THE EDSEL AFFAIR HBDJ WHAT WENT WRONG FORD *LIKE NEW* 1980 FIRST EDITION

Description: THE EDSEL AFFAIR HBDJ WHAT WENT WRONG FORD *LIKE NEW* 1980 FIRST EDITION THE EDSEL AFFAIR HBDJ WHAT WENT WRONG FORD * LIKE NEW* 1980 FIRST EDITION HARDBOUND BOOK with DUSTJACKET in ENGLISH by C. GAYLE WARNOCK (the EDSEL DIVISION PUBLIC RELATION DIRECTOR) AUTOGRAPHED BY AUTHOR, 1980 (FIRST EDITION) Author C. Gayle Warnock takes readers inside Ford's greatest folly, the 1958 Edsel line of automobiles. As head of promotions for the Edsel, Warnock is able to recount this amazing tale of small successes and monumental failures with impressive detail. He brings the readers from the 1955 design tables through to the 1957 introduction, and eventually the Edsel's ultimate demise in 1959. More than just a book about a car, Warnock's story explores the culture and social history that surrounds one of the greatest business disasters. Fills in many gaps that Thomas Bonsall's book, "Disaster in Dearborn" could not multiple-source verify. Warnock fills in many of the "insider" gaps missing in an historical tome like Bonsall's, but -- together -- they provide a well-rounded view of the internal politics and abject amateurism that led to the Edsel's failure. Compared to its competition, Roy Brown's design wasn't unattractive, but the car itself had been oversold, under-prepared, and its positioning changed multiple times. It also launched into a recession that decimated the mid-price field for many years to come. About the only good thing that can be said about the program is that it gave Ford the plant and equipment it needed to meet demand for the Falcon and Mustang, but at 1950s prices. ----------------------------- Additional Information from Internet Encyclopedia Edsel is a discontinued division and brand of automobiles that was produced by the Ford Motor Company in the 1958 to 1960 model years. Deriving its name from Edsel Ford, son of company founder Henry Ford, Edsels were developed in an effort to give Ford a fourth brand to gain additional market share from Chrysler and General Motors. Established as an expansion of the LincolnMercury Division to three brands, re-christened the MercuryEdselLincoln Division, Edsel shared a price range with Mercury. The division shared its bodies with both Mercury and Ford. Competing against Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Dodge, and DeSoto, Edsel was the first new brand introduced by an American automaker since the 1939 launch of Mercury and 1956 launch of Continental, which ended and merged into Lincoln after 1957. In the year leading to its release, Ford invested in an advertising campaign, marketing Edsels as the cars of the future. While 1958 Edsels introduced multiple advanced features for the price segment, the launch of the model line became symbolic of commercial failure. Introduced in a recession that catastrophically affected sales of medium-priced cars, Edsels were considered overhyped, unattractive, distinguished by a vertical grille said to resemble a horse collar, and low quality. Ford Motor Company became a publicly traded corporation on January 17, 1956, and thus was no longer entirely owned by members of the Ford family. The company was now able to sell cars according to current market trends following the seller's market of the postwar years. Ford's new management compared the company's roster of makes with that of General Motors and Chrysler,[6] and concluded that Lincoln was competing not with Cadillac, but with Oldsmobile, Buick, and DeSoto.[6] Ford developed a plan to move Lincoln upmarket, with the Continental broken out as a separate make at the top of Ford's product line, and to add premium/intermediate vehicles to the intermediate slot vacated by Lincoln. Ford explained in 1958 that The Edsel is new but its actually the germination of an idea conceived by Edsel Ford who thought years ago that the company should have greater representation in the medium-price range. This idea was furthered by his son, Henry Ford II, in 1948 when another car was proposed to keep abreast of things in the automotive market. Marketing research and development for the new intermediate line had begun in 1955 under the code name "E car", which stood for "experimental car." Ford Motor Company eventually decided on the name "Edsel", in honor of Edsel Ford, son of the company's founder, Henry Ford despite objections from Edsel's son Henry Ford II. The proposed vehicle marque represented the start-up of a new division of the firm, alongside that of Ford itself and the LincolnMercury division, whose cars at the time shared the same bodies. Ford later claimed to have performed more than adequate, if not superior, product development and market research work in the planning and design of the new vehicle. Ford assured its investors, and the Detroit automotive press, that Edsels were not only superior products, as compared to their Oldsmobile/Buick/DeSoto competition, but the details of their styling and specifications were the result of a sophisticated market analysis and research and development effort, that would essentially guarantee their broad acceptance by the buying public when the cars were introduced. Its elegance, its engines, its exciting new features, make other cars seem ordinary Edsel advertisement, 1957 In November 1956, the Edsel Division of Ford Motor Company was formed to establish a retail organization and dealer network, alongside Ford and LincolnMercury. The Continental Division had ceased to exist several months earlier. With a network of 1,187 Edsel dealers, Ford Motor Company now had approximately 10,000 dealerships between its three divisions, bringing it closer in line with Chrysler, withe 10,000 dealers across five brands, and General Motors, with 16,000 across six brands. E Day introduction Edsels were introduced amid considerable publicity on "E Day"September 4, 1957. They were promoted by a top-rated television special, The Edsel Show, on October 13, but the promotional effort was not enough to counter the adverse initial public reaction to the Edsel's styling and unconventional build. After the launch date, Edsel was described as a "reborn LaSalle," a General Motors brand that had disappeared in 1940. For months, Ford had been telling the industry press that it "knew", through its market research, that there would be great demand for the vehicles. Ford insisted that, in the Edsels, it had built exactly the "entirely new kind of car" that Ford had been leading the buying public to expect through its pre-introduction publicity campaign for the cars. In reality, Edsels shared their engineering and bodywork with other Ford models, and the similarities were apparent once the vehicles were viewed firsthand. Models 1958 For its inaugural model year, Edsel introduced a seven-model product line, including four sedans and three station wagons. The lower-trim Edsel Ranger and Edsel Pacer shared bodies with Ford Fairlane sedans (118-inch (300 cm) wheelbase) while the higher-trim Edsel Corsair and Edsel Citation shared bodies with the Mercury Monterey and Mercury Montclair sedans (124-inch (310 cm) wheelbase).[10] Sharing its body and 116-inch (290 cm) wheelbase with Ford station wagons, Edsel had the two-door Edsel Roundup and the four-door Edsel Villager and Edsel Bermuda. The Edsel model line had multiple design features that were considered innovative for the time. In place of a horizontal strip or a round dial, the speedometer was a rotating dome. In line with aircraft design, the dashboard adopted warning lights for conditions such as low oil level, parking brake engaged, and engine overheating. While not equipped with cruise control, Edsel introduced a speed warning on the speedometer if the driver exceeded a preset speed limit. While a standard column-mounted transmission shifter was offered, as a delete option, Edsel marked the introduction of the Teletouch push-button shifting system, mounted in the steering wheel hub. Edsels integrated many elements of the Ford Lifeguard safety package into its design. Along with optional seatbelts, Edsels featured a deep-dish steering wheel, double-latched doors, and childproof rear door locks. The model line was among the first to introduce remote-operated trunk opening and self-adjusting brakes. In the first year, 63,110 Edsels were sold in the United States, and 4,935 were sold in Canada. Though below expectations, this nevertheless represented the second-largest launch for any new car brand to date, exceeded only by the DeSoto introduction in 1929. One four-door Citation model was purchased and delivered in October 1957 to the United Kingdom for Ian Russell, 13th Duke of Bedford. Its current whereabouts is unknown. In January 1958, the free-standing Edsel division was added to LincolnMercury, with the re-christened MercuryEdselLincoln Division (MEL) adopting Edsel sales and marketing operations. As the model year progressed and sales fell under expectations, multiple Edsel-only dealers closed or expanded their brand offerings with the encouragement of Ford Motor Company, including LincolnMercury or imported Ford of Britain and Ford of Germany franchises. 1959 For the 1959 model year, Ford revised the market position of Edsel, slotting it between Ford and Mercury. To reflect the marketing change, the Mercury-based Citation was withdrawn and the Corsair became a higher-trim version of the Ranger. The Pacer was also discontinued. The station wagon line was pared down to the Villager wagon, dropping the two-door Roundup and wood-trim Bermuda. While all Edsel sedans used a Ford body, their wheelbase was 120-inch (300 cm), 2 inches longer. In response to the widely negative response to 1958 Edsel exteriors, the exterior of 1959 Edsels underwent a restyling to tone down its appearance. While the vertical center grille made its return, following heavy revision, a redesign of the hoodline integrated the headlamps into a full-width outer grille, visually lowering the hoodline. A similar revision of the rear fascia repositioned the taillamps. Being based on the 1959 Ford, Edsels received the same roof design as the Fairlanes. Although Ford got a new luxury series of cars mid year, the Galaxie, Edsel never got an equivalent series, further eroding its appeal as a medium price automobile. The 1959 Edsel interior dropped several features to increase its commonality with Ford. The push-button Teletouch transmission controls were withdrawn, alongside the rotating-dome speedometer, as Edsel introduced a slightly restyled version of the Ford Fairlane 500 dashboard. The optional climate control and fully padded dashboard returned. Alongside the use of distinct interior trim from Ford, Edsel had a 70/30 split-bench seatback for Corsairs. In 1967, Ford returned the split-bench seatback on the Ford LTD, continuing it into the 2010s on its full-size cars. In 1959, Edsel sold 44,891 vehicles in the United States. 2,505 vehicles were sold in Canada. 1960 For the 1960 model year, Edsel saw its model line reduced further, offering only the Ranger sedans, hardtop, and convertible alongside the Villager station wagon. Redesigned alongside 1960 Fords, 1960 Edsels were released with a far more muted styling than their 1958 namesake. Sharing nearly its entire body with Ford, Edsel abandoned its trademark vertical grille in favor of a split grille, similar to the 1959 Pontiac. For the first time, a full-width front bumper was used. While sharing their tailfins with Ford, the rear fascia of Edsels were distinguished by four oblong vertical taillamps.[19] Distinguished primarily by their grille and taillamps, the 1960 Edsels were fitted with model-specific hoods, bumpers, and body-side trim. The four-door Ranger hardtop had no direct Ford equivalent, as it combined the roofline of the Fairlane with the doors of the Galaxie. The two-door hardtop shared its body with the Ford Galaxie Starliner, minus the star emblems on the "C" pillar. In a design advance, the muffler was relocated from below the passenger compartment to the rear of the car, intended for better muffler protection and less heat and noise intrusion to the passenger compartment. The 1960 Edsels were produced between October 15 and November 19, 1959. In total, 2,846 vehicles were produced at the Louisville Assembly, except for the pilot prototypes. Discontinuation Ford announced the end of the Edsel program on November 19, 1959. Production continued until late in November, with 2,846 model year 1960 cars produced. Total Edsel sales were approximately 116,000, less than half the company's projected break-even point. The company lost $350 million, the equivalent of $2.8 billion in 2023 dollars,[21] on the venture. Only 118,287 Edsels were built, including 7,440 produced in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. By U.S. auto industry standards, these production figures were dismal, particularly when spread across a run of three model years. On November 20, 1959, United Press International's (UPI) wire service reported that book values for used Edsels had declined by as much as $400, based on condition and age, immediately following the Ford press release. In some newspaper markets, dealers scrambled to renegotiate newspaper advertising contracts involving the 1960 Edsel models, while others dropped the name from their dealerships' advertising entirely. Ford issued a statement that it would distribute coupons to customers who purchased 1960 models, and carryover 1959 models, prior to the announcement, valued at $300 to $400 toward the purchase of new Ford products to offset the decreased values. The company issued credits to dealers for stock unsold or received, following the announcement. Following a loss of over $250 million, $2.57 billion in 2023 dollars, on development, manufacturing, and marketing on the model line, Ford quietly discontinued the Edsel brand before 1960. Edsel's most memorable design feature was its trademark "horsecollar" grille, which was distinct from that of other cars of the period. According to a popular joke at the time, Edsels "resembled an Oldsmobile sucking a lemon". According to Thomas E. Bonsall's 2002 book, Disaster in Dearborn, it was assistant stylist Bob "Robin" Jones who suggested a vertical motif for the front end of the "E-car". Edsel's front end bore little resemblance, if any, to the original concept. Roy Brown, the original chief designer on the Edsel project, had envisioned a slender, almost delicate opening in the center. Engineers, fearing engine cooling problems, vetoed the intended design, so a ring design was suggested. Ernest Breech then demanded that the grille be taller and wider, which led to the "horsecollar".[30] The vertical grille, after being improved for the 1959 models, was discontinued for the 1960 models, which were similar to Ford models of the same year, although coincidentally, the new front end was very similar to that of the 1959 Pontiac. Complaints also surfaced about the taillights on 1958 Edsel station wagons. The lenses were boomerang-shaped and placed in a reverse fashion. At a distance, they appeared as arrows pointed in the opposite direction of the turn being made. When the left turn signal flashed, its arrow shape pointed right, and vice versa. However, there was little that could be done to give the Ford-based station wagons a unique appearance from the rear, because corporate management had insisted that no sheetmetal could be changed. Only the taillights and trim could be touched. There was room for separate turn signals in addition to the boomerangs, but the U.S. industry had never supplied them up to that point, and they were probably never seriously considered. Powertrain features The Teletouch pushbutton automatic transmission selector was an extremely complex feature. It proved problematic in part because the steering wheel hub, where the pushbuttons were located, was the traditional location of the horn button. Some drivers inadvertently shifted gears when they intended to sound the horn. While Edsels were fast, the location of the transmission pushbuttons was not conducive to street racing. There were also jokes among stoplight drag racers about the buttons: D for Drag, L for Leap, and R for Race, instead of Drive, Low and Reverse. The control wires for Teletouch were also routed too close to the exhaust manifold, which often caused unpredictable movement of the selector mechanism and, in some cases, complete failure. The electrical design required drivers to shift from Park to Reverse to Neutral to Drive, in that order, to avoid overloading the Teletouch motor. The motor was also not powerful enough to bring the car out of Park while on a hill, so dealerships would instruct drivers to set the parking brake before pushing the Park button. Mechanics of the time were wary of the 410-cubic-inch Edsel "E-475" engine because its perfectly flat cylinder heads lacked distinct combustion chambers. The heads were set at an angle, with "roof" pistons forming both a squish zone on one side and a combustion chamber on the other. Combustion thus took place entirely within the cylinder bore. This design was similar to Chevrolet's 348-cubic-inch "W" engine, which was also introduced in 1958. While the design reduced the cost of manufacture and may also have helped minimize carbon buildup, it was also unfamiliar to many mechanics. Company politics and the role of Robert McNamara This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Following World War II, Henry Ford II retained Robert McNamara as one of the 10 Ford "Whiz Kids" to help turn Ford around. McNamara's cost-cutting and cost-containment skills helped Ford emerge from its near-collapse after the war. As a result, McNamara eventually amassed a considerable amount of power at Ford. McNamara was very much a throwback to Henry Ford in that, like the elder Ford, McNamara was committed to the Ford marque to the almost total exclusion of the company's other products. Thus, McNamara had little use for the Continental, Lincoln, Mercury and Edsel brand cars made by the company. McNamara opposed the formation of the separate divisions for Continental, Lincoln, Mercury, and Edsel cars, and moved to consolidate Lincoln, Mercury, and Edsel into the M-E-L division. McNamara saw to it that the Continental program was canceled and that the model was merged into the Lincoln range for 1958. He next set his sights on Edsel by maneuvering for elimination of the dual wheelbases and separate bodies used for 1958. Instead, Edsels would share the Ford platform and use Ford's inner body structure for 1959. By 1960, Edsels emerged as little more than a Ford with different trim. McNamara moved to reduce Edsel's advertising budget for 1959, and for 1960, he virtually eliminated it. The final blow came in the fall of 1959, when McNamara convinced Henry Ford II and the rest of Ford's management that Edsel was doomed and that it was time to end production before Edsel bled the company dry. McNamara also attempted to discontinue the Lincoln nameplate, but that effort ended with Elwood Engel's now classic redesign of 1961. McNamara left Ford when he was named Secretary of Defense by President John F. Kennedy. Historians have advanced several theories in an effort to explain Edsel's failure. Popular culture often faults vehicle styling. Consumer Reports has alleged that poor workmanship was Edsel's chief problem. Marketing experts hold Edsels up as a supreme example of the corporate culture's failure to understand American consumers. Business analysts cite the weak internal support for the product inside Ford's executive offices. According to author and Edsel scholar Jan Deutsch, an Edsel was "the wrong car at the wrong time." FREE scheduling, supersized images and templates. Get Vendio Sales Manager.Make your listings stand out with FREE Vendio custom templates! FREE scheduling, supersized images and templates. Get Vendio Sales Manager. Over 100,000,000 served. Get FREE counters from Vendio today!

Price: 79.16 USD

Location: San Diego, California

End Time: 2024-12-24T02:38:22.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 USD