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 Although many people presume that the Edsel is another Ford they are far from correct. The Edsel was in fact a separate division of the Ford Motor Company much in the same way as Mercury and Lincoln.
On September 4th 1957 the new mid range family vehicle by "The Ford Motor Company" was unveiled. An 18 model line up was available with a list of options that made the mind boggle, you could have a choice of 19 colours with the option of single, two tone or even tri tone paint schemes. The interior choices were also extensive with the choice of cloth, vinyl or cloth /vinyl different colour dash and different trim levels. A list of optional extra's (a separate catalogue was issued for them) made for a truly unique car if you so wished.
It hit the market to rave reviews from the motoring press who had already been privy to testing some of the pre launch cars. People flocked to the new dealer showrooms to see what the new car was liked and although many liked what they saw, and orders placed the initial flurry soon slowed down. So what went wrong?
Was it the quirky design, the price (after all the great recession had just finished), it will never be known although many so called experts have had there say; it will never be truly known what caused the failure of the Edsel. It was a culmination of the above facts and a few more.
 Ford deemed the Edsel to be a separate division even though they were made on the same production lines as the regular Fords of the time. This caused problems for the workers who would have to retool every time one came down the line. This led to lost time and slowing of the line and often parts were simply left off or incorrectly fitted in order to make up time and bonuses. Not good practice if you are launching a new car and emphasising it build quality.
The biggest problem though was the automatic gear change. Mounted in the centre of the steering wheel hub. Buttons controlled an electric motor mounted on the chassis via a relay. The buttons and relay very rarely gave any trouble but the location of the motor and associated wiring caused the main problems.
If the motor was incorrectly set up (back to production line problems) then initially it would work fine but eventually it failed and caused the linkage to seize. Also if the heatsheild was omitted the motor grease dried out and seized.
Whatever gear you were in at the time was the gear you stayed in until it was repaired. Some motor's failed after only 200 miles. The wiring again was down to bad installation mainly because like the motor if the heat shield was left off it melted wires (they run down the side of the exhaust down pipe). This particular problem was the cause of a lot of destroyed boxes as it would change gear whenever it shorted out. Drive to reverse or park at speed isn't' good for an automatic gearbox.
 Very often dealers didn't have the parts to repair the Edsels and so removed them from showroom models to complete the repair. This practice did nothing to help the reputation of the dealers and the cars themselves.
Ford had invested $250,000,000 in the Edsel (a vast amount of money in 1957) and the pre-launch indications showed that this could be recouped with sale of 200,000 vehicles of the new model. The actual number produced was only 63,110 for the 1958 Edsel. So targets were never met and the all new 59 model was introduced.
The 31st October 1958 was the launch date of the 1959 model. It was by comparison totally different to the 58 with a more conservative styling gone was the sculptured look and in came a more basic look similar to the style of that era.
The range was reduced to 10 models with the Pacer, Citation, Bermuda and round names being deleted. An in line "Economy Six" engine was offered along with the v8's from the 58 model
Quality control improved with the majority of the 59's being produced at one plant.
As with the 58 the 59 received favourable reviews from the motoring press and once the buying public realised that the inherent faults of the 58 had gone they sold well but Ford were getting desperate to recoup there investment and so the 1960 model was launched.
October the 15th was the day of the launch. The downsized model line up was again reduced, offering only 6 models. The passenger car range was designated "Ranger" and the wagons "Villager"
Plans had been made to continue with the upmarket "Corsair" range with its luxury interior trim and body side mouldings although the interior was offered as an optional extra. Again the inline 6 and V8's were offered to power the model. The 1960 range offered what is generally known rarest of all the Edsel's the Convertible with only 76 being made. But without doubt the rarest Edsel ever is the 1960 Villager 9-seat wagon with only 59 being produced before Ford ceased production of the 1960 models 36 days after launching them on the 19th November 1959.
 The last Edsel to be produced was a 1960 Villager from the Louisville plant.
Long before the demise of the Edsel, Ford had already planned to introduce a "compact" into the market. This was introduced in March 1960 and was to be known as the "61 Edsel" but at the last minute it was changed to the "Comet", the rest is history.
Maybe it was just a case of RIGHT CAR WRONG TIME
Edsel Production Figures
| Model | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | Total |
| Four door hardtop | 19028 | 4046 | 135 | 23209 |
| Two door hardtop | 7532 | 7789 | 295 | 25616 |
| Four door sedan | 12659 | 16115 | 1288 | 30062 |
| Two door sedan | 14615 | 7778 | 777 | 13170 |
| Convertible | 2806 | 1343 | 76 | 4225 |
| Station wagon | 6470 | 7820 | 275 | 14565 |
| Production | 63110 | 44891 | 2846 | 110847 |
Remaining Edsels Worldwide (Shared across all available models for the year)
1958... 3,500 1959... 6,000 1960... 625
As can be seen during the three year production there were only 110,847 Edsels made the number of survivors is very small, as many were sent to the wrecker's yard or left to rot in back yards and fields.
Sadly though the demise of the Edsel was inevitable from the start, its radical styling made it one of those cars that you either love or hate there is no real in between. Bad workmanship and manufacturer back up, being launched onto a very unstable market (it was the end of a recession and the war) over advertisement (the Edsel was launched with one of the largest advertising campaign of that era).
But slowly they are gaining popularity as the more common Chevy's, Fords, Buicks and Chryslers of the 50's are becoming increasingly harder to find.
The largest number of remaining Edsels can be found in the USA. But here in Europe the largest numbers are to be found in Sweden. There is however an increase in the popularity in the UK with approx 15 registered with more becoming known each season. Of these 15 there are only 4 or 5 that are regularly seen at the shows. With this being the "Golden Anniversary" it is hoped that a few more will be seen during this year.
Spares are not a problem with most mechanical parts being shared with their year related Ford counterparts. Body and interior trim are becoming increasingly hard to find although good old E-Bay usually turns something up but patience is required as they always receive a lot of attention. There are however several suppliers of remanufactured parts although these are slightly more expensive.
Edsels owners are well catered for in the UK with an owners club (affiliated to the International Edsel Club of America) and their own dedicated website (www.edselowners.co.uk). A host of knowledge is readily available on the Internet with a lot of owner's site and groups all are very helpful and offer advice freely.
EDSELS: YOU EITHER LOVE THEM OR HATE THEM Myself I love them but then I do own a one of the remaining 96 58 Pacer 4-door sedans.
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