@VaderNES The production process for the Edsel models left a good deal to be desired. Since they were sent down the line one-off all the assemblers had to notice the oddball was coming. And don't ever let them name a car after your father!
The greatest and saddest irony of all is that the Edsel was created to fill what was perceived to be a gap between the Ford and the Mercury (or, as it was first proposed, the Mercury and the Lincoln).
As we all know, the Mercury line joined the Edsel in the automotive graveyard in June of 2010. More ironic is that the Comet compact car introduced in the spring of 1960 was to be the 1961 Edsel (note that the tail lights on early Comets were 1960 Edsel tail lights placed at an angle!)...
Because, 'canine', the Ford Motor Company was trying to introduce their new model in a BIG way, and they did it with this supposed "special to top all specials", airing during what was usually Ed Sullivan's time period [8-9pm(et)] on Sunday, THE biggest night for TV viewing (its competition: NBC's "STEVE ALLEN SHOW" and ABC's "MAVERICK"). That's why it was called "THE EDSEL SHOW".
The only problem with the Edsel is that it was released during a recession. The cars themselves were excellent cars, and had so much cool shit available that no other car had. If it would have been released in 1956 or early 1957 instead of 1958, we would still be driving Edsels today.
@VaderNES LOL, I can just see myself renting a 2009 Edsel Citation at Hertz. It would look like a Ford Fusion with a modern version of that grille. And Ford almost certainly would have tried to create a Mustang Edsel like they did with the Cougar. That thought makes me cringe. The thought of mid-1970's Edsels also make me cringe. Yuk! Think Hawaii Five-O or Barnaby Jones in a 1974 Edsel. Yuk!
@VaderNES I get nervous in Crown Vics...never been arrested but been in many Crown Vic taxicabs. I have no idea how many have been retrofitted with the rear heat shield so they don't blow up when violently rear-ended. I believe a patrolman in Dallas was killed that way.
They're used as taxicabs in New York City; the city makes you change them after five years; they go nearly a quarter million miles and can handily double that.
And I say that as someone who's family only bought GM cars.
The failure of this car has reached legendary status, right up there with New Coke.
BTW, I don't care how "innocent" and "naive" ppl back in the '50s were-- someone in the design dept HAD to have noticed that the grill looked like a big, ol' vagina.
Wow, who would call their program "The Edsel Show?" Still, you'll have to explain to me how the Edsel was uglier than the: '57 Nash Rambler, '58 Lincoln, '59 Impala, '61 DeSoto and '61 Plymouth Belvedere! Google these cars and tell me I'm not right! The fact is, there were alot of funny looking cars back then and the Edsel wasn't any worse than them. Edsel looks better in retrospect, I think. But then I love odd looking cars, and would LOVE to have any of the ones I just named!
Why "THE EDSEL SHOW"? Ed Sullivan's sponsor, the Ford Motor Company, wanted to give the "Edsel" a BIG send-off; so they pre-empted his show on Sunday, October 13, 1957 at 8pm(et) to present THIS one instead. Rosie Clooney, in her autobiography "Girl Singer", told of meeting with several members of the Ford family while using one of the new Edsels during rehearsal, earlier that day. She tried to open a door, and the handle came off in her hand! She turned to them and said, "About your car..."
This was a one time special Ford aired on CBS in 1957 to introduce the fantastic new Edsel to America! Just 26 months later, Edsel production ceased, so I'm afraid there is no 2008 Edsel. Correct, Edsel passed away in 1943, four years before his father, Henry Ford.
Yes, I suppose it's unfair to characterize Edsel Ford that way. After all, when your father is the man who revolutionized industrial production, made personal transportation affordable to the masses, and put an entire nation on wheels, those are some pretty big shoes to fill. And Edsel did design the classic 1940 Lincoln Continental, which is still a beautiful car today.
I remember Rosemary Clooney mentioning during an interview a couple of years before her death, "Who knows what we were thinking doing the Edsel Show. We all thought the car was a turkey. But work was work." (Of course, I'm paraphrasing liberally.)
The 1958 Edsel is by far one of the most wonderfully styled car of all time. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the design of the cars of the Nineteen Fifties.
I used to own an Edsel. It really was agood car, just goofy looking. It really was good looking in Raven Black and Torreador Red. It was brought out and an unfortunate time...in late 57 for the 58 model year and 58 turned out to be a recession year. Everyone had a down year in the car industry. I would rather own one today...
Edsel wasn't really any uglier than other cars of the era. Look at the chrome-laden 1958 Buick or Oldsmobile, or the atrocious front end of the 1958 Mercury for instance. And was the 1959 Dodge styled by the Japanese for a sci-fi robot movie?
Well, don't feel too bad; I have a copy of this show in the same medium you do, LOL. Someone told me years ago the networks always recorded a kinescope alongside the videotaping of the live broadcast, lest the tape somehow malfunctioned. But it seems most of these great shows, when home recordings are requested, only release the inferior kinescope films. The video masters must be more legally restricted from being seen. And visually, this is a great show.
Yes, I subsequently learned that YouTube converts everything to mono. Apparently, I mistakenly thought I was hearing stereo. I knew that stereo TV BROADCAST did not exist until much later. I was assuming that this fact did not, in itself, mean that a stereo sound track on a studio video tape was not possible.
Stereo did not exist at this time either. Les Paul was just inventing the idea of a 2nd head on a tape recorder and AMPEX put it into production for his and other's usage at about this time. But certainly a videotape recorder with 2 track audio did not exist (it barely existed with one track audio)...
I love my 1959 Edsel Ranger, It only has 20,000 miles in the rebuilt engine and runs better then our other 4 cars. It has yet to have any problems and gets alot of comments.
Why all the bad comments about the Edsel ? I`m in England, I have a 361/2 speed `59 Ranger... never let me down once and in UK there`s hardly any spares... so don`t knock it till you`ve tried it ...
how many shows back then featured cars? i was watching a thing called the growcho marx (somthing like that), with my dad, and it featured the desoto.. haha another doomed car..
Actually the DeSoto wasn't nearly as short-lived as the Edsel, which only lasted three model years. The DeSoto was produced by the Chrysler Corporation from 1929 to 1961 and was consistently in the top 10 of best-selling nameplates through the mid-1950s. The recession of 1958 hurt it, just as it did the Edsel; the Chrysler Newport's introduction in 1960 (at the same price point as the DeSoto) was the final nail in the coffin.
In what way was the Edsel "ahead of its time"? If anything, it wasn't radical ENOUGH. After all the hype and ballyhoo preceding the car's introduction, what we got was just another big, conventional American car, pretty much like a Ford or Mercury. Only its controversial styling set it apart, and that soon became the butt of jokes.
As for Edsel Ford, I've heard he was a bit of a wimp. Maybe the man should have been named after the car, instead of the other way around!
The show was a one-off TV special meant to serve as a grand unveiling for the new car. Unfortunately, you can't polish a turd, not even one covered in chrome...
The clip IS from the Pacific Coast tape-delay 2" of the live broadcast from Television City to New York on Sun., Oct. 13, 1957 pre-empting the Ed Sullivan Show.
The tape was the first use of videotape to tape-delay an entertainment program for West Coast broadcast.
The tape was "rediscovered" 30 years later... in what's got to be something for Paul Harvey's "The Rest of the Story."
Read the story here... http://www.ev1.pair.com/edsel/edselshow1.html
This is the sexiest car of the decade and so underrated.
batzoverbarstow 3 months ago
@VaderNES The production process for the Edsel models left a good deal to be desired. Since they were sent down the line one-off all the assemblers had to notice the oddball was coming. And don't ever let them name a car after your father!
sneakers55 1 year ago
The greatest and saddest irony of all is that the Edsel was created to fill what was perceived to be a gap between the Ford and the Mercury (or, as it was first proposed, the Mercury and the Lincoln).
As we all know, the Mercury line joined the Edsel in the automotive graveyard in June of 2010. More ironic is that the Comet compact car introduced in the spring of 1960 was to be the 1961 Edsel (note that the tail lights on early Comets were 1960 Edsel tail lights placed at an angle!)...
bongomanfromdalou 1 year ago
people make fun of the grill
rhinogek 2 years ago
ugh. crap like this is such a potent argument against people who complain that the modern age is too cynical
khalithistle 2 years ago
Because, 'canine', the Ford Motor Company was trying to introduce their new model in a BIG way, and they did it with this supposed "special to top all specials", airing during what was usually Ed Sullivan's time period [8-9pm(et)] on Sunday, THE biggest night for TV viewing (its competition: NBC's "STEVE ALLEN SHOW" and ABC's "MAVERICK"). That's why it was called "THE EDSEL SHOW".
fromthesidelines 2 years ago
The only problem with the Edsel is that it was released during a recession. The cars themselves were excellent cars, and had so much cool shit available that no other car had. If it would have been released in 1956 or early 1957 instead of 1958, we would still be driving Edsels today.
VaderNES 2 years ago
@VaderNES LOL, I can just see myself renting a 2009 Edsel Citation at Hertz. It would look like a Ford Fusion with a modern version of that grille. And Ford almost certainly would have tried to create a Mustang Edsel like they did with the Cougar. That thought makes me cringe. The thought of mid-1970's Edsels also make me cringe. Yuk! Think Hawaii Five-O or Barnaby Jones in a 1974 Edsel. Yuk!
micmac99 1 year ago
@micmac99 I doubt that an Edsel version of the Cougar would be THAT bad.
But I do agree about the mid-'70s Edsels, mainly because mid-'70s Mercuries were ugly, boring, and bland.
And as far as an '09 Edsel, it would probably be more like a Sable with an Edsel grille, or even a Crown Vic.
VaderNES 1 year ago
@VaderNES I get nervous in Crown Vics...never been arrested but been in many Crown Vic taxicabs. I have no idea how many have been retrofitted with the rear heat shield so they don't blow up when violently rear-ended. I believe a patrolman in Dallas was killed that way.
micmac99 1 year ago
@micmac99 Crown Vics suck, which is why I would hope that a new Edsel would be more like a Sable.
VaderNES 1 year ago
@VaderNES So Crown Vics, suck, ay?
They're used as taxicabs in New York City; the city makes you change them after five years; they go nearly a quarter million miles and can handily double that.
And I say that as someone who's family only bought GM cars.
SatchmoSings 7 months ago
@micmac99 You are more likely to get struck by lightening.
somewhatlongdong 1 year ago
The failure of this car has reached legendary status, right up there with New Coke.
BTW, I don't care how "innocent" and "naive" ppl back in the '50s were-- someone in the design dept HAD to have noticed that the grill looked like a big, ol' vagina.
deeriley24 2 years ago
I wonder if guvment motors will have a show promoting the chevy volt.
pthornburg 2 years ago
Wow, who would call their program "The Edsel Show?" Still, you'll have to explain to me how the Edsel was uglier than the: '57 Nash Rambler, '58 Lincoln, '59 Impala, '61 DeSoto and '61 Plymouth Belvedere! Google these cars and tell me I'm not right! The fact is, there were alot of funny looking cars back then and the Edsel wasn't any worse than them. Edsel looks better in retrospect, I think. But then I love odd looking cars, and would LOVE to have any of the ones I just named!
canine2 2 years ago
That's An Ugly Ass Car! I mean I'm sad Ford Took Such a Hit But Damn!!! That Shit Could Scare Road Kill Off The Road.
CaptainMaeda 2 years ago
yes it ugly but to me it doesnt bother me i drove a dodge ram after that theres no uglier vehicle nut i had an edsel there very cool cars
farmboy184 2 years ago
The Edsel came out the year I entered college.
Looked just fine to me. Never heard a negative
comment about its looks.
Never knew anyone who bought one either.
BTW, there was an American poet named Edsel Ford from somewhere in the south
USA. I discovered him when looking up the car family.
Tx 4 posting
rockgor 2 years ago
im trying to revive the company but its hard
farmboy184 2 years ago
I guess none of the auto companies are
doing so hot right now.
Here's a clue for your new company. If the
business isn't making money, don't pay the
CEO $20,000,000.
Don't need an MBA from Harvard to figure that
out.
rockgor 2 years ago
yea im designing our introdution models now there will be 6 intro models
for trucks-fury,rancher for cars citation corsair,pacer,and if betheseda will give me permission im wanting to use the name corvega and design of it
farmboy184 2 years ago
Ford would have had better luck in 1987 if they had a variety show where they sold the Yugo.
collegeman1988 3 years ago
Why "THE EDSEL SHOW"? Ed Sullivan's sponsor, the Ford Motor Company, wanted to give the "Edsel" a BIG send-off; so they pre-empted his show on Sunday, October 13, 1957 at 8pm(et) to present THIS one instead. Rosie Clooney, in her autobiography "Girl Singer", told of meeting with several members of the Ford family while using one of the new Edsels during rehearsal, earlier that day. She tried to open a door, and the handle came off in her hand! She turned to them and said, "About your car..."
fromthesidelines 3 years ago
LOL!
spectrum10 3 years ago
That's the same stage at CBS Television City where they tape "The Price Is Right", and where they taped "Match Game" and "The Carol Burnett Show"!
DenhamSpringsLA 4 years ago
This was a one time special Ford aired on CBS in 1957 to introduce the fantastic new Edsel to America! Just 26 months later, Edsel production ceased, so I'm afraid there is no 2008 Edsel. Correct, Edsel passed away in 1943, four years before his father, Henry Ford.
dakota975 4 years ago
I never knew there was an Edsel Show. I think it
is a beautiful car, just like most cars of that
time. Edsel was not a wimp, he was a very sick
man trying to run a company and being hounded
by his father for being lazy. He had serious
cancer problems and died very young, before
his father.
JettRink50 4 years ago
Yes, I suppose it's unfair to characterize Edsel Ford that way. After all, when your father is the man who revolutionized industrial production, made personal transportation affordable to the masses, and put an entire nation on wheels, those are some pretty big shoes to fill. And Edsel did design the classic 1940 Lincoln Continental, which is still a beautiful car today.
scotpens 3 years ago
I remember Rosemary Clooney mentioning during an interview a couple of years before her death, "Who knows what we were thinking doing the Edsel Show. We all thought the car was a turkey. But work was work." (Of course, I'm paraphrasing liberally.)
momojew 4 years ago
The 1958 Edsel is by far one of the most wonderfully styled car of all time. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the design of the cars of the Nineteen Fifties.
BuddyHollysEdselGirl 4 years ago
I used to own an Edsel. It really was agood car, just goofy looking. It really was good looking in Raven Black and Torreador Red. It was brought out and an unfortunate time...in late 57 for the 58 model year and 58 turned out to be a recession year. Everyone had a down year in the car industry. I would rather own one today...
guadelupe 4 years ago
Edsel wasn't really any uglier than other cars of the era. Look at the chrome-laden 1958 Buick or Oldsmobile, or the atrocious front end of the 1958 Mercury for instance. And was the 1959 Dodge styled by the Japanese for a sci-fi robot movie?
1954jamesvictor 4 years ago
would love to be able to go and buy a new one, dont like imports.
butchfoot16 4 years ago
that is a good looking car! they were ahead of their time.
texasfathead 4 years ago
I only have a poor quality kinescope copy of the show..would love to see it in the videotape version, it exists somewhere...
MerleOberon 5 years ago
This is from the videotape version.
wmbrown6 3 years ago
Well, don't feel too bad; I have a copy of this show in the same medium you do, LOL. Someone told me years ago the networks always recorded a kinescope alongside the videotaping of the live broadcast, lest the tape somehow malfunctioned. But it seems most of these great shows, when home recordings are requested, only release the inferior kinescope films. The video masters must be more legally restricted from being seen. And visually, this is a great show.
mca1218 2 years ago
Well, we had the Chevy Show with Dinah Shore, the Ford show with Tennesee Ernie, and also Ford later on sponsored The F.B.I.
Freenbean 5 years ago
I can't believe the quality of the picture and sound on this clip!!! In stereo!!! Please post the rest of the show!!
Drumcam 5 years ago
Youtube doesn't even HAVE stereo, AND there was NO such thing as stereo sound on TV until the 1970's
mubd 4 years ago
Yes, I subsequently learned that YouTube converts everything to mono. Apparently, I mistakenly thought I was hearing stereo. I knew that stereo TV BROADCAST did not exist until much later. I was assuming that this fact did not, in itself, mean that a stereo sound track on a studio video tape was not possible.
Drumcam 4 years ago
Stereo did not exist at this time either. Les Paul was just inventing the idea of a 2nd head on a tape recorder and AMPEX put it into production for his and other's usage at about this time. But certainly a videotape recorder with 2 track audio did not exist (it barely existed with one track audio)...
MichaelLAX 4 years ago
I love my 1959 Edsel Ranger, It only has 20,000 miles in the rebuilt engine and runs better then our other 4 cars. It has yet to have any problems and gets alot of comments.
Cdizzle1337 5 years ago
Why all the bad comments about the Edsel ? I`m in England, I have a 361/2 speed `59 Ranger... never let me down once and in UK there`s hardly any spares... so don`t knock it till you`ve tried it ...
misterfury 5 years ago
how many shows back then featured cars? i was watching a thing called the growcho marx (somthing like that), with my dad, and it featured the desoto.. haha another doomed car..
abicaducious 5 years ago
You mean You Bet Your Life? Yes, that's the one!
mikejaysmith 5 years ago
Actually the DeSoto wasn't nearly as short-lived as the Edsel, which only lasted three model years. The DeSoto was produced by the Chrysler Corporation from 1929 to 1961 and was consistently in the top 10 of best-selling nameplates through the mid-1950s. The recession of 1958 hurt it, just as it did the Edsel; the Chrysler Newport's introduction in 1960 (at the same price point as the DeSoto) was the final nail in the coffin.
BuzzBarber 5 years ago
Glad to see none of theese people sold out. (not)
EarlyLAPunk 5 years ago
An American car manufactured in the 50's without tailfins---bad idea
A grill that is remeniscent of a woman's vagina
Really bad idea
level242 5 years ago
The Edsel, some say, was just too ahead of its time to be popular. That, plus the awful name (named for Edsel Ford). I like it!
ChadBilliams 5 years ago
In what way was the Edsel "ahead of its time"? If anything, it wasn't radical ENOUGH. After all the hype and ballyhoo preceding the car's introduction, what we got was just another big, conventional American car, pretty much like a Ford or Mercury. Only its controversial styling set it apart, and that soon became the butt of jokes.
As for Edsel Ford, I've heard he was a bit of a wimp. Maybe the man should have been named after the car, instead of the other way around!
scotpens 4 years ago
The other problem was that the Edsel had the misfortune of coming out as a major recession was hitting the nation.
wmbrown6 3 years ago
haha the only person missing is GOD.
Resendiz 5 years ago
who in the hell gave a show to THAT car?
vangoghsear 5 years ago
The show was a one-off TV special meant to serve as a grand unveiling for the new car. Unfortunately, you can't polish a turd, not even one covered in chrome...
cardinalbiggles 5 years ago
I'd love to see the whole thing. Where'd you get this? It looks like it was taken from the 2" master.
bradfinger 6 years ago
Brad...
The clip IS from the Pacific Coast tape-delay 2" of the live broadcast from Television City to New York on Sun., Oct. 13, 1957 pre-empting the Ed Sullivan Show.
The tape was the first use of videotape to tape-delay an entertainment program for West Coast broadcast.
The tape was "rediscovered" 30 years later... in what's got to be something for Paul Harvey's "The Rest of the Story."
Read the story here... http://www.ev1.pair.com/edsel/edselshow1.html
TedL in Northern Cal
TedLinCal 5 years ago
It would be WONDERFUL! to see the musical numbers (indeed, the whole show) in this great quality format. Please consider sharing it with us.
JudithIN410 2 years ago
Thank you so much for uploading this!
My favourite car of all time!
Superb.
Noizyneighbour 6 years ago