Disaster in Dearborn: The Story of the Edsel (Automotive History and Personalities)

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Summary: A comprehensive yet concise history of the Edsel
Review: Bonsall's treatment of the Edsel story is unique in that he first sets the historical stage and market conditions under which the Edsel program was conceived and executed. He does an excellent job of describing the reasons Ford needed the Edsel program, and why the program missed its mark. As Bonsall methodically moves the Edsel story forward, the reader is filled with a sense of impending doom, much like reading about the maiden voyage of the Titanic. Bonsall does an excellent job of drawing together the many disparate influences and elements that together charted the fateful course of the Edsel.

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Summary: Disaster in Dearborn: The Story of the Edsel
Review: Disaster in Dearborn: The Story of the Edsel by Thomas Bonsall is easily the best piece of automobile journalism I have ever read. If you are interested in the Edsel, or just cars of this era in general, Bonsall will simply have you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. Not only will you come away with a thorough understanding of the Edsel itself, the author artfully puts the whole Edsel saga into context with what was happening with the rest of the American auto industry during time before, during, and after the Edsel's brief lifespan. I honestly could not put this book down once I started it as Bonsall truly lets you feel the anticipation and excitement surrounding Edsel's conception, design, and launch. Quite simply everything about the Edsel and the people who created it is covered in this book. In closing Bonsall impartially takes you through all the theories on why the Edsel failed and brings the book to a very satisfying and thoughtful conclusion. And although primarily not a picture book, you'll find gathered here a small but exciting group of Edsel prototype photos and sketches I have never seen in print anywhere else before. A terrific book for anyone interested in auto history in general and an absolute must for anyone fascinated with the Edsel.

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Summary: A Definitive History Of A Failure
Review: I've been fascinated by Edsels since childhood, and while I've never been able to own one, I've collected lots of literature about the most famous flop in automotive history. Although there was familiar material in Mr. Bonsall's work, (the arrival of a new full-sized car just as the first import craze was beginning was the product of a decade-long lead time to launch the new make), there was also much I've never seen in print anywhere before--such as Robert McNamara's statement that the decision to discontinue the Edsel had been made even before its formal introduction! From the company's internal politics, to the design process, to the challenges of setting up the dealer network, no aspect of the Edsel's history is omitted. This profousely illustrated work is an absolute must for Edsel lovers, and should be worthwhile to anyone interested in the Ford Motor Company or automotive history in general.--William C. Hall

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Summary: Not as stupid as New Coke
Review: Now if you ask me, and plenty of folk who are interested in museums in commonist nations do now and again, if it weren't for this here Edsel, then the Vietnamese would not have had a convenient symbol with which to poke their tongue out at the Americans. See, they got them a museum in Hanoi that depicts the proud history of the Vietnamese commonists and in that museum they got them a room dedicated to the "American War" and the thing that is most striking about that room is the fact that there is a life-sized plaster Edsel crashing through the ceiling in to the room. That is suppose to depict the failure of America.

Well, truth be node, the Edsel ain't the biggest corporate flop that ever came along. I suggest the wacky idea to change the recipe of Coca-Cola was a bigger flop. So was chocolate flavored Silly String. I happen to be a great fan of the Edsel because it has such a great name. When a car company decides to name a new model after the child of the head honcho, then that signifies something special about the product. My Daddy and Mama deliberated over the name they was going to give me when I was born and it took a good while for them to come on the name of Cletus on account of all the other regal sounding names they had to select from. The list was long and consisted mostly of Roman Emperors, failed Diplomats, Vaudeville Comedians, Radio Preachers, and a few upstanding citizens of Chesterfield County who they admired. In the end they opted for Cletus on account of it being the derivation of the name of the Roman Emperor Cetufiscus. Hw was noted for the introduction of fried pork knuckles to the Roman Empire, along with mandating that every Roman citizen had to select yellow as their favorite color, and part their hair only on the left. In the end it turned out that he was mad as a March hare, but for a while there he was a pretty good Emperor who had some good ideas. I happen to like yellow pretty good and reckon it might be because of my Cletus/ Cetufiscus connection.

This here book is a doozy and is well worth reading because you don't often get the inside scoop on such a miserable failure in the automotive industry. I lent this here book to Clyde "Blackie" Boyle here a while back and he went through it in a few days and come back to me all wide-eyed and bushy tailed wanting to go out and buy an Edsel for himself. He scoured the county in search of one and never did find one, so he settled for an AMC Matador... which was probably just about as goofy as an Edsel, and a far sight uglier.

Mama is calling me to the table, so I best go ahead on and go. I recommend this book and so does Blackie.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting history of a controversial car
Review: The 1958 Edsel has received a lot of lampooning from the time it was introduced because of its front design ("a fish sucking a lemon") and this has generally been attributed as the reason it was regarded as a flop. Certainly Ford lost $100 million on it at the time (and its advertising agency and most of the dealers also took baths) but here it is revealed that in reality the car achieved the market penetration in relative terms that was expected of it. The reason for the losses were due to organisational mistakes and the fact that people like Robert McNamara (the archetypal bean counter) pulled the plug on it prematurely. The author also demonstrates that the production capacity created for the Edsel was actually utilised to the full in the 1960s with the Falcon and the Mustang.
This book is a great read, and the illustrations include many interesting design proposals. I would have given the book 5 stars if the illustrations had been printed on coated paper and included at least a few in color.

Rating:
Summary: A Keeper
Review: Unlike many current automotive books with some nice photos and tired, re-released copy, this one is fresh and fascinating. The photos are good but few, the story is the key and it is a great work. If you are like me and are interested in fresh, serious coverage by experienced automotive authors then this will not disappoint. Five stars from a tough critic.

Rating:
Summary: A Keeper
Review: Unlike many current automotive books with some nice photos and tired, re-released copy, this one is fresh and fascinating. The photos are good but few, the story is the key and it is a great work. If you are like me and are interested in fresh, serious coverage by experienced automotive authors then this will not disappoint. Five stars from a tough critic.