Yeah Dennis, you got it. Congratulations and you’re also correct. It’s not a 58 Turnpike cruiser. They didn’t make those in convertible and I totally forgot to fix it. It’s a park lane.
WYR: 1958 Stude Hawk, 1958 Edsel. I too have always liked these. Yes, the "Bed pan" grill was polarizing but at least it didn't look like every other car, the way so many do today. Thanks as always, I had never thought of the concave bumper and side before - but you are right - I can't unsee it. ~ Chuck
I always thought the speed warning on the speedometer was to alert you to begin looking for police and not to stop you from speeding. Thanks for that information. In 1979 one of these showed up on a typical small used car lot in Framingham, Massachusetts. I was very surprised to see it there. It wasn't in bad shape, just a bit tired. The only other place I recall seeing one before that was in a junkyard and I was fascinated by the shift selection buttons on the steering wheel. I'd choose the 1958 Studebaker Golden Hawk and the 1958 Pontiac Bonneville.
I am not much of a Ford guy, but I remember the Edsels from when they were new. I have always had a soft spot for them. There is a whimsical joie de vivre about them that makes me smile.
I remember the first time I saw an edsel as if it were yesterday. I was a toddler riding in the back of my Mom's '51 Studebaker Commander Starlight through downtown Atlanta. It was a cold and rainy day, Mom was a bit uneasy with the city traffic (having been a school-teacher in a college town in Mississippi). I saw the Edsel behind us in traffic and it was the scariest thing I'd ever seen in my life. I don't have the nightmares any more (sixty-six years later), but the Edsel left its mark on my opinion of automotive design.
What a beautiful example, Jay! I'm very glad you covered an Edsel. And I hope you find more in your travels. And I'll take the Edsel and the '59 Mercury. I don't care if my neighbors laugh at me!
Read a styling book decades ago and they discussed the first public Edsel showing. A Ford exec commented "Somebody hopped on that grille and called it a toilet seat and it was dead from that minute. " Also that there was so much media hype before the showing, it was a public letdown that it was basically just a car. I think it looked much better than a new Buick or OLDs. Another great video Jay.
You are right about being unfair choices, in the first scenario I have hard time choosing one, the second I would definitely choose the Edsel. I have always wanted one just so I could play with it and work out all of the electrical gremlins the model had.
My wife drove a 58 Edsel convertible long before I met her. It was probably in the late 60s or early 70s. Like your feature car, it was red and white. She lived in southern Cali so the car had no rust, and the top stayed down most of the time! I don't know what model it was, but I think she said it had a Continental spare tire kit. I only have her vague, non-car enthusiast description, and you just read it! WYR= I'd take any of them except the Olds or Pontiac. NTT= ??? It is so cool that the Edsel owner let you video the whole car! Fun video, Jay! Edit: Wow, I really didn't know that the fenders were different between the low-end and hi-end models. I did know they had different wheelbases. Thanks for the comparison photos!
You bet thank you so much for watching When I saw the very first time, I was like that is a totally different design just going off of memory I wondered if all the cars are like that from the 50s it's really got me thinking Thank you so much for sharing those memories
I always had a soft spot for Edsel as well. I love cars and brands that dared to be different, kind of like the nerdy girl you liked in school but couldn’t admit it to your friends.
Which one would I rather...? The Chryslers were about 4 or 5 years ahead in styling, but I like the Edsel. It's instantly identifiable, and rocks a style zone of its own. I never understood why people talked about them as if they were hideous and undesirable, just crowd-following I guess. This particular example is really stunning, those colors make it POP!
Oh Jay, '58 Edsel convertible, what a beauty! When I was in high school our music director often drove his mother's '58 Edsel Ranger, a gorgeous turquoise over white two-door hardtop she had bought new. Although it was by then more than fifteen years old it was very well maintained and still looked new inside and out. The car became our unofficial music department mascot and whenever the band or choir traveled the Edsel led the way out in front of the bus; we always said the car looked as if it was singing. You made it very hard to decide from the choices you offered but I have always been partial to DeSoto and Studebaker, would have to demand I be given both the Adventurer and the Hawk. Thanks for always presenting automotive eye candy! FYI: my '56 Studebaker Commander had self-adjusting brakes.
DeSoto 😍 Studebaker There was an Edsel Yard outside Sweetwater TX we bought parts from 🤔in the 80s About 300 cars full of Rattlesnakes 😱.. Always an Adventure 🤦🤷.. Great Episode Happy Motoring ✌️😎
My Aunt and Uncle bought a new 58 Corsair two door hardtop in white, pink and brown. I thought that it was a beautiful car. They kept it until 65, trading it in for a Ford station wagon with air conditioning.
It was in great condition when they traded it in. My Aunt really liked that car and my Uncle took good care of it. I don't remember them ever having any problems with the car. With two school age boys, they only traded it in to get a four door (wagon) and air conditioning. @@What.its.like.
I have read you could get the 1958 Pontiac Bonneville convertible with fuel in Injection. The 1958 Mecury could have the 430 MEL engine Super Marauder with three dueces. The 1958 Golden Hawk was supercharged.
1958 Edsel or even a 58 Ford 300 with the 352 police interceptor. A guy had one and drove it to high school with a 428 CJ headers but it looked as stock as could be. Nothing sounds like the FE, and that Boom they had with headers I begged to sell it to me. A 300 2 dr sedan business coupe. Even black steelies and the dog dish caps!
I really like that commercial I'm trying to use different commercials When we do the Corsair I'm going to try and use some of McCahill testing because it was super cool I'm still finding ads about edsel that I've never seen before
Ive always liked this model year of these unique automobiles, the convertible and wagon version, the most. WYRs, I'd go with this one for the first, in the second; it would be the Turnpike Cruiser😎
As you have already said the Edsel line consisted of Ranger, Pacer, Corsair, Citation, Bermuda & Villager. It is interesting to note that all those names have been used before or since the Edsel years. The Bermuda name was originally used on the 1955 Willys compact sedan the it replaced the Aero. The Villager name was later used on Mercury's mid-sized wagons of the 1960s & '70s, then later yet on their mini vans of the 1990s. Ford brought back The Ranger name in the late '60s as a trim level for their full sized pickup trucks, then later the name for their compact trucks. It was in recent years that Lincoln brought the Corsair name back for one of their SUVs. Both the Ranger and Corsair are currently in production. As some would know it was AMC & Chevrolet respectively using the Pacer & Citation names.
The buttons in the center of the steering wheel can be an absolute nightmare, one second your trying to use your horn, and then the next second you're getting your entire transmission replaced.
I know this is an odd thing to say, but I often have thought that the character Bender on the Space Cartoon "Futurama" was drawn to mimic the styling on the 1958 Edsel. It is his eyes that made me say that,
Nice Jay, did anyone notice the inside door handle on the drivers door of the red Edsel,looks like it came off a mid seventies GM van,the right door has the correct Ford inside door handle. One thing I learned Jay,is the two different fenders,one used on the upper series,and a different one for the lesser series,that I never knew. The Edsel was an ambitious effort,but just at the wrong time in my eyes,and a lot of complex controls,but still has a great amount of appeal. As always great work. I would like to offer a topic,the 1960 GMC pickup,first mass produced V-6,first mass produced Independent front torsion bar front suspension,and rear coil spring suspension.Thanks.
Thank you so much for pointing that out. I totally missed that. I do miss somethings from time to time lol That is an engine episode. I definitely wanna do I think I looked into it once and I'm not sure where to draw because I think it has multiple engines in it. Truck engines figure heavy commercial engines, but I definitely want to do it eventually.
@What.its.like. I hope you know that was not a dig,I truly appreciate the work you do,the pictures from the factory brochures are an added bonus,and the research is the icing. I was hoping you would do a profile on the whole 60 GMC pickup,not just the engine,, your work is that good.Thanks again Jay.
Oh yeah most definitely I did not take it as an insult I use talk text a lot but doesn't work that great anymore on my aging phone, I'll probably have to get a new phone next year don't want to be my iPhone XR is like 6 years old some features don't work all that great anymore. I want to cover that engine I think I looked into it and there are so many different engines in that family big GM truck engines... but definitely one day
I think the economy situation situation could be helped out by just swapping the rear end I know a few people who did that with their classic cars with great results
They might have had a chance if they'd only lost the horse collar- the rest of the car is styled well for the times and it did have nice features. They eventually got the 'Tele-Touch' transmission problems sorted out but by then Edsel had clearly flopped. WYR I'm a Studebaker fan and this era my favorite from them. And the Olds has it's own distinct look.
Well, the styling was definitely memorable. One thing that may have doomed the car was the fact it was introduced when the economy was experiencing a bit of a downturn.
HI Jay! When I was a kid in school, there was a book on the library that features various old cars. One of my favorites in the book was the 1958 Edsel. I, too, found the styling to my liking. There were MANY uglier cars in that era (that 1958 Buick and Olds! YUCK!). The Edsel had many interesting features for its time. If you ever get a chance to read it, The Edsel Affair, is a very interesting book that tells the true story of what went on at the time. It's a story of corporate bickering and jealousy. The Edsel team had to fight the Ford executives, a lot of whom didn't think the car was a good idea in the first place. NOT a story destined for success! The name of the car also did not help. There were many better names in the pipeline that would have been better. Corsair, which became a series name under the Edsel nameplate would have been better. If there had been dedicated Edsel assembly plants, the cars would have been of better quality (another dumb corporate decision). The teletouch drive gave some problems, with jamming up if the buttons were not pushed in the proper sequence. They dropped the push button trans after 1958, which is kind of a shame. WYR. One (I KNEW you were going to do it to me!) 1958 Studebaker Golden Hawk. Two. 1958 Edsel Citation! Of course!
I myself have never seen or own an Edsel but studying about them is quite an interesting. It's too bad that at this day in age Edsel will never make a come back after the problems they had in the late 50's early 60's much like what happened with all the other car brands that went extinct. Of course I know they have their reasons but still I do think the Edsels was still good cars overall. It's just that they had their issues like every car has like it's teletouch drive that was proven unreliable due to the servo motor to overheat and burn out when you push from drive to reverse multiple times when you try to get out of the snow and ice which lead to some recalls on the teletouch drive. I mean besides the cruise-o-matic on the Fords are pretty reliable in itself. It's just that the teletouch drive with it's servo motor was proven unreliable but I mean the teletouch drive is a pretty nice cool feature when looking at it. But still I wouldn't want one of those Edsels if I got myself stuck in the snow back in that time period I mean it would just be disaster. But again it's automotive history and it's nice to know what people had to deal with from way back then. :)
WYR: In the first scenario, I would very easily choose the Desoto, on styling alone. One of the best 'Forward Look' cars, inside and out, if you ask me. I do have more to say about the second scenario however. If I were living in the late 50s, but with the same aesthetic taste as I do IRL, I would probably choose the Mercury over the GM cars or the Edsel. As much as I think the '58 Pontiac is absolutely gorgeous and one of the best that the 50s had to offer in terms of style, if I had to drive one of these cars every day, I would not trust 'X' frame on the '58 GM cars to keep me safe in the event of an accident. I know that sounds rich, to critique 50s cars by metric of safety, but if 50s cars were all I had to choose from as a daily driver, on the road against other 50's cars (or even modern traffic i guess), I'd rather the Mercury. I'd feel just the tiniest, teeniest more safe in a Merc than a Pontiac. What's more, I think it's just more pleasing to the eye than the Edsel, while still scratching the itch for weird 50s gimmicks and features. The Edsel is cool, but just a bit too quirky for me. Definitely an acquired taste. Edsel definitely did better in '59, at least from the front, and i wonder if things would have changed for the whole brand if they had started with something closer to that than the '58. Something about those high, pushed forward headlights just doesn't sit well with me. I prefer the '59 where the headlights are lower and flush with the grill.
Thank you so much for sharing all that insight and information I forget about the Xframe GM used some stellar cars were built with that chassis like the rivera Sweet choices and reasoning behind chooses
I wouldn't have liked the water leaks they supposedly had or the troublesome push button shifter but getting a version of the big Lincoln engine would have appealed. I understand a lot of cars of that era,especially the pillarless (no B pillar) had water leaks and could be drafty with the windows rolled up. Was the "MEL" engine series new that year? I think the Ford "FE" was. Overlapping the "Y block" although I understand both the MEL and FE had lower block walls that came below the crankshaft main bearing cap parting line and offered the capability of crossbolted main bearing caps like the Hi Po 427 FE engines. (Not available yet in 1958)
The last "real" Packard also used an electric controlled transmission selector. Not sure about the Mercury in 57-58. Rambler also used a push-button system, but it was like the Chrysler product (mechanical).
Hudson used the first in in 35 Bendix electric hand and then they were used in cord 810/812 the thing with the edsel was electric push buttons which were troublesome
Was there a refugee from the defunct Packard organization who found employment at Ford Motor Company and became responsible for some of the Edsel's peculiarities ?
I always liked the Edsel, but my dad drove Cadillacs, and my mom had a 59 Impala convertible for years and they would laugh at an Edsel every time we saw one. But the Edsel has a very powerful motor and lots of options. WYR The Golden Hawk, and the Bonneville or Olds.88
I like the 50's trucks much better than the cars. I really love the 55 Chevy truck. 56-57 as well 58-59 are cool also but the 55-57 really does it for me. Especially if you swap on a 350 HP engine and 4speed. Lower it slightly and a set of spaced rims 15x10 with a 275-60-15 tire, just an awesome machine, especially if it has the 3.90:1 gear used with the i6 engine , the 3.73 is fine as well. You wouldn't want to swap in a th350 trans with 3.90 gear if you daily it. Because it will get bad gpm, yea I said GPM, as in gallons per mile‼️ seriously if you stay under 55 you may see 5-7 mph possibly 7-10 with 3.73 with automatic transmission, a tko 5 speed would be great with a 3.90:1 gear. Maybe even a 4.10:1 and get 10-15 mpg (possibly) if its a daily type ride id want 3.42:1 with a 4L80 4speed auto with overdrive or a t56 6speed swap (or a tko 5speed) definitely a manual transmission! Use that clutch pedal!
I think they are kinda cool. With a different grille it might have done better. Dad said they used to call the front something vulgar, concerning ladies. It was bad. I wouldn’t want one either after that.
That's awesome =) I often wondered how many cars are abroad in different countries I know Sweden love American cars I've never been there, but I heard a lot of cars shipped there
For WYR, it’s the Edsel, and the Pontiac. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if Ford hadn’t thrown in the towel on Edsel as quickly as they did. The 1958 model was the only year in which it was uniquely its own car…after that it became more of a senior Ford. Anyway it was a very different car. And I think it looks better than that year’s Buick, which featured the ugliest front end in its history in my opinion.
I agree with that statement I love these I almost bought one when I was 21 (pacer) but wasn't sure if I was really for that type of car yet ended up trying a few other cars and ended up with a 67 mustang price was great V8 lol
58 Hawk 58 Merc I don't care what anybody says the number one thing that killed the Edsel was that ugly front end. I don't know any other way to put it. It just looked horrible. The body design looks great and the rear end looks great. However, I'm sorry the front end just spoiled the whole look of the car. Then add in the fact that a recession hit and nobody had money to buy new cars. If they did they would be looking for inexpensive new cars and the best possible deal that they could get. Not really the best time to bring out a newer car that was fairly expensive. How did the marketing and sales department at Ford not realize what was happening all around them? I was just a young kid then so I didn't know, maybe the recession hit so fast that nobody could react in time. Then add in the fact that the Edsel had a lot of quality control issues his first year of production. Put all those together and it's like three strikes and you're out. Once again we have to pay homage to the automotive community who had the farsightedness to keep some of these Edsels around and keep them maintained so that they are still here today for us to enjoy. Why do you like them or you think they're ugly or you just could care less it's great that there are beautiful examples like that red one still around for us to enjoy
WYR1: Golden hawk, then a write-in Packard Starlight Coupe, then DeSoto Fireflite, the Chrysler just looks generic, too much like a low-line Dodge, but the Edsel is truly offensive. WYR2: No, thanks. The Buick Century or the Limited would have some appeal, but torque tube drive shafts should have been resigned to the dung-heap of history by 1938, let alone 1958.
Jay-I love your channel, I really do. But you often use terminology that is mystifying to me. Namely, the taillights, which you always refer to as “brake lights”. The proper term is “taillight”. While brake lights are part of the tail light assembly, they are not the primary function. If you were in an accident, and needed to replace the rear light assembly, you would ask for a taillight assembly. If you ask for a “brake light”, all you will get is a lightbulb to install in the taillight for the brakes. The other odd term you often use is “mascot” to describe the emblem or hood ornament. Cars have been a hobby of mine for many, many years, and I have never heard anyone refer to the hood ornament as a “mascot”. Mascots are used to symbolize an event or organization, not a tangible object like an automobile. The proper term is emblem, or hood ornament. Believe me, I’m not trying to be pedantic. As I said, I love your channel, but your misuse of car terms drives me to distraction. Anyway, I’ll keep watching. I love your passion for old cars. Keep up the good work!
It's all good I'm from Western Pennsylvania. We have weird names for things here just be glad I don't say yinz which is what most people say around here for you guys or y'all lol The hood ornaments were mascots and then became ornaments, I started saying mascot because I can't say ornament right western pa thing.. idk =) Happy you dig the channel en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hood_ornament
TH-cam videos consist of one long, protracted infomercial, followed by limited miniscule fragments OF video! Am thinking about not watching YT anymore!
"I Hear A Symphony" by The Supremes....also that is not a 1958 Mercury TP Cruiser in "would you rather"
Yeah Dennis, you got it. Congratulations and you’re also correct. It’s not a 58 Turnpike cruiser. They didn’t make those in convertible and I totally forgot to fix it. It’s a park lane.
@@What.its.like. It's also not a '58. It's a '59.
Those were the BEST OF THE BEST fancy car choices! The moment you choose one … you have to choose them ALL!!!!
A class mate had one in high school. It was pretty cool!
Sweet what model
@@What.its.like. can't remember exactly... kinda looks like the one you featured, but a hardtop. I only rode in it once...back in 1978!
WYR: 1958 Stude Hawk, 1958 Edsel. I too have always liked these. Yes, the "Bed pan" grill was polarizing but at least it didn't look like every other car, the way so many do today. Thanks as always, I had never thought of the concave bumper and side before - but you are right - I can't unsee it. ~ Chuck
Be nice and call it a "Horse collar"...lol
@ Fair point, sorry, I think I need a snickers 😂
I always thought the speed warning on the speedometer was to alert you to begin looking for police and not to stop you from speeding. Thanks for that information. In 1979 one of these showed up on a typical small used car lot in Framingham, Massachusetts. I was very surprised to see it there. It wasn't in bad shape, just a bit tired. The only other place I recall seeing one before that was in a junkyard and I was fascinated by the shift selection buttons on the steering wheel. I'd choose the 1958 Studebaker Golden Hawk and the 1958 Pontiac Bonneville.
I am not much of a Ford guy, but I remember the Edsels from when they were new. I have always had a soft spot for them. There is a whimsical joie de vivre about them that makes me smile.
I remember the first time I saw an edsel as if it were yesterday. I was a toddler riding in the back of my Mom's '51 Studebaker Commander Starlight through downtown Atlanta. It was a cold and rainy day, Mom was a bit uneasy with the city traffic (having been a school-teacher in a college town in Mississippi).
I saw the Edsel behind us in traffic and it was the scariest thing I'd ever seen in my life. I don't have the nightmares any more (sixty-six years later), but the Edsel left its mark on my opinion of automotive design.
Great video, junior and senior the series had different front fenders,
I never knew that, I wondered if it's like out on all cars.. from this era
What a beautiful example, Jay! I'm very glad you covered an Edsel. And I hope you find more in your travels. And I'll take the Edsel and the '59 Mercury. I don't care if my neighbors laugh at me!
They wouldn't laugh... they'd be jealous!
Going to cover a Corsair and pacer eventually and would love to cover all the wagons as well
Read a styling book decades ago and they discussed the first public Edsel showing. A Ford exec commented "Somebody hopped on that grille and called it a toilet seat and it was dead from that minute. " Also that there was so much media hype before the showing, it was a public letdown that it was basically just a car. I think it looked much better than a new Buick or OLDs. Another great video Jay.
You are right about being unfair choices, in the first scenario I have hard time choosing one, the second I would definitely choose the Edsel. I have always wanted one just so I could play with it and work out all of the electrical gremlins the model had.
My wife drove a 58 Edsel convertible long before I met her. It was probably in the late 60s or early 70s. Like your feature car, it was red and white. She lived in southern Cali so the car had no rust, and the top stayed down most of the time! I don't know what model it was, but I think she said it had a Continental spare tire kit. I only have her vague, non-car enthusiast description, and you just read it! WYR= I'd take any of them except the Olds or Pontiac. NTT= ??? It is so cool that the Edsel owner let you video the whole car! Fun video, Jay!
Edit: Wow, I really didn't know that the fenders were different between the low-end and hi-end models. I did know they had different wheelbases. Thanks for the comparison photos!
You bet thank you so much for watching
When I saw the very first time, I was like that is a totally different design just going off of memory
I wondered if all the cars are like that from the 50s it's really got me thinking
Thank you so much for sharing those memories
What a torque monster!
I know right it was the only engine back then to have torque numbers displayed on valve covers
Golden hawk for the win!
It's hard not to choose the golden hawk that's a stellar car and my favorite 50s car period =)
I always had a soft spot for Edsel as well. I love cars and brands that dared to be different, kind of like the nerdy girl you liked in school but couldn’t admit it to your friends.
What a great analogy =)
I love that, this channel dares you to drive something different
Which one would I rather...? The Chryslers were about 4 or 5 years ahead in styling, but I like the Edsel. It's instantly identifiable, and rocks a style zone of its own. I never understood why people talked about them as if they were hideous and undesirable, just crowd-following I guess. This particular example is really stunning, those colors make it POP!
There is no way I could chose, because I like all of the cars from 58. I think the styling was off the charts!
Definitely one of the wackiest years for American cars. Every showing had strong character in its design.
Oh Jay, '58 Edsel convertible, what a beauty! When I was in high school our music director often drove his mother's '58 Edsel Ranger, a gorgeous turquoise over white two-door hardtop she had bought new. Although it was by then more than fifteen years old it was very well maintained and still looked new inside and out. The car became our unofficial music department mascot and whenever the band or choir traveled the Edsel led the way out in front of the bus; we always said the car looked as if it was singing. You made it very hard to decide from the choices you offered but I have always been partial to DeSoto and Studebaker, would have to demand I be given both the Adventurer and the Hawk. Thanks for always presenting automotive eye candy! FYI: my '56 Studebaker Commander had self-adjusting brakes.
Happy you dig this episode
Thank you so much for sharing those memories
DeSoto 😍
Studebaker
There was an Edsel Yard outside Sweetwater TX we bought parts from 🤔in the 80s
About 300 cars full of Rattlesnakes 😱..
Always an Adventure 🤦🤷..
Great Episode
Happy Motoring ✌️😎
"I can't find that darned rattle...."
Watch out for the rattle!
My Aunt and Uncle bought a new 58 Corsair two door hardtop in white, pink and brown. I thought that it was a beautiful car. They kept it until 65, trading it in for a Ford station wagon with air conditioning.
That car sounds awesome =) and they kept it for a while as well what was it like when you traded it in
It was in great condition when they traded it in. My Aunt really liked that car and my Uncle took good care of it. I don't remember them ever having any problems with the car. With two school age boys, they only traded it in to get a four door (wagon) and air conditioning. @@What.its.like.
I have read you could get the 1958 Pontiac Bonneville convertible with fuel in Injection. The 1958 Mecury could have the 430 MEL engine Super Marauder with three dueces.
The 1958 Golden Hawk was supercharged.
1958 Edsel or even a 58 Ford 300 with the 352 police interceptor. A guy had one and drove it to high school with a 428 CJ headers but it looked as stock as could be. Nothing sounds like the FE, and that Boom they had with headers I begged to sell it to me. A 300 2 dr sedan business coupe. Even black steelies and the dog dish caps!
Jay, the ad was great, the features just amazing for 1958, but the violins and harp playing softly in the background is perfect! 🎻 🎶
I really like that commercial I'm trying to use different commercials
When we do the Corsair I'm going to try and use some of McCahill testing because it was super cool
I'm still finding ads about edsel that I've never seen before
The Edsel ranks with the Titanic with all the "if they'd done this different, they would have survived."
Great finding a second Edsel, First pick 58 Packard Hawk for rarity, second 58 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser (also take the 59 Park Lane in the picture)
Sweet choices yeah I forgot to fix that
Thanks for posting. I would take the Mercury.
Ive always liked this model year of these unique automobiles, the convertible and wagon version, the most. WYRs, I'd go with this one for the first, in the second; it would be the Turnpike Cruiser😎
The Stude and then the Mercury.
Sweet choices
As you have already said the Edsel line consisted of Ranger, Pacer, Corsair, Citation, Bermuda & Villager. It is interesting to note that all those names have been used before or since the Edsel years. The Bermuda name was originally used on the 1955 Willys compact sedan the it replaced the Aero. The Villager name was later used on Mercury's mid-sized wagons of the 1960s & '70s, then later yet on their mini vans of the 1990s. Ford brought back The Ranger name in the late '60s as a trim level for their full sized pickup trucks, then later the name for their compact trucks. It was in recent years that Lincoln brought the Corsair name back for one of their SUVs. Both the Ranger and Corsair are currently in production. As some would know it was AMC & Chevrolet respectively using the Pacer & Citation names.
Corsair was also used for Henry J
Great information thank you so much for taking the time to share it
The buttons in the center of the steering wheel can be an absolute nightmare, one second your trying to use your horn, and then the next second you're getting your entire transmission replaced.
I know this is an odd thing to say, but I often have thought that the character Bender on the Space Cartoon "Futurama" was drawn to mimic the styling on the 1958 Edsel. It is his eyes that made me say that,
Nice Jay, did anyone notice the inside door handle on the drivers door of the red Edsel,looks like it came off a mid seventies GM van,the right door has the correct Ford inside door handle.
One thing I learned Jay,is the two different fenders,one used on the upper series,and a different one for the lesser series,that I never knew. The Edsel was an ambitious effort,but just at the wrong time in my eyes,and a lot of complex controls,but still has a great amount of appeal.
As always great work. I would like to offer a topic,the 1960 GMC pickup,first mass produced V-6,first mass produced Independent front torsion bar front suspension,and rear coil spring suspension.Thanks.
Thank you so much for pointing that out. I totally missed that. I do miss somethings from time to time lol
That is an engine episode. I definitely wanna do I think I looked into it once and I'm not sure where to draw because I think it has multiple engines in it. Truck engines figure heavy commercial engines, but I definitely want to do it eventually.
@What.its.like. I hope you know that was not a dig,I truly appreciate the work you do,the pictures from the factory brochures are an added bonus,and the research is the icing.
I was hoping you would do a profile on the whole 60 GMC pickup,not just the engine,, your work is that good.Thanks again Jay.
Oh yeah most definitely I did not take it as an insult
I use talk text a lot but doesn't work that great anymore on my aging phone, I'll probably have to get a new phone next year don't want to be my iPhone XR is like 6 years old some features don't work all that great anymore.
I want to cover that engine I think I looked into it and there are so many different engines in that family big GM truck engines... but definitely one day
1. De Soto
2. Mercury
Great vid!
Sweet choices happy you dig this video
I am with you Jay, I like the Edsel too. Some features were ahead of its time. Great restoration on the car you reviewed, but the gas mileage, ugh.
I think the economy situation situation could be helped out by just swapping the rear end I know a few people who did that with their classic cars with great results
They might have had a chance if they'd only lost the horse collar- the rest of the car is styled well for the times and it did have nice features. They eventually got the 'Tele-Touch' transmission problems sorted out but by then Edsel had clearly flopped. WYR I'm a Studebaker fan and this era my favorite from them. And the Olds has it's own distinct look.
In both scenarios, I’d choose the Edsel. I think it was the best car of 1958!
Sweet choices =)
Well, the styling was definitely memorable. One thing that may have doomed the car was the fact it was introduced when the economy was experiencing a bit of a downturn.
HI Jay! When I was a kid in school, there was a book on the library that features various old cars. One of my favorites in the book was the 1958 Edsel. I, too, found the styling to my liking. There were MANY uglier cars in that era (that 1958 Buick and Olds! YUCK!). The Edsel had many interesting features for its time. If you ever get a chance to read it, The Edsel Affair, is a very interesting book that tells the true story of what went on at the time. It's a story of corporate bickering and jealousy. The Edsel team had to fight the Ford executives, a lot of whom didn't think the car was a good idea in the first place. NOT a story destined for success! The name of the car also did not help. There were many better names in the pipeline that would have been better. Corsair, which became a series name under the Edsel nameplate would have been better. If there had been dedicated Edsel assembly plants, the cars would have been of better quality (another dumb corporate decision). The teletouch drive gave some problems, with jamming up if the buttons were not pushed in the proper sequence. They dropped the push button trans after 1958, which is kind of a shame. WYR. One (I KNEW you were going to do it to me!) 1958 Studebaker Golden Hawk. Two. 1958 Edsel Citation! Of course!
I myself have never seen or own an Edsel but studying about them is quite an interesting.
It's too bad that at this day in age Edsel will never make a come back after the problems they had in the late 50's early 60's much like what happened with all the other car brands that went extinct.
Of course I know they have their reasons but still I do think the Edsels was still good cars overall.
It's just that they had their issues like every car has like it's teletouch drive that was proven unreliable due to the servo motor to overheat and burn out when you push from drive to reverse multiple times when you try to get out of the snow and ice which lead to some recalls on the teletouch drive.
I mean besides the cruise-o-matic on the Fords are pretty reliable in itself. It's just that the teletouch drive with it's servo motor was proven unreliable but I mean the teletouch drive is a pretty nice cool feature when looking at it.
But still I wouldn't want one of those Edsels if I got myself stuck in the snow back in that time period I mean it would just be disaster.
But again it's automotive history and it's nice to know what people had to deal with from way back then. :)
58 was the pinnacle of design excess. Gaudy but often great
WYR: In the first scenario, I would very easily choose the Desoto, on styling alone. One of the best 'Forward Look' cars, inside and out, if you ask me. I do have more to say about the second scenario however.
If I were living in the late 50s, but with the same aesthetic taste as I do IRL, I would probably choose the Mercury over the GM cars or the Edsel. As much as I think the '58 Pontiac is absolutely gorgeous and one of the best that the 50s had to offer in terms of style, if I had to drive one of these cars every day, I would not trust 'X' frame on the '58 GM cars to keep me safe in the event of an accident. I know that sounds rich, to critique 50s cars by metric of safety, but if 50s cars were all I had to choose from as a daily driver, on the road against other 50's cars (or even modern traffic i guess), I'd rather the Mercury. I'd feel just the tiniest, teeniest more safe in a Merc than a Pontiac. What's more, I think it's just more pleasing to the eye than the Edsel, while still scratching the itch for weird 50s gimmicks and features. The Edsel is cool, but just a bit too quirky for me. Definitely an acquired taste.
Edsel definitely did better in '59, at least from the front, and i wonder if things would have changed for the whole brand if they had started with something closer to that than the '58. Something about those high, pushed forward headlights just doesn't sit well with me. I prefer the '59 where the headlights are lower and flush with the grill.
Thank you so much for sharing all that insight and information I forget about the Xframe GM used some stellar cars were built with that chassis like the rivera
Sweet choices and reasoning behind chooses
Adventurer, Turnpike Cruiser
1956 Packard had electric push buttons!
I didn't know that thank you so much for that information
Edsel ad claimed they were 1st lol
They were a interesting car head of their time. Golden Hawk - Oldsmobile
Cool choices
58 Desoto first and the Edsel second only because its rarity.
I want to drive an edsel both series eventually I think they are cool but not so much a 59 fan 60s are pretty rare
Great choices
58 Hawk and 58 Mercury
I wouldn't have liked the water leaks they supposedly had or the troublesome push button shifter but getting a version of the big Lincoln engine would have appealed. I understand a lot of cars of that era,especially the pillarless (no B pillar) had water leaks and could be drafty with the windows rolled up.
Was the "MEL" engine series new that year? I think the Ford "FE" was. Overlapping the "Y block" although I understand both the MEL and FE had lower block walls that came below the crankshaft main bearing cap parting line and offered the capability of crossbolted main bearing caps like the Hi Po 427 FE engines. (Not available yet in 1958)
The last "real" Packard also used an electric controlled transmission selector. Not sure about the Mercury in 57-58. Rambler also used a push-button system, but it was like the Chrysler product (mechanical).
Hudson used the first in in 35 Bendix electric hand and then they were used in cord 810/812 the thing with the edsel was electric push buttons which were troublesome
Was there a refugee from the defunct Packard organization who found employment at Ford Motor Company and became responsible for some of the Edsel's peculiarities ?
Man that commercial almost sold me but then I remembered I can’t just go to my local Edsel dealer anymore.
Haha I know right
I always liked the Edsel, but my dad drove Cadillacs, and my mom had a 59 Impala convertible for years and they would laugh at an Edsel every time we saw one. But the Edsel has a very powerful motor and lots of options. WYR The Golden Hawk, and the Bonneville or Olds.88
Sweet choices thank you for sharing those memories
Ive I was in the edsel I'd ask wanna race
58 Edsel, the design story never stops
I like the 50's trucks much better than the cars. I really love the 55 Chevy truck. 56-57 as well 58-59 are cool also but the 55-57 really does it for me. Especially if you swap on a 350 HP engine and 4speed. Lower it slightly and a set of spaced rims 15x10 with a 275-60-15 tire, just an awesome machine, especially if it has the 3.90:1 gear used with the i6 engine , the 3.73 is fine as well. You wouldn't want to swap in a th350 trans with 3.90 gear if you daily it. Because it will get bad gpm, yea I said GPM, as in gallons per mile‼️ seriously if you stay under 55 you may see 5-7 mph possibly 7-10 with 3.73 with automatic transmission, a tko 5 speed would be great with a 3.90:1 gear. Maybe even a 4.10:1 and get 10-15 mpg (possibly) if its a daily type ride id want 3.42:1 with a 4L80 4speed auto with overdrive or a t56 6speed swap (or a tko 5speed) definitely a manual transmission! Use that clutch pedal!
I’d have to go with the Stude.
I think they are kinda cool. With a different grille it might have done better. Dad said they used to call the front something vulgar, concerning ladies. It was bad. I wouldn’t want one either after that.
Did you know the 1947-1949 Studebakers had self adjusting brakes? I think they were the first.
Edsel and the Merc....
Which cars had factory air if available?
Everyone knows what the grill really looks like....😁
Jay In Western Australia There Is An Edsel Owners Club I've Seen Them 3:09
That's awesome =)
I often wondered how many cars are abroad in different countries I know Sweden love American cars I've never been there, but I heard a lot of cars shipped there
58 De Soto Adventurer, 58 Edsel
Sweet choices
Two of the most powerful cars on offer that year
If buying a car in 1958 I would pick Pontiac or Buick which had the best brakes.
Sweet choices and great point fords never had the best brakes
Carry on wayward son
By Kansas 🤷
Maybe 😏🤔😂
Enjoy ✌️😊
WYR: All of them.
Hahaha me too me too
I have NEVER heard anyone say "EdZel"...
Eh I say a lot of things different I don't say Tesla right either I pronounce it, the same way that Elon musk does
For WYR, it’s the Edsel, and the Pontiac.
Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if Ford hadn’t thrown in the towel on Edsel as quickly as they did. The 1958 model was the only year in which it was uniquely its own car…after that it became more of a senior Ford.
Anyway it was a very different car. And I think it looks better than that year’s Buick, which featured the ugliest front end in its history in my opinion.
And you do have a point about the front bumper/rear quarter similarity. They put so many details on this car I suspect it was done purposely.
It's crazy because once you see it you can't unsee it
Sweet choices
Thought they were ugly when they came out, still true 😝
Hahaha
i think this car was way too good for the public: they just didn t get it!
I agree with that statement I love these I almost bought one when I was 21 (pacer) but wasn't sure if I was really for that type of car yet ended up trying a few other cars and ended up with a 67 mustang price was great V8 lol
I love these old commercials. No woke allowed then!!
I totally agree
I miss the world I grew up in which was nothing like that world I would love to go back in a Time Machine and stay in the 30s or 50s
That sure looks like a 59 Mercury NOT 58
@@tonykool5347 oops my bad
58 Hawk
58 Merc
I don't care what anybody says the number one thing that killed the Edsel was that ugly front end. I don't know any other way to put it. It just looked horrible. The body design looks great and the rear end looks great. However, I'm sorry the front end just spoiled the whole look of the car.
Then add in the fact that a recession hit and nobody had money to buy new cars. If they did they would be looking for inexpensive new cars and the best possible deal that they could get. Not really the best time to bring out a newer car that was fairly expensive. How did the marketing and sales department at Ford not realize what was happening all around them? I was just a young kid then so I didn't know, maybe the recession hit so fast that nobody could react in time.
Then add in the fact that the Edsel had a lot of quality control issues his first year of production. Put all those together and it's like three strikes and you're out.
Once again we have to pay homage to the automotive community who had the farsightedness to keep some of these Edsels around and keep them maintained so that they are still here today for us to enjoy.
Why do you like them or you think they're ugly or you just could care less it's great that there are beautiful examples like that red one still around for us to enjoy
Sweet choices and great insight and information thank you so much for taking the time to share all that
WYR1: Golden hawk, then a write-in Packard Starlight Coupe, then DeSoto Fireflite, the Chrysler just looks generic, too much like a low-line Dodge, but the Edsel is truly offensive.
WYR2: No, thanks. The Buick Century or the Limited would have some appeal, but torque tube drive shafts should have been resigned to the dung-heap of history by 1938, let alone 1958.
Jay-I love your channel, I really do. But you often use terminology that is mystifying to me. Namely, the taillights, which you always refer to as “brake lights”. The proper term is “taillight”. While brake lights are part of the tail light assembly, they are not the primary function. If you were in an accident, and needed to replace the rear light assembly, you would ask for a taillight assembly. If you ask for a “brake light”, all you will get is a lightbulb to install in the taillight for the brakes. The other odd term you often use is “mascot” to describe the emblem or hood ornament. Cars have been a hobby of mine for many, many years, and I have never heard anyone refer to the hood ornament as a “mascot”. Mascots are used to symbolize an event or organization, not a tangible object like an automobile. The proper term is emblem, or hood ornament.
Believe me, I’m not trying to be pedantic. As I said, I love your channel, but your misuse of car terms drives me to distraction. Anyway, I’ll keep watching. I love your passion for old cars. Keep up the good work!
It's all good I'm from Western Pennsylvania. We have weird names for things here just be glad I don't say yinz which is what most people say around here for you guys or y'all lol
The hood ornaments were mascots and then became ornaments, I started saying mascot because I can't say ornament right western pa thing.. idk =)
Happy you dig the channel
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hood_ornament
TH-cam videos consist of one long, protracted infomercial, followed by limited miniscule fragments OF video! Am thinking about not watching YT anymore!
Like I said, before, I have no control over what commercials are being put on the videos
You could always go for You Tube Premium with no adverts at all.
Just pay more money, and you won't have to watch the ads.