Do you remember the year 1957? A story related to a car? No worries, let me remind you.
During that year, tailfins were high, and chrome was king. Meanwhile, Ford was planning to release the biggest secret in automotive history. Now you know what I’m about to say.
That was the E-Car based on their opinion. I remember they advertised this for so long. They literally said this car will change the American roads forever.
The hype was real. Ford bragged that they spent over 10 years researching and developing this car, and it spent around $250 million during the process. That was huge!!!!
Because of the hype, advertisements, and how Ford told us, everyone expected not just a car, but a spaceship on wheels. Lol.
Finally, the day came. It was September 4th. It was called the “E-Day”.
Finally, they revealed the car. The crowd suddenly went completely silent, not because of the awesomeness, but due to the confusion.
Basically, Ford tried to make the car of the future. But as soon as the public saw it, they knew they made a huge, huge, huge mistake. Mistakes cost around a quarter-billion dollars. How sad and tragic.
So, let’s talk about it!
The Face Only a Mother Could Love
The major problem with that car was the face. Yes, you read it correctly. The Face.
As you know old days, cars were all about width. Fans literally loved wide grills. They look like smiling at you from curb to curb. just like the Chevy Bel Air.
But surprisingly, the Edsel? It went vertical.
The centerpiece of the hood of the car was a giant and upright oval loop. Actually, designers thought it looked dignified. Or maybe they thought a nod to the classic Packards of the past.
But unfortunately, the American fans disagreed.
The jokes and trolls started as soon as the cards hit the lot. People called it a horse collar.
People said it literally looked like “an Oldsmobile sucking a lemon” or, a toilet seat. Hahaha. Funny but sad.
In that era, everything was stylish. But sadly, Edsel couldn’t look different or unique compared to other cars in the market. It was literally a joke.
The “Teletouch” Disaster
Somepeople might think grills were ok. It didn’t scare me off. But there was another thing people didn’t like. That was the steering wheel. How sad!
Ford wanted Edsel to look high-tech. So, they added “Teletouch Drive” (Yes, sounds futuristic) to the car. They replaced the standard gear shift on the column.
Placed push buttons right in the center of the steering wheel hub. Unique, futuristic. Literally looked like a thing out of The Jetsons. Hehe…. two minutes of silence.
But sadly, there was a big design flaw.
Usually american drivers were trained to slam the center of the steering wheel when they needed to honk the horn.
But in Edsel if was completely different. If you smash the wheel, it won’t honk. You shifted into reverse. This was a huge, huge problem. Why did they do that? Just why?
The complex electronics behind the buttons were buggy. This was completely a mess.
The system frequently tried to short out entirely. This left brand new cars in the park. The owners became super frustrated.
They literally complained that the fancy button didn’t work and had no use at all. They got angry. That was completely unstable.
Who Names a Car “Edsel”?
Why the hell did they put a name like “Edsel” for this innovative car?
Actually, based on rumors, Ford didn’t just guess and name it. They literally hired an army of researchers. Plus, they used the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Marianne Moore to come up with the perfect title.
Literally, they tried so hard, and that was so fun. But in the end, it didn’t even matter.
They made a list of 6,000 names for this car. It had a wide variety from the futuristic to the bizarre.
The list had the following names as well: Pastelogram,” and—believe it or not—the “Utopian Turtle.” Funny right!
However, in the end, the Chairman ignored all of them and selected the name that honors his father. He is Henry Ford’s only son, Edsel Ford.
That’s why they named it Edsel. It was a tribute. But a marketing disaster.
“Mustang,” “Thunderbird,” and “Corvette” sounded fast and exciting. Amazing right?
On the other hand, “Edsel” sounded like the name of the guy doing your taxes, or perhaps a tractor. Hahaha….
It literally had zero curb appeal. Actually, it didn’t sound or look like a car you wanted to drive.
It basically sounded like a car you had to be sorry for. Sorry, I’m dying here due to laughing.
A Lemon Right off the Line
The car Ford made was not only a joke, but it barely worked. Awful.
Ford tried so hard to get the Edsel to showrooms that quality control took a backseat. Their advertising department worked so hard.
The first batch of cars had oil leak issues. Trunks that wouldn’t open and hubcaps literally flew away on highways. Basically, a nightmare.
Mechanics hated them. The engine bays were clamped. The new technology that cars used were too hard to fix.
Buyers got scammed with the name “car of the future.” As per one report, some Esels were delivered with notes on the steering wheel listing parts that hadn’t been installed at the factory. How sad……
They literally asked the dealer to finish building the car! Sad and frustrating!
From Flop to Collector’s Gem
Ford finally had to discontinue the Edsel just after 2 years of its launch. Production was shut down in 19659. It was literally a as a $250 million loss for the company.
This was considered one of the biggest failures in the automotive industry.
But you know what? Now the table has changed.
Today, if you drive with a 1958 Edsel to a car show, you literally become the star.
Because of the above failures that I mentioned, only a few cars were sold in those days. Therefore, now they are incredibly hard to find.
Now it basically become a high-priced swan. It was literally the wrong car at the wrong time. But you have to give credit to Ford for swinging for the fences.