September 4, 1957 was known as E-Day, according to its advertising campaign – the day the Ford Motor Company unveils the Edsel, the first new automobile brand produced by one of the Big Three car companies since 1938. When the Ford Motor Company introduced its new Edsel Division amongst great fanfare, the expectation was to sell over 200,000 vehicles during the first model year. Locally in Kalamazoo, after providing a bank loan to the Joe O’Keefe Motor Company, Inc. to open an Edsel dealership, local banker Merrill Taylor ordered this car—the very first Edsel sold in Kalamazoo. Unfortunately, the rave reviews, standing ovations, and anxious buyers never materialized and the word “Edsel,” the car that had been named in honor of Henry Ford’s late son, was soon equated in popular culture with “failure,” largely due to the poor economy at that time. And, some drivers found the car to be difficult. Drivers changed gears by pushing buttons on the steering wheel, a system that was not easy to figure out. In addition, at highway speeds that famous hood ornament had a tendency to fly off and into the windshield. In its first year, Edsel sold just 64,000 cars and lost $250 million ($2.5 billion today) and after the 1960 model year, the company folded.
Posted on: Thu, 04 Sep 2014 12:30:22 +0000
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