Edsel,“Onceyou'veseenit,you'llneverforgetit.Onceyou'veownedit,you'llneverwanttochange."Edselhaditsoriginsnearly10yearsbeforeitsrelease.Asearlyas1948,theFordMotorCompanywasresearchingtheproductionofamediumpricedcar.Ford’sgoalwastoretainFordcustomersbyofferingthemtheoptionoftrading-upincrementallyfromtheFordlineallthewayuptotheLincolnline.

InAprilof1955,Fordestablisheda“SpecialProductsDivision”withtheobjectiveofcreatinganewlineofcarsthatwouldaddressthegapsbetweenboththeFordandMercuryline,andtheMercuryandLincolnline.Thecarwasknownthenonlyasthe“E-car,”forexperimental.

The“E-car”projectwasuniqueinmanyrespects.Theaimwastodesignacarthatwasrecognizablefromanyangle.

The“E-car”hadsweepinglinesanda“horsecollar”grillethatcertainlymadeitdistinguishablefrommanycarsofitsera,butitsuniqueappearancewasnotlimitedtothebodydesign.Anaircraftinspiredinstrumentpanelwasloadedwithnewoptionslikevisualwarninglights,a“Dial-TempAirSystem,andafloating“SpeedWarningLightSpeedometer.”

The“E-car”wouldalsobegivenspecialconsideration.TwonewV-8engines,theE-475andtheE-400,weredesignedforthe“E-car”project.The“Teletouch”drive,asetoftransmissionbuttonslocatedinthecenterofthesteeringwheel,allowedthedrivertoselectshift,reverse,andpark“withoutliftingahandfromthewheel.”

Everyaspectofthe“E-car”projectwasgivenextraordinaryattention,rightdowntotheselectionofthename.Wantingtocapturetheexcitementsurroundingthenewproductline,Fordstruggledtofindanamethatwouldfitthespiritoftheproject.

TheFordMotorCompanyultimatelychoosethenameEdsel,inhonorofHenryFord’sonlyson,andin1956the“SpecialProductsDivision”wasrenamedtheEdselDivision.

Withanameinplaceandadesignlikenoother,FordsetouttoenticethepublicandcreateinterestinthenewEdselline.Anunprecedentedpromotionalcampaignincludedadsthatcreatedanairofexpectationlikeneverbeforeforanewcar.

Thepublicityworked,creatingmuchpublicspeculationandexcitement.Withgreatfanfare,theEdselmadeitspublicdebutonSeptember4,1957.2.5MillionAmericansmadetheirwayintoshowroomsonwhatwasdubbed“E-Day”.

The1958Edsellinehittheshowroomweeksaheadofalltheothermakesforthatyear.Therewere18modelstochoosefrom,including5stationwagons.TheCitationandCorsairmodels,builtonaMercurychassis,werepricedtofillthegapbetweentheMercuryandLincolnline.ThePacerandRangermodels,builtonaFordchassis,werepricedtofillthegapbetweentheFordandMercuryline.Thestationwagons,Bermuda,Villager,andthetwo-doorRoundup,werealsobuiltonaFordchassis.

Alongwiththeiruniquestyling,engines,andTeletouchshifters,theEdselswerefilledwithinnovationsandoptionsthat,commonfortoday’svehicles,wereaheadoftheirtime.Innovationsforthenewlineincludedatransmissionthatlockedin“Park”untiltheignitionkeyisturned,a“control-center”60/40splitfrontseatthatallowedfordrivercomfortandeasyentrytotherearseatin2doormodels,andhoodandtrunkreleasesthatwereaccessedfromthedriver’sseat.

Initially,thepromotionappearedtobeasuccess,asitcertainlycreatedpublicinterestinthecar.However,itsoonbecameapparentthat,despitethecrowdedshowrooms,fewEdselswerebeingsold.Fordcontinuedtoaggressivelypromotetheirnewline,butbytheendoftheyear,oneinwhichFordexpectedtosellover200,000Edsels,theywerefacedwiththedisappointmentofnotevenmeetingonethirdoftheirprojectedsales.

Perhapstheoverlyambitiouslineupof4distinctmodelsbuiltontwoseparateplatformswastoomuchforthegeneralpublictoconsider.Theradical,foritstime,stylingmayhavealsocontributedtothepoorsalesrecords.Shortlyafteritsdebut,rumorsofpoorqualityplaguedtheEdselline.SincetheEdselwasbuiltbetweenFordsandMercurysontheassemblyline,assemblers,workingoutsideoftheirregularroutine,wouldoccasionallyforgettoinstallsomepartsorwouldhavetocontendwithpartsthatdidn’talwaysfitproperly.Inadditiontotheconfusionontheassemblyline,FordwasalsohavingproblemssupplyingpartsforEdselproduction.Asaresult,manyearlyEdselswereshippedtodealershipswithpartsmissing.

Itmayhavebeenacombinationofthesefactorsthatledtopoorsales,butonethingwascertain,thecarbuyingpublicwaslessthanenthused.Inanefforttohelptheirnewline,Forddecidedtomakesomechanges.InJanuaryof1958,Mercury,Edsel,andLincolnwereconsolidatedintoonedivision(MEL).

For1959,EdseltrimmedtheirproductofferingstotheRanger,CorsairandVillagermodels,droppingthemarketbetweenMercuryandLincoln.The“Teletouch”transmissionwasremovedfromtheline&aspartofthe1959modelyearcostreductions,EdselofferedtheForddivision's292Y-blockintheRanger,and332cubicinchintheCorsair.Newforthismodelyearwastheoptionofthe223cubicinchinlinesixcylinder.Salescontinuedtoslidein1959.

1960wastobethefinalyearinthecolorfulhistoryoftheEdselline,offeringonlytheRangerpassengercarandtheVillagerstationwagon.BasedontheFordchassis,theEdselRangerhaduniquesidemoldings,grilleornamentationandverticaltaillamphousings.AfewoptionsavailableforprospectiveEdselownersincludedfour-waypowerseats,back-uplamps,paddeddash,"Polar-Air"airconditioning,andtwo-tonepaint.Enginechoicesincludedthe292cubicinchV8andthe223cubicinchinlinesixcylinder.

Sadly,justoveramonthafterit'sOctober1960introductiondate,itwasannouncedthattheEdsellinewouldbediscontinued.Theproductionfigurefor1960wasamere2,846units,bringingthetotal3yearrunofoneofAmerica'smostuniquecarsto110,847.

SpeculationoverwhatcausedtheEdseltofailcontinuestothisday.Perhapsitwasthestyling,theconfusionoffillingtwoproductlinegapswiththesameline,ormaybethenameitself.Maybe,theEdsellinejustcouldn’tsustaintheimpossibilityoflivinguptothehypecreatedarounditsrelease.WhatiscertainisthattheEdselremainsoneoftheFordMotorCompany'sandautomotivehistory'sbiggestcuriosities.EdselhasenteredtheAmericanlexicon,anamesynonymouswithfailure,butdespiteitsshort-livedproduction,itcontinuestoliveuptotheclaim,“Neverbeforeacarlikeit.”