The Edsel Show burst onto the screen of CBS, one of the most important American television networks, in September 1957. The show, unprecedented for the time due to its staging, included performances by none other than Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong, figures of enormous relevance already in those years. It was also the first television program recorded on video, since until then the productions were made live and direct.
The success was immediate: it captivated an audience of 50 million viewers, almost 30% of the population of the United States. This tremendous television bet was just the spearhead of the communication strategy of the Ford Edsel, the vehicle that intended to change the paradigm of the brand and that, therefore, made its brilliant debut on TV. But the reality is that the model did not succeed.
Ford Edsel: an unusual whim
During the first half of the 1950s, General Motors was the one that best interpreted the need of the North American user in the context of an economy that had been flourishing since the end of World War II. Its catalog of brands covered different models that perfectly met the taste of customers, regardless of their social level. Buick and Oldsmobile dominated in the mid-range, while Cadillac seduced in the high-end. Both Ford and Chrysler, the other two Detroit giants, had less structured vehicle portfolios.
The Edsel was launched on the market in 1957
In particular, Ford was going through some turbulent years where it was sought to give the company a new direction. Edsel Bryant Ford, son of Henry Ford, was president of the Ford Motor Company from 1919 to 1943, the year of his death from stomach cancer. Despite his 79 years, the founder of the company had to take charge of the firm he had founded in 1903, until his weak state of health forced his grandson, Henry Ford II, to inherit the maximum chair of the company. company from 1945.
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The young Henry Ford II decided to surround himself with old colleagues he had met during his time in the Armed Forces to undertake the difficult adventure of refounding. So in 1946 he hired some of America’s brightest minds to help him get the company back on track. That group of WWII veterans, called the Whiz Kids, offered amazing training in financial analytics and control, but their knowledge of the auto industry was nil.
Henry Ford with his son Edsel
The group was led by a colonel specializing in statistical control, Tex Thornton, and under his command were big names including, for example, Robert McNamara, who went on to preside over the company in 1960, and later also became US Secretary of Defense. USA. This young and talented team launched a new product strategy to counter the dominance of General Motors.
Ford Edsel, one of the worst cars in history
That restructuring included the creation of a division for new developments, which was what gave rise to the Edsel, named after the son of the company’s founder. With this model, the Whiz Kids intended to impact the middle segment with an innovative and accessible family vehicle, but finally ended up with prices similar to Mercury, another Ford brand, and with quality deficiencies.
The Edsel generated losses of 350 million dollars
The Edsel was created on the premise of offering glamor and luxury at an affordable price. Its design was in charge of a certain Roy Brown (creator of the Lincoln Futura that later gave rise to the Batmobile), who received the mission of creating an original and groundbreaking style: the vertical and oval front grille appeared as a forceful response to the requirements taxes from the company committee.
But both the public and the specialized press soon turned their backs on Ford’s new design: far from attracting attention, it was the center of massive ridicule and criticism.
The car’s design was the focus of massive ridicule and criticism
“Behold the Edsel, never seen a car like it.” The tremendous campaign deployed by Ford for the Edsel, moreover, was backed by a strong production strategy. The brand had designated five assembly plants for its manufacture, and had developed a network of between 1,200 and 1,400 dealers for its sale.
The collapse of the Ford Edsel project
Although the model offered some novelties in terms of development, such as the “Teletouch” automatic transmission, which was operated with buttons located in the center of the steering wheel, and the low oil level and engine temperature warning lights; his list of flaws grew along with the merciless criticism.
The gearbox, for example, had to be changed because it got stuck, the steering was inaccurate, the doors didn’t close properly and the 5.4 V8 engine used about 30 liters per 100 kilometers. Impossible to support for the budgets that the recession of the late 50s began to impose.
At that time the media made it known that on many occasions the Edsels arrived at the dealerships unfinished, since the assembly line workers confused them with the Mercurys and left parts unplaced. The sellers never knew how to deal with those incomplete and poorly finished vehicles. They were the ones who first stopped believing in the model, and that was lethal for the brand’s strategy.
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Between July 1957, when production began, and January 1959, 110,847 units of the Ford Edsel were built, when the brand had calculated selling between 100,000 and 200,000 in the first year alone. A failure of an enormous magnitude.
Ford announced the cancellation of the Edsel program on November 19, 1959, without even being able to export it to other less pretentious markets. During the 29 months that this project lasted, the company lost 350 million dollars of that time and was left on the brink of a financial abyss. The name Edsel not only perpetuated itself as a synonym for failure in the company, but today represents one of the biggest disappointments in the history of the automobile industry.
A copy of the Edsel pending restoration work