Edsel: Difference between revisions
Corrected information about Nash and Hudson, as they did not go out of business in 57 but rather the nameplates were simply dropped. |
|||
| Line 13: | Line 13: | ||
==Edsel's failure== |
==Edsel's failure== |
||
Among product errors, few other products top the Edsel when it comes to commercial failures and marketing disasters. So synonymous with the word "failure" has the name "Edsel" become, that when other products meet a similar fate they are often considered the "Edsel" of that industry. Such well researched lines as the Betamax video system, Polaroid's failed instant video film, and "New" Coke, are but a few. |
|||
As early as 1948, Henry Ford II, President of the then family owned Ford Motor Company and grandson of the found and his namesake, realized that there were serious gaps in the product line-up for "step-up" buyers to move up to. At General Motors, a loyal customer could start with Chevrolet, and as he grew more prosperous, move up to Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick and finally topping out with Cadillac. Even at the third place automaker, the Chrysler Corporation, buyers could take steps starting with Plymouth, then going to Dodge, DeSoto, Chrysler and finally Imperial. At Ford it was Ford a big step to Mercury and a giant step to Lincoln. |
|||
After an initial [[United States]] sales goal of 100,000 - 200,000 for the model year [[1958]], the Edsel went on to sell only 100,847 in the U.S. over the course of the three years it was in production, with an additional 7,431 sold in [[Canada]], and a bare handful overseas. |
|||
After a truce in the Korean War, around 1953, one of the famous Whiz Kids, F. C. "Jack" Reith, came up with a marketing plan for Ford to meet the competition head-on. He revealed that at both GM and Chrysler, major body and chassis components were often shared between lines, thus reducing developmental and production costs. He made a similar proposal that a new line-up be created starting with Ford, a new lower-medium price line, Mercury, a new upper-medium price line, the Lincoln and finally a new ultra-exclusive model, which would eventually be the Contiental Mark II, be marketed. |
|||
Henry Ford II like the idea, but others in the company leadership weren't as adventurous, primarily Ernest Breech who had come to Ford from GM, and Robert McNamara, at the time aiming for the General Manager's position with the Ford Division. In the final decision, it was agreed that a new line be created that would fill the two gaps on either side of Mercury. |
|||
A new Special Products Division was created for the design and development of these new vehicles, referred to in the company as the "E-car", E for experimental. However, as early as July 1955, published rumors speculated that this new car would be named the Edsel in honor of Henry Ford's only son, who had served as company president from 1919 up to his death in May 1943. |
|||
Several studies were conducted to give the new line a name with one list containing over 18,000 suggestions. Poet Marianne Moore even contributed such ideas as the Civique Mongoose and Utopian Turtletop. No where did the name Edsel pop up. As the final window to select a new name began to close, four top choices were fielded, Citation, Corsair, Pacer and Ranger. However, the name Edsel was brought up time and time again, and at last the Ford family agreed to honor their late father and husband by naming the car after him with the top selection being applied to the individual series. |
|||
Most expensive were the Corsair and Citation series which shared the same basic body shell with Mercury, but incorporated a slightly longer wheelbase (124" vs. 122"), while the Pacer and Ranger series shared the Ford Fairland basic body shell and in this case wheelbase too. Three station wagon lines were also offered, the Bermuda, trimmed with imitation wood-paneling and considered a part of the Pacer family, and the 4-dr Villagers plus 2-dr Roundup models, which were teamed with the Ranger series. A total of 18 different models could be found in the 1958 Edsel family. |
|||
[[Image:Edsel.JPG|right|Edsel]] |
[[Image:Edsel.JPG|right|Edsel]] |
||
One could theorize that the reason for Edsel's failure was consumer let-down. In the cold-war era, everyone loved "top-secrets" and the public relations people as well as advertising folks fed this desire, building up expectations that this would not only be the car you would soon be driving to the store or work, but possibly to the moon on vacation. Teaser ads featured blurred images, or cars wrapped in cloaks with only cut-outs for the windshield, so as to build the excitment. Test cars were given a few bits of trim changes to conceal their identity, but those who saw them in real life knew they were getting a special preview. Even when the cars were first being shipped to the dealerships, their front and rear ends were wrapped in canvas to protect the design theme. |
|||
Several reasons are given for its downfall. One is consumer letdown following the large publicity buildup prior to the model's release. The pre-release advertising campaign touted the car as having '...more YOU ideas' and the teaser advertisements in magazines only revealed glimpses of the car through a highly-blurred lens or wrapped in paper or under tarps. The cars were shipped to the dealerships undercover and remained wrapped on the dealer lots. After its introduction to the public, it didn't live up to its over-blown hype even though it did have many new features such as self-adjusting rear brakes and automatic lubrication. |
|||
On September 4, 1957, when the car was introduced to the public, the crowds jammed the showrooms just as they had 30 years earlier with the long awaited Model A's had been released. On the first day, over 4,000 orders were taken. However, things started to cool quickly. |
|||
After its introduction to the public, it didn't live up to its over-blown hype even though it did have many new features such as push-button Teletouch automatic transmission, and standard self-adjusting rear brakes. Options included a full array of power equipment from windows and seats to steering and brake, even a power radio antenna and Power-Lube, an automatic lubrication system. |
|||
There were several other factors that led to the Edsel's ultimate failure. When the car went on sale, it was "clean-up" time for other makes getting rid of their 1957 models at cut-rate prices, while the Edsel was available at full-sticker without any discounts. In addition to this, the Eisenhower recession was in full swing which would severly affect the entire U.S. auto market with some makes seeing up to a 60% drop in sales, while long standing marques like Hudson, Nash and Packard would all disappear in the next few months. |
|||
Add to this the poor quality of many of the initial units delivered to dealers. Partially assembled front sheet metal, disconnected electrical circuits, ill-fitting door panels and deck lids, poor paint quality and dozens of other "little things" added up to customers not being very happy. Fuel efficiency, while not as important then as today, was another concern. The Edsel came in two engine sizes the E-400 and the E-475 with the numbers corresponding to the pound-foot of torque produced. Cubic inches were 361 and 410 respectively with 10.5 to 1 compression. Edsels were fast, but required premium fuel and did not make the gas mileage desired during a recession. Mechanics said bad things about the bigger engine because of its unique design. The cylinder head had no combustion chamber and was perfectly flat, meaning the combustion took place in the cylinder bore. This design reduced carbon buildup, which to the mechanics seemed strange. |
|||
There were also problems with planned promotions extolling the Edsel's performance, when the auto makers voluntarily placed a ban on any offical sponsorship of racing or using speed and pickup as selling points. |
|||
In one respect, the Edsel was not a failure; while it did not hit its sales target based [[1955]] sales numbers, it actually exceeded the projected percentage of sales for its class. The 100,000 cars target was 3.3% of mid-size cars sold in 1955 when the design process began, the Edsel achieved 5% of mid-size cars sales in 1958 when the car was first sold. That first season a total of 63,110 units were produced in the United States, with another 5,500 produced in Canada. |
|||
Various other problems were cited, including the unpopularity of the Edsel's trademark "horsecollar" grille, which made it stand out from other cars of the period. |
|||
One of the most popular theories for the failure of the Edsel was internal politics, particularly, Robert McNamara. according the C Gayle Warnock's book, The Edsel Affair, at a media unveiling a week before the car went on sale, Fairfax Cone, a principle in the Edsel's advertising agency of Foote, Cone and Belding, asked McNamara how he liked the Edsel. His response was reported to have been "I have plans to discontinue it". |
|||
Another reason that the Edsel failed was because when Ford was developing it, they asked consumers what they wanted in a car while not asking how much they were willing to pay for it. Thus when it actually came out, the price tag was much higher than many customers were expecting despite all the model's features. |
|||
So bad was the relationship between Edsels and the factories, that one Edsel executive was sent to the Louisville facility to talk to the plant manager about the poor quality. Rather than find someone sympathetic, he was tossed off the property. When Edsel's General Manager went to the same plant he was treat in much the same manner. Only after McNamara, who was now in charge of all North American vehicle operations, stepped in did Edsel quality start to improve. |
|||
The name of the car, Edsel, is also often cited as a further reason for its unpopularity. Ford ran internal studies to decide on a name. They reached no conclusions. Ford hired the advertising firm [[Foote, Cone and Belding]] to come up with a name. Ford also asked poet [[Marianne Moore]] for suggestions, and she submitted a list which included "The Intelligent Whale," "The Utopian Turtletop," "The Pastelogram," and "The Mongoose Civique." All these outside ideas were rejected, and at the behest of [[Ernest Breech]], who was chairing a meeting in the absence of [[Henry Ford II]], the car was finally called "Edsel" in honor of [[Edsel Ford]], former company president and son of [[Henry Ford]]. Marketing surveys later found the name was thought to sound odd and therefore was unpopular with the public; additionally, some sources claim that the Ford family disapproved of the decision to name the car after Edsel Ford from the very beginning. |
|||
It didn't take long for the writing on the wall to be seen. By the middle of October 1957, two plants had their Edsel lines closed down and were re-tooled for 1958 Fords. By the middle of January, 1958, only two plants were building Edsels, and then only on confirmed orders. That is when the Edsel Division under Richard Krafve, was merged in with Lincoln-Mercury to form MEL, or the Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln Division. |
|||
Perhaps the most important factor in the Edsel's failure, however, was that when the car was introduced, the U.S. was entering a period of [[recession]]. Sales for all car manufacturers, even those not introducing new models, were down; consumers entered a period of preferring less-expensive, more [[Fuel efficiency|fuel-efficient]] automobiles. The Edsel came in two engine sizes the E-400 and the E-475 with the numbers corresponding to the pound-foot of torque produced. Cubic inches were 361 and 410 respectively with 10.5 to 1 compression. Edsels were fast, but required premium fuel and did not make the gas mileage desired during a recession. Mechanics said bad things about the bigger engine because of its unique design. The cylinder head had no combustion chamber and was perfectly flat, meaning the combustion took place in the cylinder bore. This design reduced carbon buildup, but, to the mechanic, was strange. The on the steering wheel hub push button automatic transmission disturbed many drivers. This was the traditional location of the horn and drivers ended up shifting gears instead of honking the horn. While the Edsel was fast, the location of the transmission push buttons was not conducive to street racing. There were jokes about stoplight dragsters and the buttons: D for Drag, L for Leap, and R for Race, but of course D was Drive, L was Low, and R was Reverse. The Edsel, moreover, was priced higher than comparable models offered by competing automotive firms at the time. In this respect, it was not a failure — while it did not hit its sales target based on [[1955]] sales numbers, it did achieve the projected percentage of sales for its class. The 100,000 cars target was 3.3% of mid-size cars sold in 1955 when the design process began, the Edsel achieved 5% of mid-size cars sales in 1958 when the car was first sold. Several other car makes did not survive this market downturn: [[Nash Motors|Nash]] and [[Hudson Motor Car|Hudson]] were discontinued after the [[1957]] model year, [[Packard]] after 1958, and [[De Soto (automobile)|De Soto]] after the [[1961]] model year. |
|||
For 1959, the Edsel design was toned down, and the Mercury based Corsair and Citation lines eliminated. Originally it had been planned to market only the Ranger, Pacer and a Villager wagon, but at the last minute Corsair was substituted for Pacer. Now sold as "just above the low priced three", Edsel offered an economial six-cylinder engine and quality was reportedly much better. However, it was too late and just 44,891 units were produced in the United Stated and fewer than 2,500 in Canada. |
|||
Various other problems were cited, including the unpopularity of the Edsel's trademark "horsecollar" grille, which made it stand out from other cars of the period. A widely circulated wisecrack at the time was that "It looked like a Merc sucking on a lemon." There were also reports of mechanical flaws in the models originating in the factory, due to lack of [[quality control]] and confusion of parts with other Ford models. Edsels in their first (1958) model year were made in both Mercury and Ford factories; the longer wheelbase models, Citation and Corsair, were produced alongside the [[Mercury (automobile)|Mercury]] products and the shorter wheelbase models, Pacer and Ranger, were produced alongside the Ford products. There was never a stand-alone Edsel factory devoted solely to Edsel model production; therefore the desired quality control of the different Edsel models was difficult to achieve for the new make of car. |
|||
The "horsecollar" grille was dropped for the [[1960]] model; 1960 Edsels had a body-type almost indistinguishable from the Ford cars released that year. |
The "horsecollar" grille was dropped for the [[1960]] model; 1960 Edsels had a body-type almost indistinguishable from the Ford cars released that year. With just 2,846 units produced, on November 19, 1959, Ford announced that the Edsel was being discontinued due to disappointing sales. |
||
Future plans had been laid out with the release of a compact cousin to the very successful Ford Falcon with the Edsel Comet. However, by the time this smart little car hit the market on March 17, 1960, the Edsel name had been erased and for the first two model years, this great selling line of cars was marketed only as the Comet, available at your local Mercury dealers. In 1962, this series officially joined the Mercury marque. Close inspection of those early Comets will reveal a number of Edsel styling traits from the recycled 1959 parking light lenses and interior control knobs, to the general design of the instrument cluster and oval sharped taillight lenses. |
|||
The scheduled [[1961]] Edsel Comet compact car was relabeled the [[Mercury Comet]] and sold more cars in its first year than all models of Edsel ever produced. Styling touches seen in the Comets sold to the public that allude to being part of the Edsel family of models include the rear tailfins (though canted diagonally), the tail light shape (reminiscent of the 1960 Edsel) and the front grille (roughly similar to the 1960 Edsel's). |
|||
Today it is estimated that fewer than 6,000 Edsels survive and today they are considered collectors’ items. In top condition convertibles have been reported sold for over $50,000. Traditionally, hardtops fall behind the open-cars by about half the values, and but in recent years, the Edsel's unique station wagons such as the Bermuda and Roundup have actually surpassed comparable hardtop models. Due to the large number of surviving Edsel sedans from all three model years, these make excellent "starter" cars for someone wanting to enter the wonderful world of car collecting, as the initial price can be very reasonable with decent running models available in the $3,000 to $4,000 range. |
|||
==External links== |
==External links== |
||
Revision as of 01:34, 16 August 2005
The Edsel, a then-new make of automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company, was introduced amidst a considerable amount of publicity on September 4, 1957. The firm had recently earned its status as a publicly-traded corporation, rather than being entirely owned by members of the Ford family, by being able to sell cars that weren't stuck with Henry Ford's antiquated preferences after the sellers' market of the post-war years had closed. The new management compared the roster of Ford makes with that of General Motors, and noted that Lincoln competed, not with Cadillac, but with Oldsmobile. The plan was developed to move Lincoln upmarket and put another make in beneath it, with yet another (Continental) at the very top. Research and development had begun in 1955 under the name "E-car" which stood for "Experimental car".
This represented a new division of the firm alongside that of Ford itself and the Lincoln-Mercury division, which at the time shared the same body. Continental was also sold in the latter division. Although Edsel would share its body with Ford, it would be sold through a new division. This short-lived Edsel division existed from November 1956 until January 1958, after which Edsels were made by the Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln division (referred to as MEL). Edsel was sold through a new network of 1500 dealers. This briefly brought total dealers of all Ford products to 10,000. Ford saw this as a way to come closer to parity with the other two companies of the Big Three: Chrysler had 10,000 dealers and General Motors had 16,000. As it was quickly realized that Edsel was failing many of these dealers added Lincoln-Mercury, English Ford and/or Taunus dealerships to their lines with the encouragement of Ford Motor Company. Some dealers, however, closed.
For the 1958 model year, Edsel produced 4 models, including the larger Citation and Corsair, and the smaller, more affordable Pacer and Ranger. The Citation came in 2 door, 4 door, and two door convertible versions. The Corsair came in 2 door and 4 door versions. The Pacer came in 2 door, 4 door, 2 door sedan, and 2 door convertible. The Ranger came in 2 door, 4 door, 2 door sedan and 4 door sedan versions. The Bermuda Wagon, Villager Wagon, and Roundup Wagon were based on the two smaller Edsel models, and shared body structure with the '57-59 Ford wagons. It included several features that were, at the time, cutting-edge innovations, among which were its "rolling dome" speedometer and its "teletouch" transmission shifting system, on the center of the steering wheel. 63,110 Edsels sold the first year, below expectations but the second largest car launch for any brand to date. Only the Plymouth introduction in 1928 was better.
For the 1959 model year there were only 2 Edsels: the Ranger and the Corsair which was really a relabeled Pacer. The two larger cars were not produced. The new Corsair came in 2 door, 4 door, 4 door sedan, and 2 door convertible. The Ranger came in 2 door, 4 door, 2 door sedan and 4 door sedan and the Villager station wagon. 44891 cars sold in model year 1959.
For the 1960 model year, Edsel's last, only the Ranger and Villager were produced. A mere 2848 cars were produced before the Edsel was dropped on November 19, 1959.
Edsel's failure
Among product errors, few other products top the Edsel when it comes to commercial failures and marketing disasters. So synonymous with the word "failure" has the name "Edsel" become, that when other products meet a similar fate they are often considered the "Edsel" of that industry. Such well researched lines as the Betamax video system, Polaroid's failed instant video film, and "New" Coke, are but a few.
As early as 1948, Henry Ford II, President of the then family owned Ford Motor Company and grandson of the found and his namesake, realized that there were serious gaps in the product line-up for "step-up" buyers to move up to. At General Motors, a loyal customer could start with Chevrolet, and as he grew more prosperous, move up to Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick and finally topping out with Cadillac. Even at the third place automaker, the Chrysler Corporation, buyers could take steps starting with Plymouth, then going to Dodge, DeSoto, Chrysler and finally Imperial. At Ford it was Ford a big step to Mercury and a giant step to Lincoln.
After a truce in the Korean War, around 1953, one of the famous Whiz Kids, F. C. "Jack" Reith, came up with a marketing plan for Ford to meet the competition head-on. He revealed that at both GM and Chrysler, major body and chassis components were often shared between lines, thus reducing developmental and production costs. He made a similar proposal that a new line-up be created starting with Ford, a new lower-medium price line, Mercury, a new upper-medium price line, the Lincoln and finally a new ultra-exclusive model, which would eventually be the Contiental Mark II, be marketed.
Henry Ford II like the idea, but others in the company leadership weren't as adventurous, primarily Ernest Breech who had come to Ford from GM, and Robert McNamara, at the time aiming for the General Manager's position with the Ford Division. In the final decision, it was agreed that a new line be created that would fill the two gaps on either side of Mercury.
A new Special Products Division was created for the design and development of these new vehicles, referred to in the company as the "E-car", E for experimental. However, as early as July 1955, published rumors speculated that this new car would be named the Edsel in honor of Henry Ford's only son, who had served as company president from 1919 up to his death in May 1943.
Several studies were conducted to give the new line a name with one list containing over 18,000 suggestions. Poet Marianne Moore even contributed such ideas as the Civique Mongoose and Utopian Turtletop. No where did the name Edsel pop up. As the final window to select a new name began to close, four top choices were fielded, Citation, Corsair, Pacer and Ranger. However, the name Edsel was brought up time and time again, and at last the Ford family agreed to honor their late father and husband by naming the car after him with the top selection being applied to the individual series.
Most expensive were the Corsair and Citation series which shared the same basic body shell with Mercury, but incorporated a slightly longer wheelbase (124" vs. 122"), while the Pacer and Ranger series shared the Ford Fairland basic body shell and in this case wheelbase too. Three station wagon lines were also offered, the Bermuda, trimmed with imitation wood-paneling and considered a part of the Pacer family, and the 4-dr Villagers plus 2-dr Roundup models, which were teamed with the Ranger series. A total of 18 different models could be found in the 1958 Edsel family.
One could theorize that the reason for Edsel's failure was consumer let-down. In the cold-war era, everyone loved "top-secrets" and the public relations people as well as advertising folks fed this desire, building up expectations that this would not only be the car you would soon be driving to the store or work, but possibly to the moon on vacation. Teaser ads featured blurred images, or cars wrapped in cloaks with only cut-outs for the windshield, so as to build the excitment. Test cars were given a few bits of trim changes to conceal their identity, but those who saw them in real life knew they were getting a special preview. Even when the cars were first being shipped to the dealerships, their front and rear ends were wrapped in canvas to protect the design theme.
On September 4, 1957, when the car was introduced to the public, the crowds jammed the showrooms just as they had 30 years earlier with the long awaited Model A's had been released. On the first day, over 4,000 orders were taken. However, things started to cool quickly.
After its introduction to the public, it didn't live up to its over-blown hype even though it did have many new features such as push-button Teletouch automatic transmission, and standard self-adjusting rear brakes. Options included a full array of power equipment from windows and seats to steering and brake, even a power radio antenna and Power-Lube, an automatic lubrication system.
There were several other factors that led to the Edsel's ultimate failure. When the car went on sale, it was "clean-up" time for other makes getting rid of their 1957 models at cut-rate prices, while the Edsel was available at full-sticker without any discounts. In addition to this, the Eisenhower recession was in full swing which would severly affect the entire U.S. auto market with some makes seeing up to a 60% drop in sales, while long standing marques like Hudson, Nash and Packard would all disappear in the next few months.
Add to this the poor quality of many of the initial units delivered to dealers. Partially assembled front sheet metal, disconnected electrical circuits, ill-fitting door panels and deck lids, poor paint quality and dozens of other "little things" added up to customers not being very happy. Fuel efficiency, while not as important then as today, was another concern. The Edsel came in two engine sizes the E-400 and the E-475 with the numbers corresponding to the pound-foot of torque produced. Cubic inches were 361 and 410 respectively with 10.5 to 1 compression. Edsels were fast, but required premium fuel and did not make the gas mileage desired during a recession. Mechanics said bad things about the bigger engine because of its unique design. The cylinder head had no combustion chamber and was perfectly flat, meaning the combustion took place in the cylinder bore. This design reduced carbon buildup, which to the mechanics seemed strange.
There were also problems with planned promotions extolling the Edsel's performance, when the auto makers voluntarily placed a ban on any offical sponsorship of racing or using speed and pickup as selling points.
In one respect, the Edsel was not a failure; while it did not hit its sales target based 1955 sales numbers, it actually exceeded the projected percentage of sales for its class. The 100,000 cars target was 3.3% of mid-size cars sold in 1955 when the design process began, the Edsel achieved 5% of mid-size cars sales in 1958 when the car was first sold. That first season a total of 63,110 units were produced in the United States, with another 5,500 produced in Canada.
Various other problems were cited, including the unpopularity of the Edsel's trademark "horsecollar" grille, which made it stand out from other cars of the period.
One of the most popular theories for the failure of the Edsel was internal politics, particularly, Robert McNamara. according the C Gayle Warnock's book, The Edsel Affair, at a media unveiling a week before the car went on sale, Fairfax Cone, a principle in the Edsel's advertising agency of Foote, Cone and Belding, asked McNamara how he liked the Edsel. His response was reported to have been "I have plans to discontinue it".
So bad was the relationship between Edsels and the factories, that one Edsel executive was sent to the Louisville facility to talk to the plant manager about the poor quality. Rather than find someone sympathetic, he was tossed off the property. When Edsel's General Manager went to the same plant he was treat in much the same manner. Only after McNamara, who was now in charge of all North American vehicle operations, stepped in did Edsel quality start to improve.
It didn't take long for the writing on the wall to be seen. By the middle of October 1957, two plants had their Edsel lines closed down and were re-tooled for 1958 Fords. By the middle of January, 1958, only two plants were building Edsels, and then only on confirmed orders. That is when the Edsel Division under Richard Krafve, was merged in with Lincoln-Mercury to form MEL, or the Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln Division.
For 1959, the Edsel design was toned down, and the Mercury based Corsair and Citation lines eliminated. Originally it had been planned to market only the Ranger, Pacer and a Villager wagon, but at the last minute Corsair was substituted for Pacer. Now sold as "just above the low priced three", Edsel offered an economial six-cylinder engine and quality was reportedly much better. However, it was too late and just 44,891 units were produced in the United Stated and fewer than 2,500 in Canada.
The "horsecollar" grille was dropped for the 1960 model; 1960 Edsels had a body-type almost indistinguishable from the Ford cars released that year. With just 2,846 units produced, on November 19, 1959, Ford announced that the Edsel was being discontinued due to disappointing sales.
Future plans had been laid out with the release of a compact cousin to the very successful Ford Falcon with the Edsel Comet. However, by the time this smart little car hit the market on March 17, 1960, the Edsel name had been erased and for the first two model years, this great selling line of cars was marketed only as the Comet, available at your local Mercury dealers. In 1962, this series officially joined the Mercury marque. Close inspection of those early Comets will reveal a number of Edsel styling traits from the recycled 1959 parking light lenses and interior control knobs, to the general design of the instrument cluster and oval sharped taillight lenses.
Today it is estimated that fewer than 6,000 Edsels survive and today they are considered collectors’ items. In top condition convertibles have been reported sold for over $50,000. Traditionally, hardtops fall behind the open-cars by about half the values, and but in recent years, the Edsel's unique station wagons such as the Bermuda and Roundup have actually surpassed comparable hardtop models. Due to the large number of surviving Edsel sedans from all three model years, these make excellent "starter" cars for someone wanting to enter the wonderful world of car collecting, as the initial price can be very reasonable with decent running models available in the $3,000 to $4,000 range.
External links
- edsel.com History, specifications, resources for owners