Exclusive to Edsel.com: True unpublished stories from people who were involved with the Edsel project. From designer to dealer, if you had a hand in making the Edsel automobile a reality, this forum is available for you to share your experience with the rest of the Edsel community.
Please send e-mail to admin@edsel.com if you would like to be included in the Edsel chronicles.
My father, James Sipple, was the designer of the distinctive Edsel "horsecollar" grille. He past away several
years ago. All this time, he kept the Design Studio inside joke trophy that was given to those who worked on the
project. It’s an Edsel hood ornament mounted on a plastic base with an engraved tag of their name on a brass
tag. My dad always said that piece of work almost got him fired from Ford. But, he made it past it.
-Robert Sipple, November 2018
"Does anyone know the whereabouts of a white 1960 Edsel that was owned by either Kaiser
Aluminum & Chemical Company or Harrison Radiator in Buffalo, NY? My father was a
metallurgist for Kaiser and headed up a project that successfully developed the first aluminum radiator. The
test vehicle was a new 1960 Edsel with a padlock securing the hood.
I was about 12 at the time and still clearly remember those "cat eye" tail lights. My father, who was doing
R&D with Kaiser at the time (including Teflon coated cooking ware, pop tab cans, USAF flying saucer program
w/AV Roe Canada and other projects) and said it was his "company car", but I'm not sure which of the companies. His
responsibility was in determining the optimum alloy and thickness to give the radiator the strength and durability needed,
as well as special techniques for welding the units. The final product became the first aluminum radiator to be
installed in Corvettes.
I wonder if they left that aluminum core in that old Edsel??"
-Mark Brown
"My father, Eugene D. Hauptmann Sr., was Sales Manager at the Dallas Edsel on Ross Avenue in
Dallas, Texas. In 1958 I was six years old, and remember the showroom floor with the
Edsel kid's car. It was a difficult time for my father being half German working with a
car that was ahead of its time with little thought to common maintance and repair. He
had fond memories of the sleek designs and powerful engines. The next year he was
working for Ford and bought a pink T-bird Convertible."
-Eugene Hauptmann