The US automotive industry was so large that
manufacturers not only had a plethora of models
from which to choose, but also divisions. Research
had revealed Ford's Lincoln was not competing
with Cadillac as intended, but consumers were
instead comparing it to the Oldsmobile of the
day. Ford was committed to ensuring the Lincoln
stayed as the flagship make, and so a decision
was made to introduce a suitable competitor
for the Oldsmobile. Dubbed the “E Car” (experimental
car), the new division set about creating an
advanced and highly desirable car that would
be readily identifiable and individualistic.
Given that Mercury were already sharing the
bodies and many components from the Lincoln
range, it was important that the E-Car be new
from the ground up, rather than be a concoction
of parts cobbled together from existing Ford
models. The hype surrounding the launch of
the Edsel was
unprecedented for the time, the four models
including both 2 and four door hardtops, while
the Pacer was available as a convertible.
Sales
never reached anywhere near expectation, and
for many years the word Edsel conjured negative
images of the automotive industry much like
Titanic had done for the shipping industry.
The reasons for the spectacular failure of
the new division were many and varied. The
marketing campaign had led consumers to believe
the Edsel was new from the ground up, but it
was anything but new and borrowed heavily from
the parts bins of other Ford divisions.
The
original decision to market the car via its
own dealer network didn’t help, nor
did a pricing structure that would see it compete
with others from the Ford stable rather than
competitive manufacturers. But there is a more
simple explanation that many believe to be
more accurate, that the Edsel was simply too
big for the time – as other manufacturers
made their cars more compact the Edsel harked
back to the early 1950’s era of bigger
is best. It wasn’t.
Also see:
The History of Edsel.
