Featured is a 1958 Edsel Corsair Hardtop. The year 1958 was the first of three years for the Edsel line of automobiles. All Edsel’s were built at either Ford or Mercury plants. There were no Edsel only factories. This fact actually caused some slowing of production as well as other problems since when an Edsel came down the assembly line things like trim, wiring ,etc had to be switched.
The Edsel line of cars from 1958 to 1960 were named after Edsel Ford.Henry Ford’s son, Edsel, was a positive factor in the Ford Motor Company’s evolution. Edsel was the one who often urged his father to make needed changes to keep up with competitors, namely General Motors.
The senior Ford was reluctant to make changes such as the switch from mechanical to hydraulic braking. Without the influence of Edsel Ford, the company could have faced serious problems. Unfortunately, Edsel Ford died in May 1943 at the age of 49. the younger Ford died after contracting a fever after stomach cancer surgery.
The 1958 Edsel
Large automobile manufacturers like Ford, Chrysler and GM require a line of cars where a buyer can step up to a higher priced model without leaving the brand. They want to keep their current customers in the fold while trying to add new ones. That is how the Edsel automobile came to be. Ford felt there was a void in their mid level offerings that needed to be addressed.
The 1958 Edsel Corsair and Citation models were built on the large Mercury frame. Other 1958 Edsel models such as the Pacer, Ranger and Wagons were built on the smaller Ford frames.
Edsel’s Disappointing Sales and Production Problems
The 1958 Edsels went on sale in September 1957 and were backed with a very large advertising campaign. Edsel’s promotional campaign included ads that created an air of expectation like never before for a new car. When the car debuted customer traffic was good but somehow the sales were not quite as good. There were reasons for this.