Pictured here is an Edsel Corsair that was on display at the 2018 Greaserama Car Show held in Tracey Missouri at the Platte Country Fair Grounds. Though scorned as an automotive disaster they have become popular as a collectible to many car enthusiast.
Edsel is an automobile brand that was planned, developed, and manufactured by the Ford Motor Company for model years 1958 to 1960. With the Edsel brand, Ford had expected to make significant inroads into the market share of both General Motors (GM) and Chrysler and close the gap between itself and GM in the domestic American automotive market. Ford invested heavily in a yearlong teaser campaign leading consumers to believe that Edsels were the cars of the future – an expectation they failed to meet. After being unveiled to the public, they were considered to be unattractive, overpriced, and overhyped. Edsels never gained popularity with contemporary American car buyers and sold poorly. The Ford Motor Company lost $250 million on Edsel development, manufacturing, and marketing.
The very name "Edsel" became a popular symbol for a commercial failure.
The Edsel Corsair is an automobile that was produced and sold by Edsel in 1958 and 1959. For 1958, the Corsair was built on the longer, wider Edsel platform shared with Mercury. For 1959, the Corsair shared the shorter, narrower Ranger platform with Ford.
1958 Corsair
The Corsair represented the next-to-highest trim level available within the Edsel brand. It rode on Edsel's 124 in (3150 mm) wheelbase. In addition to higher-grade interior appointments, the Corsair also received additional stainless steel trim and deluxe wheel covers. Available either as a two-door or four-door hardtop, the Corsair, like the premium Citation, shared its roof lines with Mercury models, as well as internal body components. Body parts between the Corsair and Citation models could not be shared with either the Ranger or Pacer, which were built on the shorter, narrower Ford frames. A deep-dished safety steering wheel was standard.
Like the Citation, the Corsair was powered by the 345 bhp (257 kW) 410 cu in (6.7 L) MEL V8 (with four-barrel {four choke} carburetor), and came equipped with Edsel’s Teletouch automatic as standard. (This was a US$231 option on Ranger and Pacer models.) Unlike other Ford models that used a column-mounted gear selector, Teletouch placed its drive-selection buttons in the steering wheel hub where drivers were accustomed to finding the horn button. In emergency situations, damage to the transmission that might occur if the driver hit the Teletouch unit instead of the steering wheel's horn ring was prevented by an electro-hydraulic switch activated by internal transmission fluid pressure. A basic heater (as a US$92 option) and radio (at US$95) were available, and air conditioning was optional as well (at US$460). Also optional was an automatic trunk release, a tachometer, an automatic lube system, seat belts, a padded dash board, warning lights for low oil level and parking brake on, plus rear door safety locks to prevent young kids from opening them while the car is moving.
While their roll-out was highly publicized in the fall of 1957, Edsels were a marketing disaster for Ford and Ford's corporate strategy for meeting General Motors' product line for product line. Total Corsair output for the model stood at 9,987 units, only slightly better than the Citation. Of these units, 3,632 were hardtop coupes (3,312 U.S. and 320 Canadian-built) and 6,355 were four-door hardtops (5,880 U.S. and 475 Canadian-built). Prices for the Corsair in 1958 ranged from US$ 3,311 to $3,390.
1959 Corsair
The 1959 Edsels were introduced in the fall of 1958. However, for the 1959 model year, the Citation and Pacermodels were dropped from Edsel's model range for 1959, as was the trouble-prone Teletouch system.
1959 Edsel styling was significantly toned-down, as was the vertical grille assembly, which now featured a fine bar pattern. The Corsair now represented the premium Edsel model range, replacing the discontinued Citation. Unlike in 1958, the Corsair now shared its body panels with the Ranger - the two being differentiated by trim and options. The Corsair also gained a four-door sedan and convertible version. The entire series was based on the 1959 Ford Fairlane 500.
The 1959 Corsair rode on a 120 in (3048 mm) wheelbase and the 361 cu in (5.9 L) FE V8 was standard in sedans, with either a two- or four-barrel carburetor as was a three-speed manual transmission. Replacing the Teletouch transmission was the Mile-O-Matic, a two-speed automatic, or Dual-Power Drive 3-speed automatic (only available with the 361). Heater, defroster, and radio remained optional, as well.
With total 1959 Corsair output at 9,318, the Corsair was discontinued. For 1959, 2,468 hardtop coupes (2,315 U.S./153 Canada), 1,812 four-door hardtops (1,694 U.S./118 Canada), 1,343 convertibles (all U.S.) and 3,695 four-door sedans (3,301 U.S./394 Canada), were produced; hardtop sales were down 31% in two-doors and 71% in four-doors against 1958. Prices ranged from US$2,812 to $3,072, down some 15% from the previous year.
1960
For the 1960 model year, Edsel's last, only 2,846 vehicles were produced. All but the pilot cars were assembled at the Louisville, Kentucky assembly plant. The marque was reduced to the Ranger series of sedans, hardtops, convertibles, and the Villager station wagons. Edsels shared basic chassis, glass, and major sheet metal with the 1960 Ford Galaxie and Fairlane models that were built on the Louisville assembly line with them. Though Edsels had a front "split" grille similar to that of the 1959 Pontiac, they did have a unique hood and four upright oblong taillights, along with their side-sweep spears. Edsel front and rear bumpers were also unique.
The 1960 Edsels rode on a 120-inch wheelbase, compared to the concurrent Ford's 119-inch span, and they also used a different rear suspension. The cars did, however, share engines and transmissions.
The 1960 Edsel Ranger four-door hardtop model used the thin-pillar Ford Fairlane four-door sedan roofline, as opposed to the squarish roof-line used on the corresponding Ford four-door hardtop, which was exclusive to the Galaxie line. The Galaxie four-door hardtop's rear door trim panel, however, was fitted to the Ranger. This gave Edsel four-door hardtops a unique body style that was never offered on any 1960 Ford-badged vehicle.
Discontinuation
Ford announced the end of the Edsel program on November 19, 1959. However, production continued until late in November, with the final tally of 2,846 model year 1960 cars. Total Edsel sales were approximately 116,000, less than half the company's projected break-even point. The company lost $350 million, or the equivalent of $2.4 billion in 2018 dollars on the venture. Only 118,287 Edsels were built, including 7,440 produced in Ontario, Canada. By U.S. auto industry standards, these production figures were dismal, particularly when spread across a run of three model years.