See if you can answer the Edsel quiz!


48% knew that after the Edsel was discontinued, early purchasers of the 1960 Edsel received a certificate for $300 off on any Ford product. See a copy of it HERE

Our last question asked how many 1958 Edsel owners told pollsters that their next car would be an Edsel? The correct answer was 51.6% and 52% of those answering chose the correct answer. 29% said fewer, and 19% said more Edsel owners would buy another Edsel

Our last question asked if the 1959 Edsel tail light lenses were leftovers from the 1958 Mercury. 54% said False and got it right, while 46% said True. Actually, the 59 lenses were a slightly reworked version of those used on the 1958 Lincoln Continental, seen here.

38% knew that of all the answers listed to our last question, only the 58 Pacer 2 door Hardtop was also made in Canada. 9% each chose the 58 Bermuda and the 59 Villager, but no wagons were made in Canada. No convertibles were made there, either, so the 9% who chose the Citation convertible were wrong as well. 12% picked the 58 Ranger 2 door sedan and 22% the 59 Ranger 2 door sedan, but for some reason, no 2 door sedans were built in Canada, leaving only the Pacer as the correct answer.

Most of our visitors are real purists when it comes to painting an Edsel. 64% of those responding felt that you should only paint an Edsel with the original dataplate colors. 8% allow for using any color that was available on that particular model of that year, and 5% would go for any Edsel color of that year. Only 22% felt that you should choose to paint your Edsel whatever color that you like, with no limitations.

41% chose the correct answer, Bob Jones, for the question, "Who was the assistant designer for the Edsel".

Well, 47% of those answering our survey visit at least once a week, with 13% visiting every day! Another 25% drop by every couple of weeks, while 29% visit once a month or less. No matter how often you visit, we're glad that you're here!

Twenty-seven percent got the right answer that Edsel Division was closed on January 15, 1958 only a little over 4 months after the Edsel introduction. 40% thought that it was a year later on January 15, 1959 while 13% thought that it was December 23, 1957.

What name was not suggested by the poet Marianne Moore? Only one third answered correctly that it was "Oval Orbiter". 29% thought Pastelogram was an unlikely suggestion, while another 23% favored Intelligent Whale as the phony name, although according to The Motor Industry's Titanic by Robert Daines, both of those were suggested by Miss Moore.

Twenty-seven percent answered correctly that the Edsel Division was closed on January 15, 1958 just over 4 months after the Edsel introduction. 40% said that it was a year later on January 15, 1959 and another 13% felt it was as early as December 23, 1957.

One third of those answering last month's question got it right that Edsel Division hoped to sell 600 Edsels per day. 23% said 400, while 13% each said 800 and 1000. Only 5% thought the answer was 100 cars per day, and 15% guessed 200 cars, but these answers were closer to the real results Edsel experienced.

What characteristic of their steering wheels distinguished Canadian-built Edsels? 63% knew that it was a white steering wheel. Go here for a photo of the steering wheel. I hope that the one person who chose "Horn plays O Canada" was joking!

In what month were the fewest Edsels built? 61% thought it was November 1959, which was a good guess, but at 190 units this was the second lowest month for Edsel production. Only 101 units were built in September 1958, during the changeover from 1958 to 1959 models, and only 17% chose the correct answer.

How many Edsel dealers were former GM or Chrysler dealers at the Edsel's introduction? 32% chose the correct answer of 49%! Another 29% were already selling other Ford products and 26% of you chose that answer. 16% were former Studebaker, Packard or AMC dealers, or associated with the auto business in some way. Only 6% were entrepreneurs from outside the auto industry. A whopping 23% of those answering the quiz thought that no former GM or Chrysler dealers switched to the Edsel, but in reality almost half of Edsel dealers fit into this category.

Well 38% answered correctly that the Edsel stylists favored the name "Ventura" and used that name on early clay models. 22% thought it was "Arrow", the favorite of Dick Krafve, Vice President and General Manager of Edsel Division, although Pierce Arrow owned rights to the name at the time. 19% chose "Altair", a name suggested by Gayle Warnock, author of The Edsel Affair, and the head PR man for the Edsel Division. "Phoenix" was chosen by 16% and was actually the pet name of J.C. "Larry" Doyle, General Sales and Marketing Manager, who liked the sound of Ford Phoenix. And only 6% thought that the answer was "Simplex", a name favored by L.D. Crusoe, the Executive Vice President of Car and Truck Divisions at Ford.

30% knew that the "E" originally stood for Elevator. As related in The Edsel Affair, by C. Gayle Warnock, stylist Roy Brown was given working space in the small library of the Design Center, which was back of the elevator. Brown's associates began to refer to his "styling cubby-hole" as the "E" room, because of its location. According to Warnock, "Eventually, the stylists began calling Brown's effort the "E" car, after elevator, not experimental, as the initial eventually designated." 51% chose Experimental, and another 11% Excalibur.

57% knew that the E-400 has 303 horsepower. The 400 is for the foot-pounds of torque (19% chose this answer), while the displacement of the engine is 361 cubic inches (chosen by 24%).

I was able to trick 59% of you into saying that more Edsels were built in 1958 than in 1959 or 1960. The correct answer is 1959, and 39% chose the right answer. Of course, there were more 1958 Edsels built, but most of them were made in 1957, which was not a choice.

Interestingly, 33% thought that no Edsels were ever made in Canada, while 33% also got the right answer, 7,440 cars! For some history from Ford of Canada, Click here.

The survey results are in and 75% of those responding prefer the 1958 Edsel, 18% prefer the 1959, and only 8% prefer the 1960!

I was surprised that only 46% knew that 63,110 1958 Edsels were produced!

44,891 Edsels were produced as 1959 models. 71% knew the correct answer.

Hmmm, only 44% knew that there were 2,846 1960 Edsels produced. Only 6% guessed more than that, while 51% thought it was less!

Well, only 65% knew that the Edsel was officially discontinued on November 19, 1959. 26% thought it was later, sometime in 1960. This is probably due to the fact that a 1960 model was produced, if only to fulfill dealer contracts and Henry Ford II's promise to dealers, in Feb. 1959, that there would be a 1960 Edsel.

Wow! 93% knew that E-Day was September 4, 1957!

Did you know the answer? The 1958 Roundup was the only 2 Door Station Wagon manufactured by Edsel. 76% got it right! Check out this vintage photo of a Roundup HERE.

Only 46% knew that the slogan "Makes History by Making Sense" was given to the 1959 model Edsels! For the proof CLICK HERE.

82% knew that Edsel boasted of 18 models, in 4 series, including 5 station wagons!

Did you know who was the chief designer of the 1958 Edsel?CLICK HERE for the answer.


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