| If you are to ask auto experts what is the legendary | | | | the future. |
| disaster in the industry, they would probably mention | | | | Edsel’s failure could be likened to Segway’s |
| the Edsel - not a person, not a car, but a defunct Ford | | | | plight. Marshall Brain of How Stuff Works has this to |
| division. | | | | say: “One thing we might compare it to was the |
| Summer of 1957 was a milestone for the Ford Motor | | | | launch of the Segway six years ago. Remember the |
| Co. It marked the start of a big ad campaign that had | | | | huge amount of hype that surrounded the Segway? |
| ticked the Americans’ fancy. The Dearborn-based | | | | The Segway was going to change the world, but no |
| automaker decided to offer a new car division and the | | | | one knew what the Segway was. Then, on the day |
| company has advertised it heavily. The new division is | | | | of announcement, we all saw that the Segway was a |
| offering product lines that are not that common. | | | | scooter.” |
| To note, that time the last one to be set up in an | | | | Brain added, “Sure, it was a self-balancing scooter |
| American auto company was the manufacturer of the | | | | and that was cool. But there was no way the |
| Saturn multi rib belt, a division of General Motors Corp. | | | | Segway could match the hype that preceded it, and |
| But Ford’s freshly established division was enough | | | | everyone was disappointed. That is exactly the kind of |
| to raise interest among consumers. Shoppers thought | | | | thing that happened to the Edsel.” |
| Edsel was new and would be exciting. The marketing | | | | Ford’s defunct division had some notable features. |
| campaign of the automaker has lured consumers by | | | | But the features weren’t enough to lure shoppers |
| showing them nothing about the new division’s | | | | into purchasing. “The look of the car was definitely |
| lineup. The ad only shows a hood ornament or a car | | | | unique, with a huge grill shaped like the letter ‘O.’ |
| underneath a tarp. | | | | And the automatic transmission was controlled by |
| The ad campaign was such a hit. This has made | | | | buttons located in the centre of the steering wheel. It |
| consumers look forward to seeing the forthcoming | | | | was just kooky enough to turn people off rather than |
| fresh lineup. Sept. 4, 1957 arrived. That was the | | | | to turn them on. Also, people were expecting |
| scheduled launching of the cars. The consumers, | | | | something completely new, while in reality the Edsels |
| excited about the new cars, visited Edsel dealership | | | | were built on top of an existing Ford chassis. That was |
| nearby to take a glimpse of the new offerings from | | | | not very exciting to people,” noted Brain. |
| the auto giant. | | | | Next month, watchers in the industry will |
| But the moment they saw the lineup, excitement died. | | | | commemorate the lesson behind the Edsel tragedy. |
| As such, the great disaster was the fact that no one | | | | Some experts blame it to the untimely launch date. |
| was purchasing. And that marked the beginning of the | | | | Others put the blame on the size and kookiness of the |
| end for the Ford division. | | | | car. A number of critics blame it on quality problems. |
| Edsel was a solid proof that outstanding marketing | | | | But the combination of all those things made Edsel |
| campaign does not always result in overwhelming | | | | collapse. |
| profits. As a fact, it could mean injurious loss. Though it | | | | The word Edsel has become synonymous with failure. |
| is hard to determine how the auto disaster happened | | | | A terrible failure every automaker must consider in |
| – a successful ad campaign enticing no shoppers | | | | order to prevent it from recurring. |
| – the fact stays. It happened. And it could happen in | | | | |