Edsel-grilled classic

Conceived in the mid fifties in the USA by Ford, it was supposed to be a medium priced car with high price features and memorable styling. Roy Brown, who died aged 95 a couple of months ago, was the guy who drew the Edsel. Brown's career started at General Motors where he penned the dashboard of the 1939 Cadillac range.

He moved to Ford and in 1953 headed the design of the 1955 Lincoln Futura, a show car later transformed into TV's Batmobile by Californian customiser George Barris The Edsel that Brown designed certainly proclaimed its difference.

When the covers were pulled off the full size mock-ups at Ford's styling centre Henry Ford II (“Hank the Duce” they called him) and his Board stood and applauded its uniqueness. Launch date was set at 4th September 1957-Ford called it E-Day! Pre-release adverting was intense. The public's expectations were driven to extraordinary heights.

This was to be a revolutionary automobile, the Ford marketing masterminds told everyone. Press speculation even touted nuclear power. Come E-Day one million Americans invaded Edsel dealers. And what did potential buyers see? Well, they saw a car with curvaceous side sculpting, jewel-like rear lights and eye-popping two tone colours.

The interior boasted a push button automatic transmission selector - get this - in the steer wheel hub and a rolling drum speedo. And then there was the grille, with its bold vertical design. Brown had originally envisioned a narrow vertical chrome strip for a grille, much like the nose on the 1964 Pontiac, but engineers kept widening and lengthening the central void to ensure engine cooling.

So what went wrong? Simple. Buyers expected something revolutionary. What they got was a Ford with a new name and higher price. “Wadda ya mean, I lined up for two hours to see a Ford?” was a common response. “What does that grille remind you of, Mabel?” was another observation. First year sales were half what had been projected and it went downhill from there. The Edsel was discontinued in November 1959, after today's equivalent of $3 billion had been spent.

Roy Brown was sent to the UK, where he styled the first Cortina, a car that was a success all around the world. He was recalled to the USA in 1966 and designed the Econoline van which made a ton of money for Ford. Later he was boss of the Lincoln-Mercury design studio. Roy drove an Edsel well into his eighties and said in 2007, “I call it Ford's most successful failure.”

David Burrell is the editor of retroautos.com.au