Nosing Edsel

Spotted this 1959 Edsel Corsair 4-Door Sedan, one of 3301 built, sitting on the curb recently. The wheels are not original, but otherwise the car seems to be in a fairly decent condition, if looking slightly ragged.

The Edsel famously was Ford's major flop of the 1950s. Designed as an intermediary car between Ford and the Mercury-Lincoln lines, the Edsel was trumpeted up as the next great automotive leap that left the public waiting with baited breath what it'd be like. But upon its September 1957 unveiling of the 1958 model, it proved to be nothing what people were expecting. The car was fairly conventional in design than what people expected, and it was marred by some questionable styling decisions (the vertical "horsecollar" radiator grille in particular alternately reminding people of a toilet seat or a vagina). Even the name - christened after Henry Ford's son Edsel Ford - was iffy.

Denounced by the public and media alike, the Edsel was from there on practically doomed for failure. Ford's CEO Robert McNamara slashed the budget on the Edsel, marketing was minimal, the car's styling was considerably toned down, the model line-up was reduced to only three models from the original six, and it's uniqueness was further downplayed by the car having to use Ford platforms and technique. By 1960 the car had been reduced to nothing more than a Ford with slightly different trim and eventually went out with a whimper from its debuting show of confidence.

Since then, however, the Edsel (though it will always be considered one of Ford's greatest blunders) has become quite a cult favourite and one of those odd cars made by a big company that promised so much yet delivered so little.