#Hassan. Posted November 13, 2021 Posted November 13, 2021 62 years since the death of the Edsel, this is the story behind one of the car world’s most infamous misfortunes For embarrassing, grand-scale corporate catastrophes there was once only one word: Edsel. Over 60 years ago, Ford spent $250 million - perhaps $2.5 billion in today’s money - on the launch of a new brand whose chief impact was to become known as one of the worst product launches of all time. The tale behind it became a case study for the corporate world and the name became a synonym for failure. This is the story of how it was born, how it died on November 19th 1959, and how its failure ironically laid the foundation stone for one of Ford’s most remarkable successes… Fighting the General Despite its ultimate failure, the thinking behind the Edsel division was sound. Back in the mid ‘50s Ford had three brands – Ford itself, Mercury and Lincoln – whereas General Motors had five, its mid-range Oldsmobile, Pontiac and Buick marques flanked by affordable Chevrolet and prestigious Cadillac. Against this trio Ford could only muster Mercury, but neither this nor upscale Lincoln were profitable, in stark contrast to GM’s money-making armoury of marques. The problem was hardly new. Ford had been grappling with it since the 1920s, with the rise of the multi-brand General Motors. Why it took three decades to mount a full-scale riposte is a story worthy of Netflix. Jealousy, intransigence, hubris and empire-building produced paralysis, poor decisions, few winners and many losers. The legacy - Henry Ford, and Ford Model T This is the car that democratised motoring, pictured with its creator. Outsold only by the VW Beetle, it made Henry Ford (1863-1947) richer than some countries. But he would later refuse to change his ways, or the car that had propelled him there. By 1927, Ford’s US market share had plunged to 19% from 48% in 1922. The Model T was old, and newly affluent buyers were trading up. link : https://www.autocar.co.uk/slideshow/edsel-anatomy-disaster-2
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