From behind a shiny desk, Henry Ford II shared his vision for the Edsel prior to its 1958 launch. ?We have drawn upon the top talents of our company; we have put in back of the Edsel, a team of men of long experience and high competence in the fields of management, marketing, engineering, styling, and production,? he said on camera. Hank the Deuce would later explain how the Edsel would net Ford a larger share of the medium price market. In so many words, the former Ford President and CEO believed the Edsel represented the pinnacle of automotive success.
?The eyes of the American people will be on Edsel,? he famously said.
North Stars & Unicorns
We know how the Edsel ends, but in the late 50s, Ford saw the need for a next-generation vehicle; something to capture and command the market’s attention. The Edsel wasn?t that car, rather the Mustang and the other Detroit hot rods that followed; or the Beetle at the other end of the spectrum. These cars, be it the ill-fated Edsel or the beloved Beetle, held great promise. Automakers set their compass to things like this, and have done so since the days of the Model T. Always looking for that unicorn; always believing it leads to gold at the end of the rainbow. That unicorn became the minivan, became the sport utility vehicle, became the crossover. Today, the latter two carry the torch like never before. Automakers have responded in kind, releasing a plethora of SUVs and crossovers in recent years. According to a Bank of ...