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N0KFQ > TODAY 04.09.16 15:34l 54 Lines 2448 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 6450_N0KFQ
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Sep 4
Path: IW8PGT<IZ3LSV<IW2OHX<IR1UAW<IK1NHL<CX2SA<LU4ECL<N0KFQ
Sent: 160904/1423Z 6450@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQ6.0.12
1957
Edsel arrives in showrooms at last
On September 4, 1957-"E-Day," according to its advertising
campaign-the Ford Motor Company unveils the Edsel, the first new
automobile brand produced by one of the Big Three car companies
since 1938. (Although many people call it the "Ford Edsel," in
fact Edsel was a division all its own, like Lincoln or Mercury.)
Thirteen hundred independent Edsel dealers offered four models
for sale: the smaller Pacer and Ranger and the larger Citation
and Corsair.
To many people, the Edsel serves as a symbol of corporate hubris
at its worst: it was an over-hyped, over-sized, over-designed
monstrosity. Other people believe the car was simply a victim of
bad timing. When Ford executives began planning for the company's
new brand, the economy was booming and people were snapping up
enormous gas-guzzlers as fast as automakers could build them. By
the time the Edsel hit showrooms, however, the economic outlook
was bad and getting worse. People didn't want big, glitzy fin
cars anymore; they wanted small, efficient ones instead. The
Edsel was just ostentatious and expensive enough to give buyers
pause.
At the same time, there is probably no car in the world that
could have lived up to the Edsel's hype. For months, the company
had been running ads that simply pictured the car's hood ornament
and the line "The Edsel Is Coming." Everything else about the car
was top-secret: If dealers failed to keep their Edsels hidden,
they'd lose their franchise. For the great E-Day unveiling,
promotions and prizes-like a giveaway of 1,000 ponies-lured
shoppers to showrooms.
When they got there, they found a car that had a distinctive look
indeed-but not necessarily in a good way. Thanks to the big
impact ring or "horse collar" in the middle of its front grille,
it looked (one reporter said) like "a Pontiac pushing a toilet
seat." (Another called it "an Oldsmobile sucking a lemon.") And
its problems were more than cosmetic. Drivers changed gears by
pushing buttons on the steering wheel, a system that was not easy
to figure out. In addition, at highway speeds that famous hood
ornament had a tendency to fly off and into the windshield.
In its first year, Edsel sold just 64,000 cars and lost $250
million ($2.5 billion today). After the 1960 model year, the
company folded.
73 - K.O., n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
Winlink: n0kfq@winlink.org
E-Mail : kohiggs@gmail.com
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