The Edsel- Remembering Ford's Murder Victim

Labor Day 1957- The Russians announced that their Intercontinental Ballistic R-7 Missile could reach the west. The report of a successful test flight was announced on August 26 and dominated the news headlines of the week, until September 4th when the Americans announced their own bomb. It was called "the Edsel." and it the day chosen for its introduction was designated as "E-Day."

The Edsel, a medium priced car offered in four series, was positioned between the Ford and the Mercury on the Ford ladder. Its lower priced series were based on Ford, the upper series based on Mercury. It was the most researched car in Ford's history. And it was a thundering flop that lived only three model years.

Many post mortems have been performed on the ill fated Edsel and blame has been assessed: the controversial styling, the inexperienced dealer body, production snafus and the deep postwar recession. All are certainly factors, and had a role in the ultimate failure of the marque. But there's even more to the story.

The Edsel arose out of a concept known as the Breech Plan. It was conceived by Ford executive Ernest Breech, who was one of Henry Ford II's "Whiz Kids" who were brought in to save the company after the death of its founder in 1946. Breech had a reputation of being a trouble shooter and strategist, and he felt that Ford was missing too many segments of the market uncovered. He was a close friend of Henry II and it was not a surprise when Breech was named Chairman of the Board in 1955.

The Breech plan called for an alignment along the lines of General Motors- the Low priced Ford, a low-mid priced offering, the Mercury (migrating somewhat upmarket), the Lincoln, and a Super Lincoln. The board approved the plan in 1955, and of course the new low-mid priced offering ultimately became the star crossed Edsel.

Robert S. Macnamara was another of Henry Ford II's "Whiz Kids", who were brought in to save the company after the death of Henry. Macnamara was a Harvard MBA accountant whose expertise in cost management brought him huge accolades and reinforced his power within the ranks. And he strongly opposed the Breech Plan and the Edsel. Macnamara felt that the Ford Motor Company should concentrate on maximizing volume on the Ford nameplate (upon whose sales he just happened to be paid) and opposed the Edsel whose success he saw as distracting from his livelihood.

He was powerful enemy who made his displeasure known to all within earshot, both inside and outside of the company. Fairfax Cone, president of the Edsel's Advertising Agency wrote in his memoir that while in detroit for the Edsel's launch, he asked Macnamara what he thought of the yet-to-be-introduced new car. He wrote that he was shocked that Macnamara's response was "I have plans for phasing it out."

One cannot downplay the importance of such a powerful opponent. In the early fall of 1957, when Edsel was hoping for a strong launch, Macnamara offered strong dealer cash incentives of up to $750 on Ford cars, making the Edsel effectively $1000 more than a Ford. He succeeded in getting the Mercury, Edsel and Lincoln divisions merged and from there steered the downfall of the brand- first with consolidating Edsel products onto the Ford chassis only for 1959, and then reducing the make to a very slightly differentiated Ford for 1960.

Of course there were many factors going on in the market place in the late 1950's. The economy was in a deep recession. The controversial styling was a factor, but a similar look had given Studebaker record sales a few years back. Production quality was spotty. Dealer discounts on Fords made Edsel intenders into Ford drivers. And once the first comedian referred to the car as an "Olds sucking a lemon", the carefully crafted image began to shake.

First year Edsel sales of 61,000 were well below expectations, yet nonetheless represented the second best new nameplate introduction up to that time. But Macnamara was harping daily on what a disaster it was and now it needed to be dropped, and support within the company for the Edsel eroded daily. Edsel found its budgets slashed, its staffs reduced, and its options severely limited.



On November 14, 1959, Edsel became Ford's first murder victim.

Cadillac Elmiraj World Premiere at Monterey

The Cadillac Elmiraj concept coupe made its world debut in Carmel last night. Your humble servant was thrilled to be in attendance but was armed with nothing more than a cell phone camera. But take a look at the surfaces and angles that make up Miraj- it's absolutely mesmerizing in person. (All photos property of Jeff Stork.)

Behind the Wheel- 2013 Nissan Pathfinder SV- Road Trip Ready

The Nissan Pathfinder has been around since the earliest days of the SUV craze. Designed originally as a two door Utility on a truck chassis, it’s gone back and forth between a frame and a unibody and through significant size variations as well over its life cycle.

Now fully restyled for 2013, the new Pathfinder finds itself as a full size crossover on a FWD unibody platform shared with the Murano and Quest. The only thing familiar is the name and that’s a bit misleading now, the only paths I can see it following are paved ones. Past owners may not be interested any more, but it turns out that the new version has a lot to offer in the full sized crossover segment.

It’s large. That’s all I could really say when they dropped it off. The styling cues include square edges and a very upright greenhouse, so it seems even larger than it really is. I started singing the “Canyonero” theme song and double checked the badge to see if they had delivered an Armada by mistake. But when I parked it next to a new GMC Acadia (GM’s Lambda crossover and- along with the Ford Explorer- one of its closest competitors) it was actually a little bit smaller. Turns out the Pathfinder is about five inches shorter, an inch narrower, and slightly taller than the Lambda, so maybe it’s not quite the behemoth that it first seems to be.

It comes in no fewer than six versions, as Nissan like to call them- all the way from the spartan S to the  Platinum Premium.  My SL 4X2 ($34,470 base) was in the upper range  and featured a nicely trimmed leather interior, power liftgate and remote starting - and the SL Premium package got me dual panorama sunroofs and Bose audio.But there was still lots of room for upward mobility- Platinum ($39,550) would add 20” wheels, navigation, and All Around Monitor, and the top of the line a Platinum Premium ($41,850) features a tri zone entertainment system.

I didn’t even turn on the optional dual DVD package ($1850)  in my test car, and I would have gladly swapped it for Nissan’s excellent navigation system. All told, my car listed for $40,720, including  splash guards ($150), cross roof bars ($200), floor mats ($200), illuminated kick plates ($275) and the aforementioned SL Premium package ($2650 after a $400 special discount.) Add the destination charge ($825) and you’re just over forty grand.

You expect a nicely appointed car for that, and the Pathfinder did not disappoint. The interior was quite nicely finished- a notch below what I would expect from Infiniti but consistent overall. From the dash graining to the square weave carpeting on the floor mats, it all had a nice and consistent look. The seats were quite supportive and comfortable and my only regret really was the lack of navigation.

It goes without saying that when someone gives you a car this big, the only rational thing to do is to take it on a road trip- so of course I did- a 300 mile weekender over to Burbank to check out the legendary Bob’s Big Boy Friday Cruise Night and get to know the Pathfinder. My first observation was that the interior looked ridiculously empty with only me and my overnight bag in a car that was clearly designed to take the Brady Bunch to the Grand Canyon, but once I got over the guilt I found the car quite capable and comfortable on the road.

The ride and handling were both smooth and carlike, and the leather seating quite comfortable on the road. The Pathfinder held its position in traffic with confidence- pretty impervious to crosswinds,  the 3.5 liter engine (in 260 hp tune) was more than up to the task, and the CVT transmission all but imperceptible. But the biggest surprise of all was fuel economy- the Pathfinder 4X2 is rated at 20 city, 26 highway- which sounds pretty good for a beast of this size- but I actually averaged 29.5 on the way to LA and broke the 30 barrier on the way back with 30.5. For a vehicle of this size, I was duly impressed. It’s a most capable highway cruiser. City mileage was around 22- and that’s certainly no disappointment for a vehicle of this size.

I came away from my week with the Pathfinder much more impressed than I expected to be. It’s no enthusiast’s dream, but it’s well finished inside and out and quite capable of gobbling up long stretches of highway. It’s too big for my needs, but if your household has more  little Bradys than mine does and you’re taking them to the Grand Canyon this summer, then the Pathfinder shoots to the top of the consideration list.