Edsel (car)
The Edsel was a car produced by the Ford Motor Company, introduced in 1957 amid significant promotional efforts, including a teaser advertising campaign. Despite initial excitement, the Edsel is often remembered as a marketing and branding failure, leading to the cessation of production by 1959. The car featured several innovative designs, such as a unique "rolling dome" speedometer and a "teletouch" transmission system located on the steering wheel. Distinctive for its large, circular "horse-collar" grill, the Edsel was available in various styles, including sedans, convertibles, and station wagons, named after Edsel Bryant Ford, the son of the company's founder.
Several factors contributed to the Edsel's downfall, including production issues, quality control problems, and misalignment with market demands, particularly during a recession. The car's marketing strategy failed to connect with potential buyers, leading to disappointing sales figures; while Ford aimed to sell between 100,000 and 200,000 units in its first year, only about 100,000 Edsels were sold over its entire three-year production run. The Edsel's failure became a cautionary tale in marketing, illustrating the importance of understanding consumer preferences and market conditions, and today, it serves as a cultural reference point for marketing failures.
Edsel (car)
Identification Automobile produced by the Ford Motor Company during the late 1950’s
Date Sold during 1958-1960 model years
One of the most famous marketing flops in automotive history, the Ford Edsel has become synonymous with failure.
Produced by the Ford Motor Company and sometimes called the Ford Edsel, the Edsel became synonymous with a marketing and branding failure. The Edsel was introduced in 1957 to huge amounts of fanfare, bolstered by a “teaser” advertising campaign that showed the car blurred or hidden under wrap, but by 1959, the decision was made to cease production of the car. The car boasted several new innovations, including its “rolling dome” speedometer and its “teletouch” transmission shifting system on the center of the steering wheel.
The original Edsels were distinctive, with their large, circular “horse-collar” grill, which was most noticeable on the 1958 model but less pronounced on the 1959 model. By 1960, the last year of production, the Edsel collar had disappeared, and in the front center of the grill was a concave shape. Edsels were produced in a variety of types and styles, including two- and four-door models, convertibles, sedans, and station wagons, with varying amounts of chrome.
The car was named for Edsel Bryant Ford , the only son of Henry Ford , Ford Motor Company’s founder. During his tenure with the company, Edsel Ford helped to design the Model A Ford, created the Lincoln, and founded and named the Mercury division. He served as president of Ford Motor from the early 1920’s onward, although Henry Ford maintained direct power throughout Edsel Ford’s tenure.
Edsel the Failure
The Edsel motorcar was a failure for a number of reasons. First, production and management problems impeded its success. Ford tried to make Edsel a wholly separate division early in its production, a plan which was to include separate dealerships unconnected with Ford. Ford also wanted separate production plants, although this was never accomplished, and Edsels were built on Ford lines. Workers subsequently found themselves building Ford automobiles one moment and Edsels the next, a task that proved difficult. Second, the quality of Edsels was problematic. In general, 1950’s cars were poorly built, and the Edsel was one of the worst. For example, Edsels experienced the unique problem of having their trunk lids pop open when drivers put them into reverse. The car’s push-button transmission controls in the center of the steering column also proved problematic.
Perhaps the greatest difficulty with the Edsel was related directly to its name and the way it was marketed to the public. The teaser campaign, combined with the fact that the Edsel name did not resonate with the public, confused potential buyers. Poor market timing was also a factor: The Edsel line was aimed at families who were ready to move “up” from their starter cars to larger and more expensive cars. However, the United States was just entering a recession, which limited the market of potential buyers that Ford counted on. People also began to buy things other than large cars to signal their growing affluence.
The Edsel quickly moved from being “the next big thing” at Ford to being discontinued. In 1957, Ford announced that it wanted to sell between 100,000 and 200,000 Edsels in 1958, but during the model’s three-year production history, only about 100,000 cars were sold in total.
Impact
The Edsel failure signaled a growing consumer savvy in the United States by the late 1950’s: American marketers and car manufacturers learned that consumers were not going to buy everything that Detroit attempted to sell them, and other industries took this lesson to heart as well. In subsequent years, marketing failures have earned the colloquial distinction of being “an Edsel.”
Bibliography
Bak, Richard. Henry and Edsel: The Creation of the Ford Empire. New York: Wiley and Sons, 2003. Provides one of the first thorough biographies of both Henry and Edsel Ford, detailing their teamwork in building the Ford Motor Company.
Banham, Russ, and Paul Newman. Ford Century: Ford Motor Company and the Innovations That Shaped the World. New York: Artisan, 2002. A lavish pictorial that features full-color layouts of twenty-five of Ford’s most legendary cars, including the Edsel.