"The aim was right, but the target moved": History of the Edsel

Ford Motor Company is known for being the pioneer company for American automobiles. However, the company had an enormous failure with the Edsel, a car that was only on the market for two short years from 1956 to 1958, although a few models were also developed up until 1960. Ford aggressively marketed the car and it actually sold a good amount of units, however it was still considered a failure. Some people chalked the failure up to poor design, while others felt it was mechanically inefficient. In 1957, there was a recession, which is also attributed to the car not doing as well as Ford had hoped. One of the trademarks of the Edsel's design was its horsecollar grille, which was a new look for cars at that time. The 1958 station wagon model had headlights that were shaped like a boomerang, and many felt this was poor design. This is because the shape of the headlights made it look like the car was going toward the opposite direction that the actual turn signal was showing. Another interesting, yet fatal flaw in design was the engine's combustion chamber. It was flat, and all of the engine's combustion occurred within the cylinder bore.

 Marketing the Edsel

Ford had high hopes for the Edsel. There was a day called "E-Day" when Ford promoted the car on television. Originally it was called the E-car, short for experimental car, and the hope was that people embedded in the atomic age would take a real interest in the concept. E-Day was known as one of the largest advertising campaigns in modern history, yet the sales for the Edsel did not increase very significantly. Some dealerships actually closed after they had opened in the hopes that Ford's Edsel would be a springboard for their new business. There were ads placed in every newspaper and magazine across the country marketing the Edsel as the newest and most innovative car on the market.

Why the Edsel Failed

Many car buyers at the time simply could not afford new vehicles, and Ford's marketing the Edsel as "experimental" scared some people away. The tough times of 1957, which was right about the same time the car was hitting the markets hard, also had a serious effect. It was certainly not for lack of marketing that the car failed, but mechanics and car enthusiasts alike agreed that the car's engine was built strangely. They attributed it to bad engineering, while many every day consumers attributed it to bad design. By 1960, Ford announced that the Edsel was to be no more. A few serious car collectors bought some, but overall sales dropped dramatically. The Edsel is still thought of as one of the biggest failures in automobile history today.

For more information and resources about the Edsel, refer to the following websites:

• International Edsel Club
• Washington Post: "The Flop Heard Round the World"
  
• Edsel.com
• Edsel FAQ's
• Owner's Club
• Photos and Information
• Fun Facts about the Edsel