Edsel

Ford’s Edsel division was a classic case of bad timing. When introduced in 1958 it happened to coincide with the 1958 US recession and resultant drop in automobile sales after the bumper years of ‘55 to ‘57. Edsel was doomed from the start. It was a simple case of wrong car, wrong time.

It didn’t help that Ford invested heavily in a year-long teaser campaign leading consumers to believe Edsel was the car of the future – an expectation it failed to meet. After being unveiled to the public, the Edsel was considered unattractive, overpriced and over-hyped. Other than the novelty of having a push-button gear selector embedded in the steering wheel hub, there was nothing else to set the Edsel apart from other cars available at the time. Not only did the ‘horse-collar’ grille not endear itself to anyone, it made the Edsel the butt of jokes. Anyone who’d bought one wanted to get rid of it and with poor resale, owners took a big hit at trade-in time.

Intended to compete directly with other marques in the medium priced field – namely Dodge, Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Buick, the Edsel never gained popularity with contemporary American car buyers and sold poorly. Ford announced discontinuation of the Edsel brand on November 19, 1959.

Ford Motor Company lost $250 million on Edsel development, manufacturing, and marketing. The very name Edsel became, and remains a symbol for a commercial failure.