Ian Johnson

Sometimes a manufacturer can get it hopelessly and horribly wrong.

Such was the case with the Edsel, an American giant of the late 1950s.

As Lexus is a distinctively different arm of Toyota, Edsel was the alternative choice to cars offered by its parent company Ford.

Ford had sky-high hopes for the Edsel which was launched in a fanfare of publicity and marketing hype in 1958.

It actually plugged a marketing gap between the prestige Lincoln range and the more downmarket Mercury in the Ford galaxy of models.

But just as Edsel was taking centre stage, the US market complexion had changed completely and suddenly this model became the ugly duckling of the car world.

It was a massively costly mistake, losing Ford a reported $250-350million during the car’s short lifespan.

But the machine had been put into top gear and Edsel had to run its course. There was plenty of choice with 18 models and a choice of 5,916cc or 6,719cc V8s.

The styling came in for much criticism. One of the design supremos on Edsel was actually an ex-dance band crooner, Roy Brown.

But Roy could not hit the high notes with Edsel which sold only 36,000 models in the first six months, 60,000 in its first year and 44,000 in its final year of 1960.

It featured a strange automatic transmission system, controlled by buttons on the steering wheel. Almost a forerunner of the many steering wheel controls we are familiar with today.

The American market may have turned its back on the Edsel, but UNATTRACTIVE, OVERPRICED, & OVERHYPED the collectors certainly have not. An Edsel in mint condition today is a prized item and these cars often bring some healthy prices at auction. I’ve never driven one but the larger engined version was no slouch, being able to hit 100mph and turn out 303bhp.