A 'car of the future' was left to rot in my neighbors garage – now I'm taking extreme action to get it running | 2YJY87S | 2024-04-23 12:08:01
WHEN Ford Motor Company released the Edsel brand, the manufacturer thought it was releasing an award-winning tech-hero.
After over 60 years, car enthusiasts are salvaging remnants from the defunct brand, tring to restore the seldom-sold vehicles for use on American roads.
The U.S. Sun spoke to Ben Klein (@ITGarage), a YouTuber who is rebuilding an Edsel in his spare time.
Klein suggested that automakers could gain valuable insights from studying the failures of Edsel, especially as brands transition to electric vehicle manufacturing.
Ford launched the Edsel brand in 1958 with plans to take on other car companies with mid-level offerings.
The company aimed to attract buyers with the time's premium technology at below-luxury rates.
Its direct competitors were expected to be Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Dodge, and DeSoto – American manufactured automobiles with some upscale touches.
Edsel aimed to make its mark in the category as a tech-driver's dream.
But the plan didn't go well. Drivers wretched at the car's front bumper that gave a lemon-sucking wince.
"Edsel is just a Ford in fancier clothes," Klein told The U.S. Sun.
"The biggest thing with these Edsels is their goofiness."
Although often forgotten by today's drivers, Edsel was the pioneering brand that introduced several technologies that are now commonplace in modern vehicles.
<!-- End of Brightcove Player --> The brand featured speed warning on the speedometer, dash-mounted warning lights for engine part failures, and Teletouch – a system that let drivers shift car gears via the steering wheel, not the stick gear selector.
"The Edsel is a mid-century brand," Klein said, pointing out the car's astronaut-inspired dash.
"It was very cool, very weird, very futuristic."
And it only sold 2,846 units in two years. Ford suffered a $250 million loss in the development of the car. Adjusted for inflation, thats a nearly $2.6 billion drain in 2024.
Klein said the brand over-promised on the car and underdelivered.
"[Ford] tried shocking the public into purchasing the car," he said, referencing ad campaigns led by A-listers like Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, and Louis Armstrong.
"I think it was just overhyped. It was secretive, and they promised all this new stuff."
<!--googleoff: all--> <blockquote class="article__quote"> </blockquote> <!--googleon: all--> Beyond the funky styling choices, drivers complained about the Edsel's lack of build quality.
By 1960, Ford had killed the brand.
Still, drivers can see hints of the bygone brand in new cars, Klein said.
Lincoln now sells a Corsair SUV – the name came from Edsel.
New-age Lincoln cars are also using the same script font that Edsel branded.
And, of course, new car dashboards are emblazoned with dozens of digital warnings.
The late-1950s forward-thinking is an motivating factors behind Klein's restoring plans.
RECONSTRUCTING A RELIC
Despite the massive sales failure, Klein is in love with the vehicle.
Klein's admiration for the car started when his dad purchased an Edsel when he was younger.
"I rekindled [my interest] when I was an adult, after college," he said.
Memories of his childhood afinity for the weird-looking car sent him on a chase for the vehicle as an adult.
"I asked every single person over the age of 50," he said. "I scanned across Facebook Marketplace. I had business cards from [a former job with his wife]. I scratched off my wife's phone number and just wrote 'Edsel' on the back."
Eventually, he found a neighbor with Edsel models decaying in a garage.
He brought the cars home and has filmed his progress in a series of YouTube videos as he works his way through the classic cars.
Klein said he wants to get the cars operational again — he doesn't need to replace the parts to their default manufacturing settings.
"I'm just an IT guy playing around with this old stuff," he said.
"I think that even if the car is not as it was off the factory and something is not period-correct, the fact that it's still out there being enjoyed and teaching people about what it was, then that's worth more than trying to get it absolutely period-correct and letting it sit in the garage for years.
"That's what all of this stuff is about, being able to enjoy it."
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