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Copyright 2000
The Detroit News.
Use of this site signifies your agreement to the Terms of Service (updated April 17, 2000).

Site glorifies and tries to preserve the much-maligned Ford Edsel

By Bob Suter / Newsday

    In the minds of many Americans of a certain age it remains the original lemon -- a miscreation of zealous corporate schemers who thought they could dictate what consumers would want.
    To some collectors, however, it's a cherished possession evoking a time when reality didn't always meet expectations. Forty years ago, Ford ceased production of the Edsel, the car that was supposed to carry the company to new heights in the 1960s.
    In an era that saw its share of bizarre auto styles, the 1958 Edsel set a new standard. It's vertical-scoop grille, which was supposed to suggest the future, had many folks thinking instead of a horse collar.
    Heavy-handed marketing coupled with barely average performance and an above-average number of assembly-related flaws made the Edsel a public relations nightmare, not to mention a dismal sales failure. Barely into its third year of production, Ford elected to cut its losses and cease production.
    Bob Ellsworth wasn't around then. It caught his imagination when, as a young boy in 1974, he saw a picture of a 1960 Edsel. Fifteen years later, he bought one, becoming part of a loyal following of people with an affection for a slightly misshapen piece of the American dream.
    In August, he launched the Edsel Pages, a place on the web where other owners can find parts, advice and whatever else they need to keep their Edsels going.
    Owners will find a number of service features, including manuals, and Ellsworth is working on an online registry. For Edsel novices, the site provides the car's history, including a bio of the lesser-known Ford whose name it bears.
    Even the best-intentioned efforts sometimes meet with failure. A gallery of "deceased" Edsels shows those that have gone on to that junkyard in the sky or, as Ellsworth notes: "A place without public ridicule."
    An interesting footnote: In 1957, the Edsel's first disastrous sales year, another car caught the nation's fancy, selling far better than expected. Anyone remember the Rambler?
   
   

Where to go

    The site: Edsel Pages
    The address: www.edsel.com
    The reason: Remembering the big engine that couldn't