What Happened With Ford's Biggest Failure? - Ford Edsel

What Really Happened to Detroit's Biggest Flop? - FORD EDSEL In the mid-1950s, Ford was preparing what it believed would be the most important launch in automotive history. Backed by the most aggressive, expensive, and secretive marketing campaign the industry had ever seen, the company promised a car that would revolutionize the American market with features far ahead of its time. The project was handled with such extreme secrecy that dealerships were required to sign contracts without even seeing the vehicle, and the cars were transported under covered trailers to prevent any leaks. On September 4, 1957—dramatically branded by Ford as “E-Day”—the curtain was finally lifted. The car was the Ford Edsel. But instead of the applause and buying frenzy that Ford’s executives had anticipated, the reaction was silence. Customers looked at the design and felt an immediate sense of rejection. Automotive critics openly mocked its styling, and many of the few buyers who took one home encountered serious mechanical and quality-control problems within a short time. In barely two years, the Edsel became a universal symbol of commercial failure, costing Ford an estimated $250 million at the time—the equivalent of several billions of dollars today. But how did Ford miscalculate so badly? Today, we’re going to break down the engineering, the marketing decisions, and the corporate mistakes that turned the Ford Edsel into one of the most infamous failures in automotive history. Chapters: 0:00 Intro 1:27 THE ORIGIN 2:57 FRUSTRATED INNOVATIONS 4:51 THE AESTHETIC PROBLEM 6:08 THE MARKET TEST 7:37 THE END OF A DOOMED BRAND Why did the Ford Edsel fail in the 1950s? How much money did Ford lose on the Edsel? How did the Edsel's Teletouch system work? The history of the Edsel's grille design. What engine did the original Ford Edsel have?