Edsel was Ford Motor Company’s short-lived automobile marque launched for the 1958 model year.
Ford introduced Edsel as a new division intended to fill a perceived gap between Mercury and the company’s lower-priced Ford line. The marque was named after Edsel Ford, the son of company founder Henry Ford and Ford Motor Company’s president from 1919 to 1943.
Edsel cars debuted with several distinctive styling features, including the controversial vertical “horse-collar” grille on many models. Sales were far below Ford’s expectations, partly because the market shifted toward smaller cars during an economic downturn and partly because the brand’s positioning was unclear.
Ford discontinued the Edsel marque after the 1960 model year. Its commercial failure later became a classic case study in product planning and marketing.