An estimated 2.85 million people visited showrooms to see the Edsel on Sept. 4, 1957, according to Plastics Engineering. Ford had been waiting for that day for a decade.
The company spent 10 years and $250 million planning the car, one of its first all-new models in decades, per TIME. The Edsel launched with 18 models and its own company division.
Even the name took work. The ad agency Foote, Cone & Belding developed 18,000 candidates and narrowed them to 10, and Ford accepted none, according to Plastics Engineering. Poet Marianne Moore also offered suggestions at the request of Ford executives, and none were taken.
Ford’s Executive Board settled on Edsel, the name of Henry Ford’s son, per Plastics Engineering. TIME called it no small honor for the car to carry the name.
The excitement faded fast, however. By the end of 1957, monthly sales of the new car had fallen by about a third, TIME reported.
The Savoy Automobile Museum points to several causes. The Edsel shared parts with Ford and Mercury models, so it did not feel distinct. Its vertical grille drew criticism, and sales slumped across the auto industry. Buyers who were shocked by higher prices also turned to cheaper imports, and some preferred established brands.
Plastics Engineering adds that Ford leaned heavily on public opinion polls and motivational research, which did not help the car’s reception.
Ford folded the Edsel Division into Lincoln-Mercury on Jan. 14, 1958, and halted Edsel production on Nov. 19, 1959, per Plastics Engineering. About 109,466 Edsels were sold in the U.S. from 1957 to 1959, under 1% of the market.
The company put the losses at $350 million, according to the Savoy museum, a figure Plastics Engineering equates to about $3.8 billion in 2022 dollars.
Ford reused the Edsel production facilities for its next new line of compact cars, TIME noted.
The Edsel was not Henry Ford’s only pricey misadventure. His company also sank $20 million into Fordlandia, a rubber plantation in the Amazon, and sold it for $250,000.
Related: John DeLorean founded his car company in 1975; Britain put £77 million into its Belfast plant, which failed in 1982
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