Edsel, Old Trucks Distort Irvine Master Plan's Reality Field

You may think you've experienced a planned community in which every last detail was carefully designed by lab-coated scientists in 1956 to elicit Maximum Upscale Suburban Ennui in its residents, but only Irvine, California, gets it down perfectly. Well, almost perfectly, because Al Frente has spotted these street-parked relics shattering Irvine's soothing vehicular harmony of BMWs and Tahoes. We've got an original-looking '59 Edsel Ranger, a mid-60s forward-control Chevy G-series van, and a '68 or '69 GMC pickup in L.A. School District colors. Make the jump to see all the photos and read what Al Frente has to say about these vehicles. More »

After 50 Years, Woody Edsel Wagon Still Laughs At Washington Rain

Apparently believing the Studebaker Champ pickup he shot wasn't quite rare enough, VintageRacer went back out on the Seattle streets and found this 1958 Edsel station wagon, equipped with the finest in Eisenhower Era woodgrain and surprisingly little rust. Make the jump for another gallery and VintageRacer's description. More »

Hooray For Fifty Years Of Edsels!

The Edsel wasn't just a failure- it was a colossal disaster for Ford, costing them $250,000,000 by '59, the equivalent to two billion 2007 dollars. It seemed like a good idea at the time; Ford wanted a brand that would be the equivalent of GM's Buick, positioned between Mercury and Lincoln in their hierarchy, but quality problems, an economic recession, and a bizarre "horse collar" grille doomed the Edsel to laughingstock status. But never mind all that depressing stuff; yesterday was the 50th anniversary of "E-Day," the showroom debut of the Edsel. [Washington Post]

Vehicles as Metaphor

Mental_floss explores the automobile as metaphor, aligning the Edsel with failure, the Pinto with volatility, the DeLorean with spastic hype, the Yugo with shoddiness and the Corvair with a lack of safety. Which is all well, good, fine and dandy. But there are other, more obscure vehicular metaphors out there. And it is your mission, dear readers of tha Jalop, to find and explain them. So get to 'splainin'. [mental_floss]

Which Car Is Growing On You?

We all remember the Pontiac Aztek, our generation's Edsel. A car so bad, Pontiac even managed to spell the name wrong. Design-wise, the worst element (besides the gas-cap wound) was all that damn cladding. But then, after Pontiac only sold four cars in 18 months (or whatever), GM did the unthinkable – they restyled the duckling. And... they didn't do such a bad job. Granted, the Aztek was as doomed as the Titanic from the initial marketing focus group. But, at least it died in my mind with a modicum of dignity. When I first saw the new Lexus flagship I liked the headlights and the back seat, but thought the car itself pretty blobby and dull. But, sitting on the floor of an auto show is one thing. Seeing these hulking leviathans on the road is another. The top dog Lexi (Lexuses?) posses mad amounts of uberholprestige. That's German for, "Get out of my way or I'm driving up your tailpipe." I gotta admit, these have grown on me. You? – Jonny Lieberman More »

Edchero! The Truckcar Madness Shall Not Abate!

Reader Mike wrote in with a plea for us to stop with the Caminos. But then he included this link to a '58 Edsel customized by a guy buy the name of Pudge Wiley and his father back in 1963. According to Pudge, his mother was none to please when they saw what they'd done to her car, but eventually came around. And really, what mother wouldn't love an Edchero? More »

Yes Virginia, There is an Edsel King

Leroy Walker of Beulah, North Dakota loves him some Edsel action. Not just a little, but a whole lot of Edsel action. 226 Edsels' worth, actually, from rusted derelicts to an exceedingly rare Citation convertible. Stating that "The highway gets a little sweeter when you're driving an Edsel," Walker started collecting Henry's redheaded stepchildren in 1961, when he traded a Mercury for a '58 model with a blown clutch. The addiction's only grown from there. While he has the cars spread out over 37 acres to avoid the entire collection being taken out by a natural disaster, he keeps track of 'em and even sells a few, saying, "I can get you down the road for about $4,000 in an Edsel that will take you all the way to Los Angeles." More »