The Edsel was an abject marketing failure, but the car probably would have been a hit if introduced in car-crazy, prosperous 1955, a tremendous sales year for major American automakers.

Instead, the Edsel arrived during a bad recession late in 1957 for the 1958 model year, which was disastrous for most car producers. One historian said that the Edsel's "aim was right, but the target moved" Making matters worse, the car was given far too much promotion by Ford, raising buyer and media expectations way too high.

The media initially was enthusiastic, but turned against the Edsel when they saw the public didn't love it.

Moreover, the public was becoming interested in much smaller, more economical cars, such as the Nash Rambler, Studebaker Lark and Volkswagen Beetle. And there were too many autos in the fairly large Edsel's size and medium-price class.

Even Ford Motor's established Mercury could be bought for about the price of an Edsel, which was designed to bridge the gap between Ford and Mercury models. Indeed, the Edsel was a Mercury or Ford (depending on the model) under the skin. It had a substantial steel girder chassis and could be had with powerful V-8s of up to 345 horsepower--and every power accessory known to man. It was a solid performer.

And those who think the Edsel's flamboyant styling was too offbeat, they should consider the gaudy, hugely overchromed 1958 models from General Motors. The car's grille was criticized, but most weren't aware that the famous 1930s Bugatti sports car also had a "horseshoe grille." And the limited-production Gaylord sports car and Packard Predictor auto show cars of the 1950s had variations of the vertical grille concept used for the Edsel.

The Edsel was criticized for having gadgets, but it only had a few unusual items such as automatic transmission pushbuttons in the steering wheel hub and a rotating drum speedometer that changed color as speed rose. Workmanship left something to be desired, but that was typical of the times.