Edsel Pacer Convertible

All kinds of new technologies, such as a speedometer that turns red when you drive too fast and a transmission that can be shifted using push buttons on the steering wheel, cannot prevent the Edsel from becoming one of the biggest marketing blunders in automotive history.

All kinds of new technologies, such as a speedometer that turns red when you are driving too fast and a transmission that can be shifted using push buttons on the steering wheel, cannot prevent the Edsel Pacer Convertible from becoming one of the biggest marketing blunders in automotive history. The Edsel, named after Henry Ford's son who died in 1943, is launched in 1957 by the Ford Motor Company as a new brand in the upper mid range, just below the top brand Lincoln. Thanks in part to the massive marketing campaign, expectations are high. The styling, with its grille resembling a horse bridle, the horse collar, is far from universally appreciated. The quality also leaves much to be desired, as do the driving capabilities, as shown by car tests in magazines and by consumer organizations. On top of that, at the end of the 1950s America is in a crisis and demand for large, gas guzzling cars like the Edsel is declining. Ford loses millions of dollars on Edsel and officially pulls the brand from the market in 1959; the cars continue to be produced until 1960.