Edsel Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ford

While it was being developed and before it had a name it was called the "E-car", which meant it was an experimental car. It was named after Henry Ford's son, Edsel, who died in 1943 at age 49. Edsel's son, Henry II, wasn't happy about this as he didn't like the picture of his father's name spinning around on a hub-cap.

Answer: False

According to Social Security Administration records for that time the name Edsel never got higher than 400 out of the top 1,000, and that was in 1927. After the Edsel was introduced it dropped out the list altogether. I've never met anyone in the US named Edsel but then I've never met an Adolf either.

Answer: Oldsmobile

Ford did not have a mid-range car. It only had Lincoln, Mercury and Ford. It wanted a car to compete in this price range. At the time the Oldsmobile, which ended production in 2004 after a 107-year history, was a very popular car. It was in the top five of American cars sold. Ford, however, miscalculated and the Edsel wound up competing with the Mercury, which was another Ford product.

Answer: All of these.

Marianne Moore was an award-winning American poet. One of her books of poetry won a Pulitzer Prize, among other awards, in 1951. If you research her today you will find almost as much about her suggested names for the Edsel as you will her other works. I guess it's not a good idea to ask an imaginative poet to name a car.

Answer: All of them

There were six plants altogether to produce 1958 Edsels, although Louisville assembled around two-thirds of them. The Los Angeles plant got a late start and only produced 223 in 1958. Prior to the introduction of the 1958 Edsel (September 4, 1957) there were months of pre-release advertising during which Ford promised that the design of the Edsel will be far more radical than any of its other products.

When it did come out for public viewing the only thing that was noticed was the strange grille and this turned people off.

Answer: A pony

What in the world would the average American car buyer do with a pony? Maybe Ford was counting on a large rural market but one doesn't think of farmers during the 50's muscle-car era. Ford started this project when people were infatuated with fast cars like the Oldsmobile Rocket 88. What could they have been thinking?

Answer: True

This was reported in a recent edition of Time magazine. Many publications of the late 1950s compared it to even less flattering things. This, among other things, contributed to the demise of the Edsel. The end for the Edsel came on November 19, 1959 and the immediate effect was that the book value of used Edsels immediately dropped by $400 - the equivalent of $2,800 in 2006 dollars. Ford then said it would issue credit vouchers of $300-$400 on the purchase of another Ford product.

Answer: $2,500

The top price was $3,766. The major problem with Edsel prices was that they were in the same range as three out of four Mercury's models which, as I've mentioned, was their own product. So, Ford wound up competing with itself.

Answer: 345

That would be a lot of horsepower today but these were big heavy cars. They could still go 0-60 in about 10 seconds. Gas mileage was only about 8.5 mpg in city traffic but gas only cost 33 cents a gallon.

Answer: 19

Can you imagine having to choose from this many? One color was Chalk Pink. The others were Jet Black, Silver Gray Metallic, Ember Red, Turquoise, Snow White (without dwarfs), Frost White, Powder Blue, Horizon Blue, Royal Blue Metallic, Ice Green, Spring Green, Spruce Green Metallic, Charcoal Brown Metallic, Driftwood, Jonquil Yellow, Sunset Coral, Copper Metallic and Gold Metallic.

This information was reported on an Edsel fan site.