January, 2005, Cruise News

STORY LINE:     NOW & THEN, and THEN IS NOW

Another year has gone by and another year is here. I like that very much as it means longevity …but what we need, what I need, is more palm trees. 

Did a 10 day trip out west late October early November, and spent my birthday in the ocean communities of Southern California, attended  SEMA in Las Vegas … yes and hugged palm trees too. Fun it was to do the DONUT DERELICT’s breakfast meeting-if 6am with donuts and coffee can be aptly labeled breakfast-in Huntington Beach, corners of Adams and Magnolia avenues. That brought back memories of cars I liked from the past … that maybe nobody else did, as they … are now history.

Edsel and DeSoto automobiles were somewhat unique, as they were designed and engineered to fill a gap in both Ford and Chrysler line-ups to emulate the General Motors model line-up. Step up cars as the motoring buying public gained more discretionary income and wanting to show their ‘affluence’ to their neighbors with a ‘better’ car. Mr. Sloan of GM fame instituted this process of step-up cars last century, in the 1920’s.

Edsel was designed to compete with Pontiac and Oldsmobile buyers, DeSoto to compete with Oldsmobile and Buick buyers. Edsel was introduced for the 1958 model year and lasted through 1960 model year production. DeSoto was introduced in mid 1928 as a 1929 model and was abruptly dis-productionized on November 30, 1960 … some 47 days after the 1961 model DeSoto car was introduced.

EDSEL-the car. Much hoopla and fanfare went into the production and promotion of the Edsel automobile, as a new product in a new market segment for the Ford Motor Company. Edsel was truly a new car with a longer wheelbase than a Ford at 2-inches more for base models(although shared with upscale Ford Fairlane models) and 124-inch wheelbase for senior Edsel models which was just an inch shy of Mercury Park Lane wheelbase dimensions.  Station wagons shared the Ford platform at 116-inches. Edsel model line-up was four models; Ranger and Pacer/118-inch wheelbase, Corsair and Citation/124-inch wheelbase.

Drivetrains consisted of the new passenger car FE series-V8’s derived from truck applications; 303HP/361CID and 345HP/410CID  both were fitted with 4-barrel carburetors. Most Edsels had pushbutton automatic transmissions in 1958 with steering wheel hub controls. Rare it would be to find a 1958 Edsel with manual transmission. Interiors were plush, exteriors were stand alone with virtually no other Ford/Mercury look-a-like components. The car did not sell well.

1959 was a big change for Edsel with only two models; Ranger and Corsair with Ford 223CID-L6, 292CID ‘Y’ block 2-barrel V8, the Ford FE 332CID-V8 and truck 361CID FE-V8. This 1959 Edsel was basically a dressed up Ford on a 120-inch wheelbase(2-inch stretched Ford chassis)and a gussied up Ford interior trim.  1960 faired even worse for the Edsel as it looked so much like a 1959 Pontiac from the front and again was a high trim level Ford at best. Wheelbase was 120-inches, 1-inch longer than the Ford and shared the Ford engines of 223-L6, 292 ‘Y’ block V8 and the 300HP/352 FE-V8.  Sales of the Edsel car plummeted right after it’s initial introduction in late 1957 … there was no 1961 Edsel car.

DESOTO-the car. DeSoto automobiles might best be described as the poor mans Chrysler. Through the years DeSoto became known for sound engineering, broke the sales record for first year production(1929)and became the car of choice as the taxi cab of New York City through the early ‘50s. Desoto garnered my personal interest in the mid 1950’s when they introduced the high performance Adventurer series in 1956 with a 2x4 barrel 320HP/341CID HEMI-V8. In 1957/58 gorgeous fins and fish like styling lines adorned all Chrysler Corporation cars, and the DeSoto-to me-seemed to carry those fins best with smooth design and subtle chrome trim as a compliment. Like Oldsmobile and Buick cars for 1958, the 1959 DeSoto relied on excessive exterior trim to ‘look good’ … but the handwriting was on the wall as 1960/61 DeSoto cars were but a mirror image of Chrysler models. DeSoto held on to that 1st year model sales production record from 1929 right up to 1960 … in late November 1960 after just  3,034 build 1961 DeSoto cars, DeSoto was no more.

TODAY-a 1958 Edsel Bermuda station wagon, a 1958 Citation convertible, a 1959 Corsair convertible in pristine restored condition is valued and worth at least five times it’s initial cost. A DeSoto with fins, any Adventurer performance model-Remember RAM INDUCTION-is worth a veritable kings ransom in restored excellent condition.   

NOTES: Recently at Englishtown Raceway a Ford GT test car went 10.92@132.7 on street tires with Evan Smith piloting. The GT may very well be the fastest production American street car yet!!!  … and, with Jon A. Moss retired from GM earlier this year, and John Coletti retiring from Ford January 1 … it’s an end of an era.