During the mid-fifties, Ford was rolling along pretty well. Their cars were attractively styled, appealing and sales were better than predicted. Ford Motor Company offered cars made by three divisions: Ford, Lincoln and Mercury. In early 1955, they decided to add another division, and code named it the "E" division. It stood for Experimental and was designed to compete with GM's Buick and Oldsmobile line up. Ford's upper management approved funding and a design team was formed. The Kentucky Assembly Plant and the Mahwah, New Jersey plants were chosen to build the cars. The only thing left to do was choose a name. After being unable to come up with a name on their own, Ford turned to poet Marianne Moore. She offered several names, some of which were somewhat unusual such as "Mongoose Civique,"" Pastelogram", and my favorite, the "Utopian Turtletop." As one might expect, Ford rejected all of her suggestions.

It wasn't until November, 1956, nineteen months after the start of the project, that Ford settled on a name.  A name straight out of its past, named in honor of Henry Ford's only son, Edsel. The Edsel line of cars only lasted three model years, 1958 to 1960, and many automotive and economic historians have written about the failure of this division, but for a brief moment in time these cars dazzled the motoring public. Now they may be the punch line of a joke, but try buying one today. Collectors know what they have and it takes big bucks to buy a good one if you can even find one for sale. So, if you should happen to see an Edsel at a car show or cruise night, ask the owner if you can take a picture of it. I bet you're not the first one to have asked.

Until next time,