At the heart of any big flop–like when Ford ended the Edsel 55 years ago, on Nov. 19, 1959–lies high expectations. The Edsel was named after Henry Ford’s son, no small honor, and it had its own division of the company devoted to its creation. As TIME reported in 1957 when the car debuted, the company had spent 10 years and $250 million on planning one of its first brand-new cars in decades. The Edsel came in 18 models but, in order to reach its sales goals, it would have to do wildly better than any other car in 1957 was expected to do. The September day that the car first went on the market, thousands of eager buyers showed up at dealers, but before the year was over monthly sales had fallen by about a third.
When Ford announced that they were pulling the plug on the program, here’s how TIME explained what had gone wrong:
As it turned out, the Edsel was a classic case of the wrong car for the wrong market at the wrong time. It was also a prime example of the limitations of market research, with its “depth interviews” and “motivational” mumbo-jumbo. On the research, Ford had an airtight case for a new medium-priced car to compete with Chrysler’s Dodge and DeSoto, General Motors’ Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Buick. Studies showed that by 1965 half of all U.S. families would be in the $5,000-and-up bracket, would be buying more cars in the medium-priced field, which already had 60% of the market. Edsel could sell up to 400,000 cars a year.
After the decision was made in 1955, Ford ran more studies to make sure the new car had precisely the right “personality.” Research showed that Mercury buyers were generally young and hot-rod-inclined, while Pontiac, Dodge and Buick appealed to middle-aged people. Edsel was to strike a happy medium. As one researcher said, it would be “the smart car for the younger executive or professional family on its way up.” To get this image across, Ford even went to the trouble of putting out a 60-page memo on the procedural steps in the selection of an advertising agency, turned down 19 applicants before choosing Manhattan’s Foote, Cone & Belding. Total cost of research, design, tooling, expansion of production facilities: $250 million.
A Taste of Lemon. The flaw in all the research was that by 1957, when Edsel appeared, the bloom was gone from the medium-priced field, and a new boom was starting in the compact field, an area the Edsel research had overlooked completely.
Even so, the Edsel wasn’t a complete loss for Ford: the company was able to use production facilities build for Edsel for their next new line of, you guessed it, compact cards.
First, the timing was bad: The Edsel might have been what consumers were looking for in 1955, but the market had changed by the time it was released in 1957. Due to an economic downturn, consumer preference had shifted to compact cars, which Ford failed to recognize.
The Edsel was produced by the Ford Motor Company between 1957 and 1959 and was intended to fill the supposed gap between the Ford and Mercury lines. In a word, yes. Many consider it the biggest failure the Ford Motor Company has ever had.
Key Issues and Challenges: Public Perception: The Edsel faced negative public reception and failed to meet consumer expectations, leading to disappointing sales figures. Economic Uncertainty: The vehicle's launch occurred in a time of economic uncertainty, impacting consumer spending and purchasing patterns.
Edsel Ford died of stomach cancer at the age of 49, in May of 1943, at Gaukler Point, with his wife Eleanor by his side. Henry Ford ordered all of Ford Motor Company to shut down and observe a moment of respectful silence the day his only child was laid to rest at Woodlawn Cemetery in Detroit.
Edsel was a make of car and a new car making division introduced by the Ford Motor Company on September 4, 1957. The company called that day, "E-Day." It was named after Henry Ford's son, Edsel Ford. The Edsel was also one of the biggest failures in history. It was sold for only three years, ending in 1960.
Ford's chief economic error, however, was political in nature. He replaced his first economic program, which raised taxes and capped spending in an effort to combat inflation, with a plan that cut taxes and limited government spending in the hopes of fighting unemployment.
The Pinto, a subcompact car made by Ford Motor Company, became infamous in the 1970s for bursting into flames if its gas tank was ruptured in a collision. The lawsuits brought by injured people and their survivors uncovered how the company rushed the Pinto through production and onto the market.
The film actually held the Guinness World Record for "History's Biggest Box Office Bomb" — according to "Freeze Frame," it cost $98 million to make and opened at $2.3 million. In total, it made just over $10 million.
Edsel, an automobile (1958–60) whose name commemorates Henry Ford's son, Edsel (1893–1943), who had been the much loved and appreciated president of the Ford Motor Company from 1919 until his death at age 49.
The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is controlled by the Ford family. They have minority ownership but the majority of the voting power. June 16, 1903 in Detroit, Michigan, U.S. U.S.
In the 1959 model year, 44,891 Edsels were sold in the United States, with 2,505 sold in Canada. Ford produced only 2,846 for the 1960 model year and announced the end of the Edsel program on November 19, 1959.
The big Edsel moment came in November of 1956 when the Edsel Division was formed as a new branch of Ford, separate from Lincoln-Mercury. By that time the Continental Division was already deceased. Ford did not start out small with Edsel but rather established 1,187 dealers immediately.
And he wanted Edsel to be part of that. But there always existed within Henry an ambivalent regard for his only child. He truly loved Edsel, yet harboured a consuming jealousy whose bitterness had the capacity to poison his relationship with whom he interacted, including his son.
The Edsel Citation is an automobile that was produced by the Edsel division of Ford for the 1958 model year. The flagship Edsel model line, the Citation was offered as a two-door convertible; all Citation sedans were produced as hardtops.
The younger Ford showed more interest than his father in flashier styling for automobiles. He indulged this proclivity in part with the purchase of the Lincoln Motor Company in 1922. His affinity for sports cars was demonstrated in his personal vehicles: Edsel bought the first MG motorcar imported to the US.
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