GM by creating a whole new car division. GM had Chevrolet, Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, and a GM Diesel Division. Ford was more compressed with the Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury divisions. Their idea to catch up was to carve out an entire new car division with a whole new line of autos.

They set the price structure of the new division just above the Ford line, and below the Mercury and top of the line Lincoln division. Over the three years that Edsel was sold, their product lineup included some names that would reappear in the Ford lineup years later. The Citation, Cosair, Pacer, and Ranger full-sized autos and Bermuda, Villager, and Roundup wagons

1958 Edsel Corsair 2-door hardtop. Photo from wikipedia.org.

Ford spent a ton advertising the launch of the new car division and the dismal sales turned the vehicle line into a huge failure immediately. All told, Ford lost what would have been 2.45 billion dollars in today’s money, over the course of those three years. Marketing students have been using this example of how a company can have no communication with it’s consumer base.

1960 Edsel Ranger sedan. Photo from wikipedia.org.

The cars were not really that bad, they were just not what the public was looking for at that time. Big, gaudy, extravagant cars were out and smaller, more economical cars were becoming the new standard. The 410 cubic inch engine made the car plenty fast enough, but the push button transmission was not a favorite of street racers and hot rodders.

Photo from edsel.net.

Sadly, Ford announced the end of Edsel in late 1959. The 1960 Comet was suppose to launch as an Edsel but was rebranded and assigned as a Mercury. Based on the Ford Falcon, the Mercury Comet was a huge success, selling more cars in its first year than Edsel had done with all of its models in three years. If Edsel had only held out one more year!

Photo from edsel.net.

About the author

Bobby Kimbrough

Bobby grew up in the heart of Illinois, becoming an avid dirt track race fan which has developed into a life long passion. Taking a break from the Midwest dirt tracks to fight evil doers in the world, he completed a full 21 year career in the Marine Corps.
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