edsel.com: Literature

EDSEL LITERATURE


The Edsel has appeared in print thousands of times - especially around its (overly) publicized introduction.
Here are just a few of the places to look to find more Edsel opinions, photos and facts!

Numbers appearing after FoMoCo literature are the form numbers.


FoMoCo Releases

Sales Brochures


1958 - Prestige Catalog "This is the Edsel" (32 pg, full color, all '58 models) ED-7101
1958 - Large Color Foldout "This is the Edsel" (24 x 48 inches, full color poster) ED-7102
1958 - Small Color Foldout "This is the Edsel" (21 x 15 inches, full color poster) ED-7103
1958 - Edsel Station Wagon Catalog (8 pg, full color, all '58 Wagons. 9/57 & 12/57) ED-7104
1958 - "Edsel Features Digest"/Edsel Quick Facts (8 pg, b&w, small booklet) ED-7105
1958 - "You Drive the Edsel by Touch" (full color brochure, shows accessories) ED-7106
1958 - "Accessories for Your First Edsel" (32 pg, all options & accessories) ED-7107
1959 - Prestige Catalog "1959 Edsel" (24 pg, full color, all '59 models, Rare) MD-7101
1959 - Large Color Foldout "1959 Edsel" (25 x 19 inches, full color poster) MD-7102
1959 - "Versitile Edsel Station Wagons for 1959" (full color foldout) MD-7103
1959 - "Quick Facts for the 1959 Edsel" (small b&w with blue booklet) MD-7104
1959 - "Accessories for the 1959 Edsel" (small b&w with blue booklet) MD-7105
1959 - Ford of Canada Accessory booklet (4x6, 20 pages) PA929-1
1960 - Full color Sales Catalog (28 pages of illustrations and photographs) 60-100
1960 - "1960 Edsel Quick Facts" booklet (b&w with gold, no catalog number)
1960 - "70 Reasons to Buy a 1960 Edsel" foldout (Green & white)
1960 - Showroom Poster (See Saturday Evening Post ad, 10/24/59) 50 x 38 inches

Submitted by Steven Egly of Alameda, CA:
The 1958 Edsel brochure "Accessories For Your First Edsel" was issued in 9/57 and 12/57.  The September version was done in black-white-green, while the December version was black-white-brown.  Besides the color, the differences between the two brochures include:


FoMoCo Releases

Shop Manuals
Owner's Manuals
& Parts Catalogs


1958 - Owner's Manual (Early Edition) 5702
1958 - Owner's Manual (Final Edition) 5702-A
1958 - Owner's Manual (Canadian Edition) SE706-58
1958 - Shop Maintenance Manual 5703
1958 - Shop Maintenance Manual - Canadian issue SE-720
1958 - Automatic Transmissions 5705
1958 - Air Conditioning Systems 5706
1958 - Teletouch Transmission (unnumbered)
1958 - Parts Book ED-7062 (loose leaf)
1958 - Parts Book - Final version MD-8279-GPD
1958 - Soft Trim Catalog 5704
1958 - "Edsel Body Catalogue" (Ford of Canada release 9/57) PA-777
1958 - Service Policy ED-5711-59
1958 - Edsel Owner Identification Card 5712
1959 - Owner's Manual (Early Edition) ED-5701-59
1959 - Owner's Manual (Final Edition) ED-5702-59
1959 - Owner's Manual (Canadian Edition) SE-706F-59
1959 - Shop Maintenance Manual 5703-59
1959 - Shop Maintenance Manual - Canadian issue SE-720-59
1959 - Shop Maintenance Manual - Canadian issue SE-720-60
1959 - MEL Registered Mechanics Handbook MD-9937 (4/59)
1959 - Parts Book MD-8276-GPD (loose leaf)
1959 - Soft Trim Catalog/Master Price List MD-4230-GPD
1959 - Service Policy - Canadian issue SE-406H
1960 - Owner's Manual ED-5702-60
1960 - Shop Maintenance Manual 5703-60 (10,000 copies produced for 2,846 cars!)
1960 - Parts Book MD-8276-60 (loose leaf)
1960 - Soft Trim Catalog MD-4230-GPD (loose leaf)
1958-1960 - Interchangable Catalog (Obsoleted by Ford) MD-8235-GPD
1958-1960 - Master Parts Catalog MD-8279-60 (loose leaf)
1958-1960 - "Rouge News", the Ford Motor Company employee newsletter was also published during the Edsel's run, and contained many insightful articles on the engineering behind the Edsel.


Books

Edsel History


 

"Disaster in Dearborn: The Story of the Edsel" by Thomas E. Bonsall
©:2002 Stanford University Press, Palo Alto, CA, ISBN 0-8047-4654-0

"The Edsel Affair" by C Gayle Warnock
©:1980 Pro West Publishing, Paradise Valley, AZ

"Edsel - The Motor Industry's Titanic" by Robert Daines
©:1995 Academy Books, London

"Selling the People's Cadillac: The Edsel and Corporate Responsibility" by Jan G. Deutsch
©:1976 Yale University Press, New Haven and London, ISBN 0-300-02014-7

Edsel References


"Edsels, Luckies, & Frigidaires Advertising the American Way" by Robert Atwan, Donald McQuade, & John W, Wright
  (Includes a 1958 Edsel ad on page 181)
"The Other Fifties - Interrogating Midcentury American Icons edited by Joel Foreman
  (Contains a chapter on Fairfax Cone's handling of the Edsel marketing)


Magazine Articles

Car Reviews
(* Indicates an Edsel on the cover)


1958 - Newsweek, November 26, 1956 ("Now Comes the Edsel")
1958 - Motor Life, Volume 6 Number 7, February 1957 ("Ford's New E-car")
1958 - Motor Trend, Volume 9 Number 2, February 1957 ("First Look at Ford's '58 E-car")
1958 - Car Life, Volume 4 Number 3, March 1957 (Edsel hood ornament on the cover)
1958 - Business Week, June 8, 1957 ("The Role of the Edsel Line in Loyalty to Ford")
*1958 - Newsweek, June 10, 1957 ("A peek at the 1958 Edsel")
1958 - Motor Trend, August 1957 (One photo, one drawing)
1958 - People Today, August 1957 ("Ford's New Edsel")
1958 - Motor, August 28, 1957 ("The Edsel")
1958 - Autocar, August 30, 1957 ("Ford's Edsel Range")
1958 - Saturday Evening Post, August 31, 1957 ("I Rode Detroit's Mystery Car")
1958 - Automobile Topics, September 1957 ("Long Awaited Edsel Introduction")
1958 - Fortune, September 1957 ("How Edsel Lured Those Dealers")
1958 - Mechanix Illustrated September 1957 (McCahill tests the new Edsel)
1958 - Motor Guide, September 1957 ("First Authorized Report")
1958 - Motor Life, September 1957 ("Who needs an Edsel")
*1958 - Popular Mechanics, Volume 108 Number 3, September 1957
1958 - Speed Age, Volume 10 Number 12, September 1957 ("Should you buy an Edsel?")
*1958 - Popular Science, September 1957 ("Here it is - the Edsel")
1958 - Time, Sept 2, 1957 ("The Newest Car")
1958 - Newsweek, Sept 16, 1957 ("More Than a New Make of Car.. The Edsel")
1958 - Newsweek, Sept 23, 1957 ("Newest Member of the Ford Family of Fine Cars")
1958 - Newsweek, Sept 30, 1957 (Butler Manufacturing Company)
1958 - Automotive World, October 1957 (Edsel introduction)
*1958 - Car Life, October 1957 ("Edsel Consumer Analysis")
1958 - Hot Rod, October 1957 (Edsel engine on the cover)
*1958 - Motor Life, October 1957 ("At last, the new Edsel")
*1958 - Motor Trend, Volume 9 Number 10, October 1957 ("How Good is the Edsel?")
*1958 - Science and Mechanics, October 1957 ("What It's Like to Drive")
1958 - Motor Life, November 1957 ("Cross-Country in an Edsel)
1958 - Look, November 16, 1957 (A look at the new 1958 models)
1958 - Automobile Topics, December 1957 ("Edsel Road Test" & lubrication chart)
1958 - Motor Trend, December 1957 ("Edsel on Trial")
1958 - Business Week, December 7, 1957 ("Edsel Gets a Frantic Push")
1958 - Car Craft, January 1958 (Custom shop restyles the Edsel)
1958 - Popular Mechanics, February 1958
1958 - Special Interest Autos, #103, February 1988 (Bermuda)
1958 - Car Life, March 1958 ("Edsel: Fireball or Flop?")
1958 - Popular Mechanics, March 1958 (PM Owners Report, 6-page "Edsel Power, Handling Are Tops...")
1958 - Motor, April 16, 1958 ("Edsel Ranger 4dr HT Road Test")
1958 - Car Life, May 1958
1958 - Autocar, May 23, 1958 ("What Happened to the Edsel?")
1958 - Car Life, July 1958 ("Edsel and Ford")
1958 - Automobile Quarterly, Volume 13 Number 2, 1975 (Naming the Edsel)
*1958 - Cars & Parts, April 1989
1958 - Special Interest Autos, June 1991 (1958 Edsel vs. 1958 Ford)
1958 - Special Interest Autos, December 1993 (Comparison of 1958 models)
1958 - Car Collector, April 1996 (Pacer & Citation)
*1958 - Cars & Parts, Volume 41 Number 7, July 1998 (Bermuda photo spread)
1958 - Automobile, January 1999 (Ferrari historian recalls the Edsel design)
1958 - Special Interest Autos, Number 184, July-August 2001 (Edsel Amblewagon article)
*1958 - Hemmings Classic Car, Volume 1 Number 4, January 2005 (Yellow Pacer convertible)
1958 - Motor Trend Classic, Volume 1 Number 1, October 2005 (Edsel cruising in Hollywood)
1958 - Hemmings Motor News, Volume 54, Number 4, April 2007 (Yellow Pacer convertible)

1959 - Motor Trend, August 1958 (What you're getting in 1959)
1959 - Motor Trend, September 1958 (Secrets of the 1959 styling. Short)
1959 - Motor Life, December 1958 ("Edsel Aims for Lower Price Field")
1959 - Motor Trend, December 1958 (1959 Edsel review)
1959 - Car Life, March 1959 ("Edsel Consumer Analysis")
1959 - Motor Life, March 1959 (Corsair sedan road test)
1959 - Speed Age, June 1959 ("New Era for the Big E")
*1959 - Cars & Parts, March 2001 ("Route 66 Survivor - 1959 Edsel Corsair")

1960 - Car Life, September 1959 (Short paragraph on the 60 Edsel preview)
1960 - Popular Mechanics, Volume 109 Number 5, November 1959
1960 - Popular Science, Volume 175 Number 5, November 1959
1960 - Motor Life, December 1959
1960 - Car Classics, February 1975 ("The Forgotten Edsel")
1960 - Collectible Automobile, Volume 6 Number 1, June 1989 ("1960 Prototype")
1960 - Collectible Automobile, April 1996 ("Short, Hard Life of the 1960 Model")
*1960 - Cars & Parts, Volume 41 Number 2, February 1998 ("Edsel's Last Fling")
1960 - Special Interest Auto, January-February 2001 (Ranger and Buick Convertibles)

1958-1960 - Car Life, May 1969 ("Revenge of the Edsel")
*1958-1960 - Special Interest Autos, November 1973 (Seven pages of Edsel in review)
1958-1960 - Automotive News June 16, 1978 ("Edsel: a Bomb or a Boon?")
1958-1960 - Sales and Marketing Management December 8, 1980 (Edsel Affair book review)
1958-1960 - Road & Track November 1981 (Edsel Affair book review)
1958-1960 - Forbes September 10, 1984 ("Whatever Happened to the Whiz Kids?")
*1958-1960 - Cars & Parts, April 1984 ("Ford's Fantastic Flop")
*1958-1960 - Collectible Automobile, Volume 1 Number 2, July 1984
1958-1960 - Time, July 22, 1985 ("A Gallery of Goofs")
1958-1960 - Car and Driver, January 1987 ("Ten Ugliest Cars" and "Ten Best Cars")
1958-1960 - Car and Driver, January 1989 ("Ten Best Grinmobiles")
1958-1960 - Classic & Sportcar, September 1988 (5 pages of Edsel nostalgia)
1958-1960 - Motor Trend, May 1989 ("40 Years of Hits and Misses")
1958-1960 - Forbes November 13, 1989 ("The Hole in Ford’s Doughnut")
1958-1960 - Automobile Quarterly, Volume 31 Number 1 Fall 1992 (20 pages of Edsel)
*1958-1960 - Cars & Parts, November 1993 ("New Perspective on an Old Story")
1958-1960 - Automotive News, Volume 2, June 26, 1996 ("100 Events that Made the Industry")
1958-1960 - Car Collector, June 1998
1958-1959 - Car Collector, October 1998 ("Edsel Homecoming: Return to Mahwah")
1958-1960 - Collectible Automobile, Volume 16, Number 1, June 1999 (Profile: Robin Jones)
1958-1960 - Cars & Parts, Volume 51, Number 4, April 2008 ("Edsel's 50th Anniversary")


Printed
Advertisements


1958 - Life, 7-22-57 [b/w blur - "The Edsel is on its way"]
1958 - Life, 8-5-57 [b/w blur - "The Edsel is on its way"]
1958 - Life, 8-19-57 [2-page ad, car carrier with 5 Edsels under wraps]
1958 - Life, 9-2-57
1958 - Saurday Evening Post, 9-14-57 [3-page Citation/Pacer/Bermuda introduction]
1958 - Life, 9-30-57 [All 18 Edsel models in a 3-page ad]
1958 - Look, 10-1-57 [3-pages of Citations: green 4-door, copper convertible]
1958 - Saturday Evening Post, 10-5-57 [All 18 Edsel models in a 3-page ad]
1958 - Saturday Evening Post, 10-12-57 [b/w Citation 2-dr HT, in a Champion Spark Plug ad]
1958 - Saturday Evening Post, 10-19-57 [White/black Citation 4-dr HT on a golf course, 3-page]
1958 - Life, 10-28-57 [Blue Citation 2-dr HT in 5-minute parking at a strip mall, 3-page ad]
1958 - Saturday Evening Post, 11-2-57 [The blue Citation 2-dr HT at the strip mall]
1958 - Life, 11-4-57 [Bermuda in a "Pfaff Sewing Machine Sweepstakes" ad]
1958 - Life, 11-11-57 [Dark blue Citation 4-dr HT at "My Fair Lady", 2-page ad]
1958 - Look, 11-12-57 [Bermuda in a "Pfaff Sewing Machine Sweepstakes" ad]
1958 - Look, 11-12-57 [3-pages of Citations: 4-door, blue 2-door, pink tail view]
1958 - Saturday Evening Post, 11-16-57 [The "My Fair Lady" deep blue Citation]
1958 - Saturday Evening Post, 11-16-57 [Ford Family of Fine Cars (FFoFC), Citation 4d HT]
1958 - Saturday Evening Post, 11-16-57 ["Employers Mutual of Wausau", Citation 4d HT]
1958 - Life, 11-25-57 [Light blue Citation 4-dr HT in a "More YOU Ideas" Ford ad]
1958 - Life, 11-25-57 [Ember Red/Black Citation 2-dr HT, passing over a Coral small series]
1958 - Look, 11-26-57 [The "My Fair Lady" deep blue Citation]
1958 - U.S. News and World Report, 12-57 [Darak Battery Separator ad, Green/White Citation conv]
1958 - Saturday Evening Post, 12-7-57 [White-on-white Ranger 4-dr HT in a Gulf Oil ad]
1958 - Look, 12-10-57 ["Mile by mile", Red/black Citation]
1958 - Look, 12-10-57 [Watchmakers of Switzerland ad w/Edsel steering wheel and dash]
1958 - Saturday Evening Post, 12-14-57 [Green Edsel front end featured in "Enjay Butyl Rubber" ad]
1958 - Life, 12-16-57 ["To Give YOU a Wider Choice", Red/white Citation 4-dr HT w/Linc/Ford/Merc/man on T-Bird]
1958 - Saturday Evening Post, 12-21-57 [FFoFC, "The Edsel gives you a wider choice"]
1958 - Look, 12-24-57 ["More YOU Ideas", Blue Citation w/Merc/Ford/T-bird/Lincoln]
1958 - Look, 12-24-57 [Enjay Butyl rubber ad for bumper guards on Turq/White Edsel]
1958 - Saturday Evening Post, 1-25-58 ["More YOU ideas", Ford ad with Red Pacer 2-dr HT]
1958 - Life, 1-27-58 [Bermuda tail in an Imperial Wiskey ad]
1958 - Life, 1-27-58 [All-blue Citation on the beach, 2-page ad]
1958 - Popular Mechanics, February 1958 [b/w Corsair 4-dr HT]
1958 - Look, 2-4-58 ["More YOU Ideas", Red/white Citation 4-dr HT w/Linc/Ford/Merc/man on T-Bird]
1958 - Saturday Evening Post, 2-8-58 ["They'll know you've arrived.." Red Citation 2d]
1958 - Life, 2-17-58 [Red/White Citation 2-dr HT, 2-page ad]
1958 - Look, 2-18-58 ["More YOU Ideas", Red Pacer w/blue Lincoln/green Ford/gold Merc]
1958 - Saturday Evening Post, 2-22-58 [FFoFC, Turquoise Corsair 4-dr HT]
1958 - Look, 3-4-58 [Red/white Citation 2-dr HT]
1958 - Life, 3-24-58 [Gold Corsair 2-dr HT in the "1958 Fords" ad]
1958 - Saturday Evening Post, 3-29-58 [Gold Corsair 2-dr HT, in the "1958 Fords" 2-page ad]
1958 - Car Life, March 1958 [Blue Citaion 4-dr HT in a Carnu Wax ad]
1958 - Popular Mechanics, April 1958 [Blue Citaion 4-dr HT in a Carnu Wax ad]
1958 - Life, 4-14-58 [White/Pink Citation convertible, "Says you're going places"]
1958 - Look, 4-15-58 ["More YOU Ideas", Green Corsair 4-dr HT, Merc/Ford/Linc/TBird]
1958 - Holiday, May 1958 ["More YOU Ideas", Gray/White Villager, Blue/White Bermuda]
1958 - Saturday Evening Post, 5-10-58 [Every '58 car offered by Ford, in color]
1958 - Look 5-27-58 [Full 68-model line of Ford, Edsel, Merc, Cont, T-bird and Linc]
1958 - Life, 6-2-58 [FFoFC, Turquoise Bermuda, Yellow/Black Roundup]
1958 - Saturday Evening Post, 6-14-58 [Turquoise Bermuda, Yellow/Black Roundup]
1958 - Life, 6-16-58 [White Citation convertible, "The EDSEL LOOK is here to stay"]
1958 - Life, 6-16-58 [FFoFC, Gold Citation convertible.]
1958 - Life, 6-30-58 [Yellow Citation 2-door HT, "The EDSEL LOOK is here to stay"]
1958 - Saturday Evening Post, 7-5-58 [FFoFC, Gold Citation convertible (same ad as the 6-16 Life)]
1958 - Look, 7-8-58 [Red/White Citation 2-dr HT in "Sta-Flo/Sta-Puf Contest" ad.]
1958 - Life, 7-28-58 [Turq Citation conv, Yellow Ranger 2-dr sedan]
1958 - Life, 8-11-58 ["Dramatic Edsel Styling" Coral/White Pacer 4-dr HT with White Pacer ]
1958 - Life, 8-25-58 ["Dramatic Edsel Styling" Red Pacer convertible, Yellow Ranger 4-dr HT]
1958 - Ward's 58 Yearbook [b/w Citation 2-dr HT]
1958 - Ward's 58 Yearbook [Instrument Panel in "King-Seeley" ad]
1958 - Gentleman's Quarterly, 8-1-91 [Red convertible & radio in "Pioneer" ad]

1959 - Saturday Evening Post, 11-8-58 [2-1/4 page (folded)- Red Corsair 4-dr HT, Blue convertible rear]
1959 - Life, 11-10-58 [2-1/4 page (folded)- Red Corsair 4-dr HT, Blue convertible rear shot]
1959 - Life, 11-17-58 [Blue Corsair 4-dr HT at a shopping mall]
1959 - Saturday Evening Post, 11-22-58 [Blue Corsair 4-dr HT at a shopping mall]
1959 - Life, 11-24-58 [Red Corsair 4-dr HT at the sports stadium.]
1959 - Saturday Evening Post, 11-29-58 [Green Ranger 4-dr HT in front of a white-column building in fall]
1959 - Life, 12-1-58 [Blue Corsair 4-dr HT at a shopping mall]
1959 - Saturday Evening Post, 12-13-58 [Yellow/White Ranger 4-dr HT on a snowy street]
1959 - Life, 12-15-58 [All-white Ranger 4-dr sdn at the "Horse & Hound"]
1959 - Saturday Evening Post, 12-6-58 [All-white Ranger 4-dr sdn at the "Horse & Hound"]
1959 - Life, 1-19-59 [All-white Corsair 4-dr HT on the ski slopes, with a red Villager behind it]

1960 - Saturday Evening Post, 10-24-59 [Blue 2-dr HT, Red conv, Gold wagon]
1960 - Saturday Evening Post, 10-31-59 [Blue 2-dr HT, Red conv, Gold wagon]
1960 - Saturday Evening Post, 11-7-59 [Gold 2-dr HT, Red 4-dr sedan, Blue wagon]
1960 - Saturday Evening Post, 11-21-59 [Red Ranger 4-door sedan on a country road]

Not sure if your loose ad is from Life or the Post? Just measure the height!
Life magazine pages are 14 inches high, Post pages are about 13 and a half.


Special thanks to Jonathan Fox, Magne Teigen and Woody Walcher for a plethora of new examples of car reviews and ads!
Thanks also go out to Jere Gauss, Doug Harley, Trudy Lamb, Geoff Hempsall, Robert Smith Duane Bittinger, and Doug Parsons for identify many of the holes in the Edsel advertisements section, and to John D'Amato for a new service manual entry.

  There are still more magazine ads not listed, including:


that we need to identify.  Does anyone know the magazines and dates that these appeared in?
If so, please contact admin@edsel.com